Sunday by Sunday
the church gathers
Women and men meet
to worship
to withdraw from the world?
or to bring the world
their living with them?

Women and men
living with tensions
struggling with dilemmas
challenged by change
oppressed by changes that are too rapid.

Is this the place
is it together
that they can affirm
this is where life
is given meaning?

Or do they sing uneasily
because here is the place
where no meaning is given
to the context and the content
of their daily lives?

Can I bring my anger with me
Or must it be quelled before I enter?
Can I bring my confusion
Or should I simply pretend there is none?

What do I do with my contradictions
of loving my family
yet rarely seeing them?
or with the pressure to raise
excessive profits
without the tempering of justice
and compassion?

What do I do with the painful knowledge
of failing to touch with understanding
the urgent needs
of my fellow human beings?

Soothing will not ease my burdens.
Where do I find the courage
to confront my problems? ...

(Rachel Jenkins)