I wasn't really sure what to expect from the Rolling the Stone Away conference that we have been talking about for the last several months. Part of me wondered if I would just walk around aimlessly as a person who was far too young to be a part of the epic history-making ministry that many of these LGBT Religious Pioneers performed. I kind of wondered if I would feel out of place or out of my league.

I worried for nothing! This entire gathering has been a wonderful inter-generational sharing of ideas and stories. I found myself wishing over and over again that I could call all your bosses, clear your schedules, and transport every one of you into the room to hear just a few of the amazing stories being shared.It felt like every time I turned around there was another "hard to believe it really happened" story about the early days of MCC, or a founding moment in the Catholic Dignity movement, or about the first LGBT person ordained in the United Churches of Christ, the Presbyterian Church, etc.

The message I continued to receive from all the story-telling was a simple but meaningful one to hold on to:

God has brought us so very far. We should never fail to remember all God has done. AND, God is not finished yet. There is so much work still to do, still actively being done, still inviting us to engage.

This Sunday we will begin looking to the coming year. In the Christian Calendar, 2017 ends in just a few weeks with the arrival of the First Sunday of Advent (or the first Sunday after Thanksgiving). As we look to 2018, I hope that it will be a year in which we will truly ask ourselves, What is God calling us to do next? How can MCCGSL continue to be a place that does some history-making work for our God?