“The degree to which we are able to forgive determines the degree to which we are able to love our enemies.

(realize) … “that there is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”  

Jesus was quite serious when he gave the command, Love your enemies. He realized it is hard to love those people seeking to defeat you or say evil things about you. However, he also knew that there will be people who don’t like you, the same as you don’t like all people.  And this is what Jesus means when he said: “How is it that you can see the mote in your brother’s eye and not see the beam in your own eye?” This is one of the tragedies of human nature. So we begin to love our enemies and love those persons that hate us whether in collective life or individual life by looking at ourselves. We don’t have to LIKE everyone; we have to love as Jesus loved.

and respect. Amen.

Shalom, Donna+

Note: The 9:00 gathering is back on Sunday after a 2-week hiatus. 

Read more and pray for the country and each other; click HERE

Celebrating the life of Blessed Absalom Jones. Save the date: Feb 13, 10-11:30 am online. For more information click HERE

Senator Elect Raphael Warnock quoted Psalm 30 verse 5 in his remarks on Tuesday night. These words were spoken before the events of Wednesday when our capital building was invaded by people bent on bringing down our democracy. The word weeping struck my heart because I have been weeping a lot since Wednesday. My mind flashed back to June 5^th 1968 when I awoke in the middle of the night to hear that Senator Robert Kennedy had been shot and would later die. That night I remember saying to myself “They will always kill the good ones. Good men die.” It was a cry of deep despair. I felt those feelings watching U.S. congressmen and women cowering behind armed police in their chamber afraid, not of foreign terrorists, but of American citizens.

My faith teaches me to love and forgive which I find challenging right now. My work in mental health teaches me to try and understand underlying issues that lead people to aberrant behavior. So there is much inner work to be done. There is also much outer work to be done to rebuild our society. It just happened that Sojourners posted a “Verse for the Day” that seems very fitting for the last 24 hours:

“The bricks have fallen, but we will build with dressed stones; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will put cedars in their place.” - Isaiah 9:10

‘Sound government is necessary but not sufficient to heal and transition America. Only we the people can bring our communities together, tend to our wounds, and do the labor of reckoning, reimagining, and remaking our nation, block by block, heart to heart.” - Valarie Kaur

Deacon Lynn

Rachel, David, Donna

Sundays: all on Zoom

9:00 a 25 - minute time of prayer, songs, story for 0-7 year old

Wednesdays 9-10:00 Morning Coffee & Prayer

Thursdays 5:30 Evening Prayer

Please pray healing and support especially for: Mark, Sarah W, Sasha, Shirley, Bill, Travis, Luca, Sallie & Jim W., Lynn, Andrea, Susan W, Richard, Ulpiano, Carmen O, Jan, Katherine

Special prayers of gratitude, especially for vaccines against Covid-19

Grace for those who have died and all who mourn; especially Linda Eppes and her family

Stamina and creativity for all essential workers, especially teachers, clerks, IT professionals, trash collectors, medical personnel, delivery, bankers, restaurant employees ...

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