It seems pep talks are everywhere these days. And who doesn’t welcome a pep talk, especially as September dawns and we still feel like this is the beginning of a “new year.” Old habits die hard – why aren’t I getting a new lunch box, sharpened pencils, and school shoes? Hope I like my teacher.

Pep talks are great, as long as they aren’t a means to bypass the reality at hand. In August, we heard a pep talk from former coach Tim Walz in his acceptance speech for the VP nomination. He said, “We’re down to a field goal, let’s leave it on the field.” Very meme-able.

And just this week, I received a bunch of mini pep talks from an unlikely source – the wrappers on the Halls cough drops I consumed on my flight home to Portland. I noticed some text on the wrappers and assumed it was “Halls” or “soothing” or something obvious. But on closer inspection, I found this weird little I Ching with the trademarked phrase “A Pep Talk in Every Drop” – “March Forward!” “Go For It” “Dust Off and Get Up” “Take Charge and Mean It” and my personal favorite “Hi-Five Yourself!” What marketing whiz thought of this – why cough drops??

As we begin our second church year together, here’s my pep talk – Let’s do the best we can and strive towards our goals together. Not so much “March Forward” as “Venture Forward.” I believe in our congregation and who we can be together. And that’s a stirring and a soothing thought. Let me know if you’d like to chat about Eastrose and your place in it or if you need your own pep talk.

I purchased a fabulous book recently called The Poetry Pharmacy and will plan to share selections from it with you monthly and possibly, in a worship service. The Poems are “prescriptions” for the heart, mind and soul, and the one meant to treat the “condition” of “needing reassurance” (or a pep talk) is this one: “Everything Is Going To Be All Right” by Derek Mahon.

How should I not be glad to contemplate
the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window
and high tide reflected on the ceiling?
There will be dying, there will be dying,
but there is no need to go into that.
The poems flow from the hand unbidden
and the hidden source is the watchful heart.
The sun rises in spite of everything
and the far cities are beautiful and bright.
I lie here in a riot of sunlight
watching the daybreak and the clouds flying.
Everything is going to be all right.

Best,
Rev. Robin