I sat in a meeting today made up of United Methodist clergy that serve churches in the Twin Cities area. These churches are small and middle-sized. Only a couple are what could be considered large. Some are thriving. Others are struggling. Some even are on the verge of closing. At one point the speaker said:" Even those churches who know that their buildings will close soon, need to understand what their legacy is. They need to name it and celebrate it."

Legacy: a gift by will especially of money or other personal property.Legacy: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. So says Webster. The word legacy is one of those truly beautiful words to say. It rolls off the tongue and sounds quite elegant. It is a word that conjures up an understanding of what it means to have a past, a past that is understood, celebrated and gives meaning to today’s living.

What does this word mean to you? Have you thought about your own legacy? What is it that you have carried forward from your past that you want to hand on to your future, to the future of your family, to the future of your faith community, to the future of your country? In the meat of this beautiful word so much lives and breathes.

I have a collection of cards that I have taped on the door of my office. Each card has a little saying that has inspired me or made me laugh. One such card reads: "I hope it will be said we taught them to stand tall & proud, even in the face of history & the future was made new and whole for us all, one child at a time." Every now and then my eyes will fall on this card as I leave my office after a long day of meetings, a long day of time I sometimes cannot account for. When I glimpse these words, I stop and think of the work I do. I think of the children and youth I come into contact with and I hope that a part of the legacy I leave will encompass these words. Taking the word ‘child’ to mean the children of God, I hope this legacy extends beyond age, beyond the walls of this place, beyond this present moment.

History can sometimes take us on twists and turns we did not choose. But a legacy that encourages us to stand tall and proud, one that empowers us to see the future,new and whole, will always see us through.