Concerns2Joys.com By Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

“CONGRATULATIONS,”

I say,

when the VIP, prized vaccine dose 

is received by friends and family!

“A blessing, is it, Mazel Tov?!”

Is this hard to get, wait for an hour in the cold, vaccine, 

going to protect me from 

Coronavirus 19…

95% immunity?!

VARIENTS MULTIPLYING!

MILLIONS ILL 

and

daily 

bodies wasting.

FROM THIS PERSPECTIVE,

sadness and depression walk side-by-side 

with young and old as accustomed companions.

Public breakdowns and private explosions, 

our youth are affected and our elderly regularly infected.

We have open, neglected wounds of loss 

where we ache desperately to be comforted.

A virtual hug at virtual memorials leave us despondent 

without traditional closure, but safe!

Permanent, debilitating disabilities 

may be our generations’ coal in the stocking for the future.

Climate Change combined with our current state 

can celebrate two-fold the luxury of calamity.

The Table, 

mostly bare, 

too small for proper social distancing, 

continues to gather crowds.

No candles 

to blow over a cake where a mask will protect droplets from transmitting what we do not want to share.

Therefore, the candles remain burning 

and our resources keep molding.

On the line, in a neighborhood not my own, people, like myself, who step off their stoops only seven, opposite paces away, inquire,

“Who are all these…people?” 

They stare, then state, “This is the COVID vaccine line.” 

“HOW CAN I BE PART OF THE LINE,” is the pervading question, while neighbor after neighbor stare ‘cross the dividing street? 

Are the flashing red lights of the black and whites to protect me from my fellow pandemic, ladened family 

or 

are we still divided stripes on a sea of white that only bleed the same color, die with same exhaled, final breath, 

and return to dust the same decomposing way?

“For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?”* 

Who will guard us from the end?

Who will welcome us forward beyond?

Who will say, “Congratulations!” as I expose my arm to the opportunity of the needle?

IN GOD, we trust, WE HOPE, we must!

*Note: Mark 8:35-36

All photos by Rev. Michelle unless noted otherwise.

#COVID-19 Vaccine #BlackLivesMatter #In God, We Trust

We need to express ourselves even when we are behind closed doors. We need to talk. We need to sing. We need to pray. What we need to do is to jump for joy sometimes and to laugh and giggle. However, there are also times when we need to let our tears flow. Let us come together to create a Service or conversation that will fits your needs.

Sharing Words: Concerns2Joys blog by Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

To all the mothers that raised children that they gave birth to, chose through adoption, or accepted into their caring circles,

we thank you!

We thank you for wiping our noses and disinfecting our scrapped knees, but now for spending every hour and minute with us inside. You offer us heartfelt conversations. You listen and we bake. You teach and we learn.

This Mother’s Day is not about going someplace like church and the restaurant afterwards, but by remaining safe inside someplace. 

Together, we have had the opportunity to experience many firsts! We see the first smile, hear the first word, witness the first step. We nurture. We send you out into the virtual world, our precious ones, to school and help to educate you at home. We play games with you, paint with you, eat with you, and engage you in creative ways as you keep maturing in our lives. You are our blessing. We cradle you in our hearts through the firsts that have past and the firsts that will soon come. We love you! We care! May you who share of yourselves and nurture, feel cared for this day pampered by those expressing their love in their uniques ways!

We thank every Essential Worker!

We thank you, mothers-to-be, new mothers, and mothers that have had the patience!

Concerns2Joys – Blog by Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

Sparrows symbolize joy and protection, simplicity and community. This is something that we are yearning for in our lives. In this snapshot, here, sits a lone bird camouflaged on a stone wall. However, before she rested, the sparrow was flapping about. She was sharing food with her bird community. From her nearby friends and family, clanking chirps still sound and branches still bounce. The budding trees beside her are vibrating with birdlife. How stomach-full do you think this lone bird must have been, to perch on this wall, to have this photo taken? Maybe the passengers flying in the plane above were also satiated, after a big meal? The sparrow sits and we fly within metal, but we all need to eat to survive. May this day when we are asked to have faith, be a day that we have faith in all our Essential Workers from janitors, and cashiers, to nurses, physicians and policy makers? May we search for our commonality instead of stumbling into the bad habit of pointing fingers of blame? Let this day, of good intentions, remain full in our hearts so that we have energy and steadfast faith for a healthy, hopeful tomorrow!

INSIDE WE                                                                                                                   

By Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

Interactions,

between you and me,

begin

moments of insights.

Sandwiched, within these MOMENTs, 

surely, there is

laughter,

and 

anger.

There is

the sigh 

that sometimes multiplies.

There is 

the missed delivered joke, with the forgotten punchline.

Sandwiched, within these Moments, 

there is 

the child that came into our lives

and the child that joined in next.

Between you, 

and me, 

and we,

there are 

more than we thought could ever be.

Together, we hold each other up.

We step forward, 

living more moments, as we

keep growing 

blessedly, linked

in between.

~

By Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

Dear Creator,

You know our innermost thoughts. You, O God, know our personal fears and desires. There are so many that want Your attention, and here, we are requesting even more of You. Our awareness is maturing, O God, since we are growing in the understanding that the barrier of us verses them is contrived. No longer are the oceans, borders, bridges, and streets dividing us, since we realize daily, COVID-19 has no boundaries. Through closed doors, let us be open to realize that our caring humanity binds us.

On this Sunday, last year, we celebrated Palm Sunday. We relished in recreating the celebration of Your Child, Jesus, as he rode into town greeted by a joyful crowd waving fronds of palms. We celebrated circling the church, waving high the palms and singing songs of praise. As we pray for our physicians, nurses, respiratory technicians, and all healthcare staff, we also pray for all Essential Workers like police officers, firefighters, EMT teams, Mass Transit Authority (MTA) employees, delivery workers, childcare personnel, grocery workers, newscasters, and policy makers. We pray for the health also of our National Guard and all who will be brought back into service from retirement. We pray for all the volunteers. We pray for the health and well being of each nation. 

We thank You, O God, for all that You have created in this world. Many of us Non-Essential Workers worldwide are inside “Pausing” or under “Shelter-in-Place”. Meanwhile, there has been a noticeable decrease in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. With a reduction of industrial production, manufacturing, and automobile usage, the concentration of harmful gases like nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) has dropped dramatically. We are witnesses. May these visible changes spark interest in our earnest desire to be better caretakers of our world, to develop together policies to protect the cleansing benefits to our planet home.

May we celebrate this Palm Sunday in our homes with songs brought in through the Internet. Let us celebrate with whomever we are self-isolating with, knowing that next year will be blessedly different! We will know to cherish the Sun. We will cherish the freedom to walk without restrictions. We will cherish each other remembering that You, O God, made us and that You know and love us uniquely and equally. Love is Love! We pray for strength. We pray for comfort. We pray for perseverance! We pray for patience. We pray for guidance! We pray that this time of reflection raises in us, to be us, growing with new beginnings towards this season of true compassion! Amen 

By Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

Yes! No! The news we allow into our homes informs us of what is happening, but the fear it sometimes raises is not to stay and take up residence inside us. Let us not leave this stream of information on, always. Information and statistics are not our only reality, but these numbers give us a method to prepare. In calm, collected composures, we will continue to keep our pantries and our medicine cabinets stocked. When tensions start to naturally seep in, we will continue to reject the emotion of halting fear. Push fear back, out the door, and send it down the street exposed to the Sun. Let us choose to direct our thoughts into the realm of productivity. Make a “To Do List” each day. On this list, add at least three people that you haven’t spoken to in awhile. They are not outside. They are home. Call them. Connect!

What will happen next week, will happen next week. Today, continue to make safe choices and keep in “Pause” or “Shelter in Place” or whatever name is used to say that we should self-isolate. Stream a feel-good movie that uplifts your spirit. Take out that vinyl collection and look at those album covers. That stuff squashed into your closest, put it to good use, by allowing some souvenirs to bring comfort into your heart. Give yourself an internal pause, and exhale. 

Feel the shift that happens within. Find a way to incorporate this shift of positive feelings into your daily routine. You are allowed to give yourself time to feel positive. Own your positive moment! Feeling positive is part of your healthcare. Therefore, yes, be informed! No, fear will not become a roommate in your head. Self-demand, today, that your “To Do List” is to remain informed and listen to what your heart positively needs. 

Choose your new roommates that enter into your thoughts wisely!

By Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

…But I am not the only one” that dreams for this daymare’s end. I believe that we are witnessing and will intentionally journey across the spectrum of our rainbow towards somewhere inspirationally better. We will rise. I know that it will take more than a few weeks or months. However, we are resilient! We are thinking and sending emails to our elected officials on how positive changes can be done and notes of thanks can be expressed. We clap, clang pots, and bellow our thanks to health care workers everyday at 7PM! From the distance of our windows and in our backyards, we are making a loud statement that we are aware of their dutiful actions, care, and compassion to be at our front line for our well being. THANK YOU! We continue to pray for their well being!

Within the silver lining, we saw the hospitals, that were closed and divided into luxury housing, mourned as we realized together that they are essential to our city planning. We have grown to understand that a plethora of Urgent Care facilities are not a comparable substitute for hospitals fully staffed and filled with needed equipment. Our once overcrowded animal shelters are emptying out as animal adoptions become a happy trend. We have the time to introduce our new pet friends properly into our homes, massive or uniquely petite. Our animal friends are also helping to bring comfort into hospitals with more frequency than before. Furry unconditional love in the form of a tail wagging or a head nuzzle brings a healthy pause to the day’s reality. For those of us at home, may this adjustment period, with our pet friends, form long-lasting bonds that will continues afterwards! We have faith that there will be an afterwards, since we will rise!

Even self-care has gained a revival! Some of us are learning about how to care for our health with good, well-proportioned meals, plenty of warm liquids, better sleeping patterns, fuller connections with family and friends, and most importantly we still flip the coin of adversity for a positive hereafter. We are remaining positive that we will get through these troubled waters so eloquently sung by Aretha Franklin, with depth that touches one’s soul. Her interpretation of the Paul Simon’s song, Bridge Over Troubled Water, is something to be shared. There is the shining hope on the other side of today’s experience. Let us help each other to rise! 

We know what it was like in the yesterday of last year. We are not being Divinely punished. Fear is not our soulmate. May we accept the moments when sparks of joy ignite within us. When we smile from the inside out from a heartfelt greeting and a rekindled thought of a happy memory. Remember better times in music that can awaken the soul nudging us to live on! Written years ago by John Lennon and Yoko Ono are the lyrics to Imagine. The lyrics and tune resonate with timeless hope this day. Imagine all the people listening to Lady Gaga performing it at the 2015 European Games held along the coastline of the Caspian Sea. She sang about a time to come, in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan. I have found another place that I would like to walk barefoot in the sand, witness the scenery, and enjoy being alive! Let us plan ahead imagining. Let us be the dreamer that imagines and creates a better world with us in it! Rise and join me!

By Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

Today, where we live influences how we respond to this certain situation, nation by nation, state by state, city by city, borough by borough, and even on either side of a park. Are you brave enough to answer your heart! You want things to return to normal, but what is normal? Years ago, we may have pondered, if we would wear silk or cotton, red or blue, slender-shaped fitting or loose and comfortable fashion statements. It took time to ponder, and before you knew it, your bed was piled high with the contents of your wardrobe. For First Responders, the truth is piled high before them. For those that are on the front line, my continued prayers are with you as well as my vote for more equipment, safer environmental conditions, and additional, competent personnel aid. For those of us at home unburdened by financial concerns and us the growing unemployed, together, we are experiencing our mandated stay-cations. What do we do?

Worrying about things that we cannot control doesn’t change our circumstances. Do we take the time to don ourselves as attentively as we did in years past or has our preoccupation with daily statistics draped us with numbers that feel coarse against or skin? Have we allowed ourselves to make an indentation in the couch or bed? What was that book you wanted to read and that series you wanted to watch? What was that bread you wanted to bake…yes, sourdough! Why not take the time to begin your bread making starter? During this challenging time, that seems like a poor facsimile of the movie, Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray as Phil Conners, will we choose to live only the start of the movie’s mishaps? Do you really want to loose this chance to improve yourself? What can you do to improve who and where you are? This is our borough, city, state, nation, and world. Through many intersections, we are one global community that is at the crossroads? What will we choose, now, that many of us have the time to safely ponder?

We have the beautify of technology to keep us in contact with together. Let us live our best life now, safe and sound, inside on our stay vacation, and not stagnant in a boring imaginary life! Let us dare to view things from another perspective as we spend these cherished moments together virtually.

~

~

Choosing Melody over Cacophony

by Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement 

Pure, tonal echoing cheeps, chirps, and coos 

from sparrows, starlings, and pigeons, 

are joined by the instrumental hums of car engines 

and the idling grumbles of delivery trucks. 

Buses halted, 

revving up their engines till their green lights appears, are  

vrooming forward,  

while somewhere emergency vehicles clangor then clash the air 

as they whoosh onward. 

Passersby, chattering front line Responders are still silently absent, 

but eagerly anticipated. 

Instead Harleys, Hondas, Ducatis, and Triumphs, sing rumbling solos.

Sounds heard, on a Spring morning before the Sun rises, 

equip us 

with hopeful, possible beginnings.

Each morning, 

we are faced with the decision 

to see the world 

with our own eyes 

and feel it 

in our own bodies. 

With the lives we have been Divinely given,

let us choose to join in the chorus, with this gratefully, prepared melody, 

ready for us to virtually engage our voices any way that we are able!

~

By Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

I am plunging into this media head first. I enjoy writing about the details that ache to be written. Yes, I have to write or I am not a happy camper. However, why read my babbling on, if you have no idea who I am? I was born cis-female. I am a proud, black woman who has two children, one husband, and am an ordained minister. I am a person that immigrated to this country, the United States of America, from Canada via the West Indies. When I became aware of how much my vote counts, I became a Naturalized Citizen. My family is concentrated in the West Indies, however, we are spread across this globe and have many degrees of political beliefs and cultural customs. When we gather, we enter into heated conversations involving the taboo subjects of both politics and religion. Therefore, engaging in conversations with people from various cultures and backgrounds is like breathing to me. It energizes me!

Previously, I have written Prayers, Poems, and Reflections for about three and a half years. It was a daily practice that was sent through individual texts. As each text was sent, I would think and pray for each person. However, as the list of people grew past thirty souls, my writing became sloppy as I woke earlier to complete my connecting task. Soon I was sending my messages out at noon and then late at night. Daily messages became just too much especially when answering back comments. Instead of texting, I will blog, but not necessarily daily. If you would like to engage in a personal conversation, you can through my contact page or comment below. I will respond in a day or two!

Since this will be my first blog post, I am sharing a poem that I shared with my son recently. There is a short description of the accompanying photos after the poem. Enjoy!

Sharing Forever

by Rev. Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

Look out across the ocean. 

Hear her laughter giggling on the cresting waves.

See the Sun’s reflecting rays,

streaming out from the billowing clouds, like his smile framed 

by his mustache and beard.

Observe the children outside at play.  

They’re tumbling down their favorite hill, 

blanketed with springtime’s blossoms, 

summertime’s grasses, autumn’s crispy leaves, 

or wintertime’s glistening snow.

Love shared everyday at the family dinner table, during any season, 

forms an impression that is truly not forgotten.

Forgotten not is love in the morning, 

sweetly staring at you, with their head still cradled on their pillow.

Gracing you with your cup of caffeine, 

or the hug that warms your heart and soul,

or the evening’s kiss that lingers on your lips,

there is love that has entered your exquisite being.

Transformed and transforming, love exists each moment as a gift, then

blessed again with each memory love exists, to keep you company 

even when joy and sorrow are holding hands.

Feeding us who hunger for comfort, 

love exits for all seen and unseen.

Cherishing unconditionally, without the seasonal boundary of time, is

the reassurance that keeps us warmly embraced. 

Each joyful and sad experience lives, 

woven within an unending tapestry of connections.

Your love is in us, joining us with each other. 

With our sunrise or sunset, 

let us speak to what has awakened in our hearts, to feel deeply, 

believing that we are worthy in accepting you!

From this moment, may we recognize the Divine expression 

of love that exists…guiding us…into sharing forever.

~

The first photo was part of a serial of photos shot at the beginning of sunrise. It was taken in New York City, New York a few years ago with 35mm camera.

The second photo was taken near the end of sunset. It was taken with an cellphone camera in Keswick, Ontario a few years ago.

This is the end of my first post! May you and yours find ways to stay healthy both physically and mentally!

~