Friends -

This weekend, our nation celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As always, St. Thomas plans to participate in the City of Columbus Unity Procession on Saturday at 1 pm at the Civic Center (400 4th Street). The procession moves from the Civic Center to the Mildred Terry Library (640 Veterans) where a program begins at 2 pm. I'll be at the Civic Center at 12:30 to gather us and get in line. If you don't want to walk, feel free to come to the library at 2 pm for the program. Information about other events in honor of Dr. King is below. 

As we celebrate Dr. King, we recognize he did not suddenly emerge out of thin air. His witness was forged by a family who loved him, a church who formed him, schools and universities who challenged him, and mentors who grounded him. A key mentor was Dr. Howard Thurman. 

Tonight (Wednesday, January 11), St. Thomas and friends from Greater Beallwood Baptist Church begin a journey with Dr. Howard Thurman. He was a 20th Century theologian and Christian mystic with profound wisdom about the spiritual life that still resonates today. We'll be guided by his short book Deep River which focuses on the theology of African-American spirituals. You don't have to read the book in order to participate, but feel free to get a copy if you wish. I've ordered a few copies for us to share.

We will alternate meeting places - this week at St. Thomas, next week at Greater Beallwood, and so on through February 15. Dinner and activities for children and youth will still be offered every week at St. Thomas, so you can bring children here and then go to Greater Beallwood to participate when the sessions are there. We'll discuss these logistics in the session tonight. We are also offering a zoom option each week. You can find the link on our link tree here. 

I am excited about this opportunity to learn together!

Blessings, 
Grace

As we begin a journey with Howard Thurman on Wednesday night, our prayers for this week are prayers of Howard Thurman. 

 

I Need Courage
by Howard Thurman

The concern I lay bare before God today is my need for courage: I need courage to be honest:
honest in my use of words;
honest in accepting responsibility;
honest in dealing with myself;
honest in dealing with (others);
honest in my relations with God.

I need courage to face the problems of my own life,
the problems of personal values:
they are confused; they are often unreal;
they are too exacting for comfort.

I need courage to face the problems of my work.
Sometimes it seems I am working at cross-purposes with my own desires and ambitions…
Sometimes I am arrogant instead of simply taking pride in doing my work well.
Sometimes I’m doing what I’m doing just to prove a point that is not worth proving after all.

Here in the quietness I lay before God my need for courage, for the strength to be honest, for the guidance to deal effectively with the problems of my own life.


by Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart