“And then, just as Wilbur was settling down for his morning nap, he heard again the thin voice that had addressed him the night before.

“Salutations!” said the voice.

Wilbur jumped to his feet. “Salu-what?” he cried.

“Salutations!” repeated the voice.

“What are they, and where are you?” screamed Wilbur. “Please, please, tell me where you are. And what are salutations?”

“Salutations are greetings,” said the voice. “When I say ‘salutations,’ it’s just my fancy way of saying hello or good morning.”

― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

Salutations, Dear People! And that’s just my fancy way of saying hello after my time away.

Like Wilbur, though, I am full of questions: Where are you spiritually? What has the congregation discovered about itself in my absence? Where are we going? What is our path, individually and collectively, towards the future? How are your relationships with one another?

The story of Charlotte’s Web is ultimately about the beauty and value of friendship. A spider and a pig, two very different individuals, form a strong relationship, which in turn creates a community that comes together to have a life-saving impact– the animals save the life of Wilbur the pig!

Sometimes, as grown ups, we need to be reminded of the simple lessons we learned in the books we read as children. These times are complex, and returning to what is most important is what can keep us actively hopeful.

As we begin a new church year together, a new chapter in our lives, I look forward to taking some time to get to know you all again (for we are not the same), and for all of you to get to know yourselves and each other again. How earnest can we become to love one another? How dedicated can we be to having life-saving impacts? The webs we weave together hold the secrets to sustaining life. Do you know what the last word Charlotte weaved in her web was?