Please remind us of your presence and hold us close to you. We want to feel heaven on earth in a thin place. Lord, we long to see you move into the neighborhood.

And I hope you will do whatever you can today to find a thin place with God, with each other, and in the YMCA. As you watch the video below and listen to the voice of one of our remarkable board members, I hope you will begin to hope again. For our friends, co-workers and members of color right now, the Y may be held at arm's length, wondering if the thickness of our divisive world will be present in our organization, making it difficult to breathe. For anyone staying at home right now, the Y is beginning to feel like a memory. For our staff who are furloughed right now, the Y doesn't feel like a thin place. What if the Y can be a place where heaven and earth come together? What if the Y can be a place where the love of God moves into the neighborhood? What if the Y can be generous inside and out, true from start to finish? That is what I hope for.īut I also know that this hope isn't always a reality. I think the Y can also be a thin place, like Jesus. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” The Message translation of John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. I have also felt this in everyday moments through individuals caring for one another, in the midst of unexpected laughter, and through meditation and prayer. In Jordan Kisner's book, 'Thin Places,' she explains that according to a Celtic proverb, “thin places” are where “the barrier between the physical world and the spiritual world wears thin and becomes porous.” I have experienced several moments in my life that I would call a 'thin place.' I have felt this at the birth of a baby, on a mountaintop at sunrise, and even in a hospital room filled with love for someone who is dying.

Thin Places by Jordan Kisner