A Word from Laura: Power of Peace
Almost a week after the murders in the Buffalo supermarket, of ten people shot by a white man who claimed to be targeting Black people, our hearts are still breaking. I have heard some Black friends speak of not feeling safe in public, of being re-traumatized by dangerously pervasive white supremacist ideology. I have heard white friends and Western members wanting just to do something. In this time when communities remain overwhelmed by this ever-mutating disease, and we all work more to achieve a sense of normalcy, I feel powerless.
A Word from Laura: Reclaiming Scripture
“Laura, it’s not your ministry that I’m frustrates me; I just think I’m done with organized religion.”
One of you shared your frustration with Christian faith recently. (Part of me wanted to say, “Yes, but at Western we’re not THAT organized!”) Your frustration at the “Christian” organization behind the impending overturn of Roe v. Wade had broken your heart. You hadn’t been part of the Free Inquiry discussions on public theology, nor had you been part of one of the conversations about what it means for our congregation to become more intentionally antiracist and intercultural. I’m not judging; these days it’s hard to stay connected with the faith we share at Western if you’re not able to be with us in person on Sundays and you’re not interested in engaging on-line.
Session Notes: May 2022
Your Session sat, by Zoom, for its regular monthly meeting this week. We’ve begun our third year meeting virtually. To be honest, it’s hard not to feel fatigue. We imagine the same may be true for you, too – including in your church life.
A Word from Irene: Show Me God!
Missourians come from the Show Me State, whose residents were caricatured as slow and dim-witted. The label implied they had to be shown things before they could understand them.
Most people think the same way about the disciple called the Twin, or in English, Doubting Thomas. He believed that only precise, visible proof would convince him that the crucified Jesus lived. And he was right. When he saw the Risen Christ for himself, he believed. He became a permanent illustration of the ancient proverb, “Seeing is believing.”
A Word from Laura: This Side of Resurrection
A mentor of mine posted recently, “This year, if you’re not Ukrainian, you don’t get to talk about Easter.”
Yes, he may have a tendency to overstate things. I don’t know if he considered how many non-Ukrainians would be in church this Sunday, although knowing him, that was probably the point. If I were trying to make his point, I would have added peoples from around the world whose lives and communities have been decimated by unjust violence, war and death.