Remember the moral and prophetic foundations of the biblical call to care for the stranger and refugee, as children of God, rather than being feared and vilified for their race and poverty, and treated as if they are enemy. Somewhere, in our family histories, we have all been strangers and immigrants, and may be yet again in the future.
I want to see the church flourish and as such, we all need to have some tough and courageous conversations about what is not working. Courage requires us to face our fears so that we can collaboratively seek new solutions and save our churches.
How many sermons have you heard on mental health or suicide? Most likely none. And yet, the national suicide rate has increased 33 percent between 1999 and 2017. This is a public health crisis.
World Communion Sunday is observed every first Sunday in October. World Communion Sunday offers reflection on God’s redemptive act in human history and brings to remembrance our collective calling as followers of Jesus Christ.
What lies at the root of how and why these two lives, rich in superficial similarities, took dramatically different paths? When does a second chance become your last chance? What responsibility do we have for ensuring that all children have access to the resources they need to succeed? What small thing, what life occurrence, has the capacity to condemn or redeem a life?
Today reconstruction efforts continue, perhaps not as intensely as in those first days, but with the same urgency.