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A New Year’s Haiku
by Rev. Deb Worley
“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord,
plans for your welfare and not for harm,
to give you a future with hope.”
(Jeremiah 29:11)
Every year for the past, maybe, twenty- (?) years, I have written a Christmas letter. And this is no ordinary Christmas letter. For most of those years, it has been a rhyming Christmas letter. And sometimes, even set to a tune (one year, for example, I wrote our family’s version of “My Favorite Things” from the Sound of Music! Yes, really…). I strive to make it informative, yes, but more than that, I try to make it fun to read. I do not, typically–and this is the part that really won’t surprise you–try to make it brief!!
This year, as the Christmas season was approaching, a friend suggested, somewhat in jest (but not, I suspect, entirely!), that I try to write a Christmas haiku. You know–the Japanese form of poetry that consists of three lines, with five and seven and five syllables, respectively.
After I stopped laughing hysterically at the thought of summarizing this year in only seventeen syllables, I decided to try it! I came up with several options, but this was the winner:
Charles Mills is author of one of the books we read as part of the course "Deep Dive" for Sacred Conversations to End Racism. Time listed is Eastern Time; it will be 9–11 am Mountain Time.
After the Georgia Senate runoff election on January 5th, we will know the legislative landscape for the new Congress. What will be possible for climate policy? Aside from congress, what might President Biden accomplish through executive orders? This webinar will address these questions with an eye toward what faith communities can do to put their values into action in pressing for the kind of climate policies urgently needed in this time of crisis and inequality.
The featured panelists will be Anthony Rogers-Wright from the Climate Justice Alliance, Emily Wirzba from the Environmental Defense Fund, and Clarence Edwards from the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Even if you can't make the webinar’s scheduled time on Wednesday, January 13th at 1 pm ET, still sign-up, and we will send you a recording of it.
January 19, 2021, 12–1pm MST, presented by Maryle Malloy
Great church websites have one thing in common: they focus on the new visitor experience. We'll cover the key points every church website needs to engage new visitors and inspire them to learn more.
Thanks to the wonderful Holly Herman for reading ALL of your church newsletters and compiling the highlights to keep us up-to-date on the amazing work happening at the Southwest Conference churches.
Readers: I will be taking a couple weeks off, but Jottings will return on January 11th. –Holly
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