Last week was the introduction to our special Stewardship series “A Future With Hope” where we thought together about the cycles and rhythms and movements of life; the ups and downs and how we react to those. Our framework for this thinking is the scriptural theme of exile; a difficult but central piece of the identity of ancient Israel and their descendants as the people of God. This week, we think more about times when perhaps we experienced exile; maybe not physically from our homeland, but all of us went through being pulled apart by years of pandemic and the effects of that still reverberate in communities like ours. We also have all experienced being pushed apart by societal divisions and those who would profit from those divisions. Maybe personally we have each experienced times of feeling not at home in our bodies, our relationships or our life circumstances. Exile may actually hit closer to home than we think. And so how do we get through it? And more so, what is God trying to do within it? What role does the church play, and why are communities of faith a crucial part of God’s plan for a future with hope? Let’s explore this together!