“My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns;
My heart is poured out on the ground because of the destruction of my people” - Lamentations 2:11a
There is a time for lament – for grief, tears, and disbelief – and I believe that this is such a time. The violence wrought across the U.S. this weekend is truly devastating. My heart aches for the people of El Paso and Dayton, and for the people of Chicago, which itself faced a heavy weekend of summer street violence.
The Book of Lamentations reminds us that God is big enough to hold our grief. God is wide enough to hold our anger, our questioning, our fear, and our tears. So, as people of God we cry out in the face of such gaping loss, and we pray that God’s love be known.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1: 5
Of course, in this moment there are rightfully those who question, or even scoff at, the message of “thoughts and prayers.” Communities and families wracked by these events often find those words hollow, as they fail to lead to committed, ongoing action.
Yet, as your pastors, we affirm the importance of prayer. Prayer as a place for the soul to find rest. Prayer as a communication with the ultimate Sustainer. Prayer as a method of discernment of next steps. We pray, we lament, we go to God, and then we let that prayer articulate into action.
Together as a church, as a community of disciples, we can and should act. We can and should demonstrate God’s light, wherever and whenever we can.
“You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the Land of Egypt.” - Deuteronomy 10:19
There is no place for white supremacy in the Good News of Jesus. There is no place for unbridled hatred in the Good News of Jesus. There is no place for racism, of any form, in the Good News of Jesus.
As a church, we will continue to be the hands and feet and mouths of Jesus in this world. We will welcome everyone. We will feed the hungry. We will speak truth to power. We will pray. We will continue to have courageous conversations as a church family. We will come together with the knowledge that our God is one of light and love and freedom for all people.
If you find yourself in need of conversation or prayer this week, your pastors are here.
May there be peace,
Pastors Sarah and Veronica
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