Talk Stigma

Hi, this is Pastor Seth Perry here. And here I am in my office, tired after a very busy Sunday. So my question for everyone is, how do you help other people feel like they fit in? And here's my story. I did three baptisms today, and I think it was really awesome. Normally I'm baptizing kids that are infants. They're babies. But today it was older kids. So here's the story. One of the kids came to our church, entered our youth program, and it turns out that he was being bullied at school. And it was very interesting to see myself and our youth and family coordinator work through that with the mom and the dad to talk about it, and also, most importantly, to check in with the kid.

And so it was amazing that the church then became a place for him to feel welcome, for him to feel like he was fitting in even when it was not happening at school. And I just think it's an amazing thing that organizations that people can do. Reach deep down in your heart and just know that welcoming people is so much. So here's my story for today. In my sermon, I was talking about things that are repurposed, have found a new lease on life or. Or things that are reused in meaningful ways. And here are some of the things that I thought about.

One thing is the Crown Royal bags. They're often never used to hold crown Royal. It's never, never, ever. You see them holding coins, or maybe in the Midwest, a lot of people sew those up and use them as bean bags for cornhole. Another use for crown royal bags is I've seen someone make a quilt of crown Royal bags. So those are something that are given a new purpose. Another thing I thought about are sold or Folgers coffee tins. Coffee tins from Folgers. Now, I'm talking about tins that are made of metal.

There are actually still some out there. And you see them in people's garages and you see them, you know, in people's workshops, given a new lease on life, repurposed. Something repurposed. Now, my most infamous thing is royal dance cookies. Royal dance cookies. Those buttery, delicious butter cookies. You know those ones, they come in a tiny. And you get them around Christmas time. And each of those little cookies, you have those little paper holders in them, and they come in this nice sized tin.

Now, if you're like me, you probably have opened one of them up and been incredibly disappointed. Disappointed that inside there were no cookies. Instead, you open up that tin, hoping to find cookies, but instead you found sewing supplies. Grandmothers everywhere have broken our hearts worth royal dance cookie tins full of sewing supplies instead of cookies. So what is my point? Well, my point is this, that the organizations that we create for people for their wellness, some of them are faith organizations, sometimes 12 step groups, sometimes we're talking about support groups, sometimes we're talking about, you know, group therapy, outreach organizations, recovery community organizations, and hello, Jules, I'm glad you're here.

Are organizations that are created for the purpose of recovery, that are created for the purpose of mental health and well being. And when we're talking about wellness, we are talking about creating a place for someone to fit in. Right? And if we are led by, you know, some our spiritual senses, we know that deep down inside that is something that we can provide to anyone, that we can provide a place for people to fit in. That's all I ask of you today. Find one person. Find one person that needs to hear that, that they are going to fit in.

You don't have to do the work. I mean, I really believe it. I'm someone who has a strong spiritual life, spiritual practice, and this is what I do for a living. And I know that we can find places and make spaces and find it within ourselves to help people feel like they fit in. Because I just remember I was bullied when I was a kid. I could really identify with this kid who came to our youth group and he found it here in a church, of all places, a place to fit in. So where is that place for you?

What work are you doing to help others feel like they're fit in? Let me know. Comment and think about it for the rest of the day and for the week. And I'll see you Sunday. Talk to you later.