Dear Friends,
Do you recall a few weeks ago when Charlie encouraged us to return to home base, to Scripture that grounds us? He read the words of Lamentations 3:22-23, which read, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
And the day after the election, Bishop Berlin sent out a letter encouraging us to “reorient” in the face of an election season and results that left many disoriented.
We must reorient, remembering that we are first and foremost children of God. All of us are children of God, and thus we should treat each other as if we are encountering the image of God.
I am choosing to ground myself in these two directives- to return to home base and to reorient. One recognition of this election is that we all need to participate in healing work that pushes us to see each and every person as the Imago Dei, the image of God. In addition, we need to participate in spiritual practices that will yield spiritual fruit.
Remember, Paul writes that the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). In a moment in time when it feels like so many of these ways of being are missing in our society, let us be the light that shines in a darkened world.
As we continue to share Christ’s transformative love in the world, particularly with those on the margins, let us be the ones that live as an example by extending love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control to others.
With grace and peace,
Pastor Rachel
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