What’s In a Name?

my view this weekend will be something close to this

I was with a colleague talking church things a few weeks ago, and when I described the journey Western and Pilgrims are on she asked, “do you have a name for the new community?”

I responded that we’re a ways from that point, but because she is helpful, she fed the words “Pilgrims and Western” into an anagram generator.

Less than five seconds later she handed me a screen with 10,000 possibilities including such gems as “Alerting Nerds Wimps” and “Aligns Reminds Twerp.” If those don’t set your heart a-flutter, how about “Damp Tinsel Wringers”? Too Christmasy? “Darling Ernest Wimps” feels a little too close for comfort for a Mainline Protestant congregation.  

But wait! There’s more. The machine stopped before reaching words that begin with E so there must be a million other possibilities. None are likely much better than “Minstrel Wingspread” or “Paderism Wrestling.” Which is also to say that an AI anagram generator may not be the best tool or the best way think about this!

On the other hand, when I asked the same site to give me some individual words from the same input it did suggest “predestining” and “realignments.” Perhaps God is in the machine after all.

I am confident that God is moving in the midst of our worship, our conversations, and our working together these days, and where the Spirit moves clarity emerges. God is calling us, even if we don’t know yet what to call ourselves.

I’m off for a long weekend in the woods of NC with a group of friends celebrating the upcoming marriage of one of our circle. I look forward to hearing about the big fall celebration Sunday morning.