Conference Minister Corner | April 22, 2025

"Jesus answered with these words, saying: 'All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.' ... This was said so tenderly, without blame of any kind toward me or anybody else."- Julian of Norwich

On May 8th Julian of Norwich, the Anchorite and English mystic from the 14th century, will be celebrated and honored.  Julian is most widely known for the above quote, ‘all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well’.  But as I was talking with a colleague, she reminded me of the context of those words.  During Julian’s life the medieval Plague killed up to half the population of her home city of Norwich, returning in wave upon wave of death.  The Peasant’s Revolt was violently suppressed, leading to even more poverty and desperation.  And outside the town lines, the Lollard church reformers were burned to death on a routine basis.  This was not a time of peace and prosperity, nor a time of tranquility and calm.  Which makes her vision and words all the more powerful for us here and now. 

The faith of Julian and her vision of divine, all encompassing love, is something I hold onto when the world feels overwhelming, as it does all too often these days.  In some small way it helps me to know that people of faith made it through difficult times and continued to bless the world by sharing their wisdom, compassion, knowledge and empathy- actions that might seem insignificant in the face of governmental onslaught, yet created waves of hope and holiness throughout the ages. 

In this post-Easter week may you engage in holy rest, holding onto the experience of resurrection joy, may you feel held in the love of a Holy Spirit who sustains us through busy and tumultuous times, and may you know deep in your bones the blessing of Julian’s revelation that ‘all will be well’. 

With you on the journey,

Sara