Love Can Build a Bridge Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one baptism; one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all...Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into God. From God the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:2-6, 15, 16 The Bridge Builders Conversation Inquir er: How do you build a bridge? Bridge Builder: We don't build bridges the way we used to, you know. Inquir er: You're assuming I know how they used to do it! Bridge Builder: Well, they used to just build them a piece at time, but not anymore! Now we truck huge pre- fabricated hunks of a bridge to the site and eventually weld them together into a bridge. Reflection What a graphic picture of relationships in our society! People used to grow up together in small communities where friendships were built gradually, simply, and naturally ....a day at a time. People actually knew one another - sharing their fears, joys, struggles, losses, and dreams - often from birth to death. But not anymore! In today's crowded and mobile society many of us truck huge pre-formed hunks of ourselves from place to place, then discover the need to somehow weld ourselves to our new neighbors in some sort of bridge to span our isolation. Previously developed parts of our personalities - attitudes, bents, customs, temperaments, needs, hopes, perceptions - remain separated from other people. Our wounds are covered, our dreams guarded. And we are unfamiliar with the techniques required to build modern-day bridges of friendship. We are even unsure where to begin. Inquir er: How do they hold all those big pieces together until they can be joined by welding? Bridge Builder: Have you ever driven down the highway and seen a bridge under construction that looks like scaffolding all around it? Well, that is called shoring. Shoring is the temporary structure that we build to hold everything together until it can be welded into place. Inquir er: What is the shoring that will hold this group together as they strive to build bridges of collaboration? Bridge Builder: A listening heart, an open mind, creative energy and the belief that with God's help, all things are possible. Sharing What images came to mind as you read? / What bridges do you see being built today?/ How are you building bridges? / Where are bridges needing yet to be built? Adapted from Crossing the Bridge Between You and Me. Lenzkes, Susan. Discovery House Publication, 1994 Scripture INV