Comma-tary, Vol. 3: Stillspeaking

Gracie Allen said, Never place a period where God has placed a comma.   

 This quote inspired a “proclamation, identity, and communication” effort in the UCC (United Church of Christ), with the tagline  “God is still speaking,”   The comma was intentional. 

This appeared in messages, church bulletins, TV ads (or not), media, banners, websites.  The focus of the media blitz was to emphasize welcome and inclusion at UCC churches.  But I was stuck on that comma.

In a sermon, our pastor asked, “God is still speaking, What have you heard?”   

We were a little dazzled that God still had something to say.  That God had something to say to us.  We knew this, of course, but the big black comma brought it home.  If something came after the comma, we needed to listen and share and discuss what that was.  All of us. We needed to hear what God might be whispering to each person.

The comma logo became shorthand for this welcome listening.  A large black comma presided over the monthly newsletter.  Ushers at our church wore small white stoles with a black comma, and still do.  There were comma t-shirts and comma earrings. The Stillspeaking cycling team wore a comma on their jerseys.  People made themselves into human commas, the UCC version of Lake Woebegon’s living flag.   

I hoped we would not stop saying to each other, “God is still speaking,”   That we would not forget to explain.   Perhaps Sunday visitors  met by greeters wearing a mysterious comma (apostrophe? quote?) would have no idea what it was all about.  Perhaps the comma would become stale, and we would fall back into our old assumptions, sheltered from the wind. 

“God is still speaking,” would be our church’s focus for a year, for 3 years at the national UCC level.  I welcomed this.  I wanted to think about all 3 parts:  the stillspeaking, the comma, the what have I heard.   

The comma became like an irritant thrust into the flesh of a mollusk. It bothered me every time I saw it.  That’s not correct punctuation, my editing self would say.  The comma should have been a dash or semi-colon (a period being ruled out by Gracie). 

Something whispered, It’s meant to trouble you, Rules are sometimes meant to be broken.  Are you listening?   A pearl might form (or not), but the mollusk was mighty uncomfortable in the meantime.  

Confession:  I remain in this world burdened with an abiding concern for the comma. 

 

Full Comma-tary Series:

Comma-tary Vol 1:  The Oxford Comma

Comma-tary Vol 2:  Proof-punct 

Comma-tary Vol 3:  Stillspeaking

Comma-tary Vol 4:  Blinker Pen