Dear Friends,
Thank you for a wonderful fundraiser for our friend Padre Bayron last Sunday! It’s a great reminder that we belong to a worldwide Anglican Communion, part of the universal Church, connected to siblings around the globe as Bryan Matias so beautifully reminded us in his sermon on Sunday (by the way, the sermon was fantastic; click here or see the link below to listen).
Sometimes I focus too tightly on MY life, MY church, MY concerns, but of course we Christians are called to pour ourselves out for the sake of others, to open our arms wide, as wide as the cross, exposing our hearts and our bellies in vulnerability to other people, to the dangers of the world. Even writing that makes me a little uncomfortable.
But we’ve had another doozy of a week, a week of violence and fear and fear-mongering. A young police officer killed here in Chicago in a senseless, violent crime spree. Another horrific mass shooting in Texas. Refugees treated like pawns more than people. A former president found liable of sexual abuse and defamation one day only to appear the next in a nationally televised town hall that amplified lies and misogyny.
It can be tempting to throw up one’s hands, to give up, give in to hopelessness. Well, it can be for me. But then I think of the goodness and the power in this place. How courageous and generous and funny you are. How we support one another even in the hardest times. How we fight for what’s right even if the odds are long.
So, the generosity of last Sunday is much bigger even than Padre Bayron and his churches in Cuernavaca. The generosity of taking time to attend a United Power action is bigger than the immediate issues. Taking a meal to someone after surgery or the birth of a baby is bigger than your casserole. Because all of those acts, and more, amplify love and spread hope and increase courage and strength.
So, Beloved, keep giving, keep praying, keep hoping, keep loving. God knows we all need one another to keep going. See you in church!
Faithfully, Suzanne+