It’s Time to Be the Ocean: Coming Together for Good in 2021

By The Rev. Dr. Rick Young, TPF’s President

As our nation is gripped by unrest and separation, I have but one question: What’s the best way forward through this darkness? My answer? Together. It is time for a wave of change, and while apart we are each one individual drop, together can be a powerful ocean.

As the pandemic began its rage in the spring of 2020, we constantly heard the slogan, “we are all in this together,” and in fact, I used it regularly in updates and emails. Clearly, during this time of unmistakable volatility, we are all NOT in anything together. To say we are living in a time of great divide might be the biggest understatement of the decade.

But we do have hope! As I reflect on the work of the TPF partners, I am uplifted by the work of the various congregations as they guide their parishioners in the ways of love and peace. The multiple agencies and institutions that assist in offering services to those who desperately need help are offering hope not just in words, but in unified waves of actions. The educational institutions that are molding the minds of the next leaders and active citizenry of our young adults are working diligently to provide meaningful examples of justice and peace. These congregations, institutions, and agencies are needed more today than ever, as they are the arms, feet, and hearts that bind us together. I am thankful for each of our partners as we look together into the new year. TPF’s purpose is to enable and expand mission, and we are dedicated to partnering with you to do exactly this.

We truly need to find ways to “be in this together.”  It is time to turn the tide and create change as a unified and compelling force.

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. 

Ecclesiastes 4:12

May we truly come together and be the powerful ocean for good.