Message from the Pastor
Dear Members and Friends,
This summer as a country we face many uncertainties both of policies and of military action. People we may know who are immigrant neighbors and friends are being detained and deported; LGBTQ neighbors, friends and family are amidst rollbacks of medical, military and even civil rights that have been crucial milestones and protections; benefits that millions of lower-income families and elders have counted on are under threat of cut and loss; friends and family of color or different abilities are facing dramatic cuts of access to education and jobs through the ending of DEI initiatives and policies; there are daily headlines about U.S. military intervention in Iran, the wars raging among allies that we care deeply about – Palestine and Israel, Ukraine and Russia, and shootings in churches and of congressional leaders here in our own country.
In our own church family, we may not agree on what policies and next steps are right for each of us and our nation. Yet as a faith family here at First Church of Christ in Lee, UCC, we continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and his radical inclusive love. Throughout the arc of the Bible, God speaks to us through prophets, through Jesus, calling us to love the stranger, visit the sick and those in prison, do justice, have mercy and walk humbly before God.
(Exodus 23:9; Deuteronomy 10:19 and 27:19; Leviticus 19:33,34; Psalm 146:9; Jeremiah 7:5-7; Zechariah 7:9-10; Micah 6:8; Matthew 5:33-34 and 25:35; Luke 10:27; Hebrews 13:1-3; and more!)
And in the midst of it all, we’ve come together as community to remember with honor loved ones among us who have died; a joyous wedding of two members; welcoming of new members; we’ve shown up at two major PRIDE celebrations of LGBTQ life – in the greater Berkshire PRIDE parade of June 7th, and the first ever Lee PRIDE of June 14th; you’ve knitted prayer shawls to bring comfort to those in need, and so much more! Such signs of light in our world.
May the teachings of our faith comfort us and also disturb us, galvanizing us to brave acts of kindness and non-judgment, hospitality and advocacy, civil discourse and non-violent protests, letters to the editor and to our congressional representatives! We will each have different ways we embody God’s call to work for a just world for all, starting with our own families and neighborhoods.
I pray for each of us and our community and our world, our leaders on the city, state and national levels that together we may work for a world as Jesus came preaching and teaching . . . the one in which all God’s children can live in dignity and opportunity and freedom, with a just peace everywhere. Alone we may feel the goal is impossible but with God, there is no stopping the force of love! Let us pray and not despair, for our hope is in the God who saves.
Won’t you join me in this prayer of Rabbi Kushner’s? I share it now with you:
A Prayer for the World
Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations. Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect. Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows. Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken. Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly. So that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin color. Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness. So that we can share the joys and feel the sorrows of our neighbors. And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbors. Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty. And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven. Amen
~ written by Rabbi Harold Kushner, 2003; Posted on World Prayers
In hope,
Pastor Marisa