During my recent visit to the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania, I was there on the day that bicycles and motorcycles were given to several dozen pastors and evangelists to aid their travel between preaching points.
During the chapel service on the day these gifts were to be distributed, Dean Askali Mgeyekwa spoke to the recipients of the new motorcycles. He said something like this: “Don’t forget how to ride a bicycle. When you rode a bicycle, you knew how to stop and put your feet on the ground when you met a person along the way. Now that you can travel faster, don’t just drive by and wave.”
That’s my resolution for 2024. Just like I did when I saw this elder as we were exiting the church at Kising’a-Isimani, I plan to do more stopping with my feet on the ground in this new year. God is present in so many and varied ways in our congregations and in our world, and it is easy to miss those glimpses of the holy in our rush to go places and get things done.
I hope this Christmas Season is one in which you have received the joy that radiates from the heart of God. As we turn the page into a new calendar year, may you remember how to stop and put your feet on the ground.
Yours in God’s service,
Bishop Patricia Lull
