Congratulations to Jeff and Stacy Stone Crawford on the birth of their daughter, Emery Johanna Crawford March 13 in Durham, NC. The proud grandparents are Karen and John Stone.
News
Tigger or Eeyore?
Are you a glass half full or a glass half empty kind of person? Is life a grand and glorious experience or one difficult thing after another? Do you lean toward pessimism or optimism?
We all know someone who constantly seems to have a smile on their face whistling through life. We all know someone who can find struggles in the best of situations. I remember saying about one person: “If they won millions in the lottery, they would complain about the penmanship of the one signing the check.”
Try to put Jesus in either of these categories. I don’t think it will work. Jesus pointed out the good even in the hated enemy. Jesus also called Herod a fox, uprooted tables in a temple, and was said to sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.
It seems to me Jesus is not someone who looked at life through any philosophical lens or constant attitude. Jesus looked at life as it was. Jesus called life what it was: the good, the bad, and the ugly. This gives you and I license to be who we are in all the circumstances that life throws our way. Want to shout and dance with joy? Go ahead. Feel like crying, complaining, or whining? Woe is me is permissible in some of life’s experiences.
Reading a book on Abraham Lincoln’s last speech, I am struck by the context. The speech was delivered April 11. The North and some of the South, especially the slaves, were celebrating. The awful war was over! There were fireworks, parades, and loud cheers. Yet just days later, April 14, Good Friday, the same Lincoln cheered during his speech, was the victim of an assassin’s bullet, delivered by one who was on the White House lawn listening to the speech.
We are nearing the end of Lent. Lent began with ashes, continued with temptations, marched on with stories concerning the cross, and will soon have its own parade, Palm Sunday. Lent goes downhill from there. How many times in life have you had some great experience, only to be struck with something quite difficult almost immediately following?
Which is life? The parades or the great difficulties? Both are. Lent is something to be endured, not celebrated. It is something to go through. Lent is also a teacher. It teaches us that many things cannot be overcome but they can be endured. We can go through them. Few of us can get over the death of a close loved one. Yet we can get through it. We can endure grief to come out on another, better, and, perhaps, stronger side. Maybe you and I ought to think of this pandemic experience as one lonnnngggg Lent. It has had its teaching moments. It has had some good things. It has had many difficult challenges and sad moments. I don’t know anyone who wants to repeat this experience except, perhaps, our dog. Is one of the lessons learned that we can endure? Do we feel like maybe….just maybe….we are going to come through this?
It is hard to go through life like Tigger and even harder, perhaps, to go through life like Eeyore, both characters in Winnie the Pooh. Life does not provide a consistent experience where either of these attitudes would always be appropriate. God, however, provides us with Jesus and a scripture that runs the gamut from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows and a lot in between. That is, God provides us with an awareness that life doesn’t always offer a level experience. If God, then, is with us ,if God, then, knows about life’s hills and valleys, you and I can endure. We can go through and come out on some other side.
Fill your glass, empty your glass, or leave it sit. We can have a realistic approach to life trusting we have a God who also has a very real understanding of us and of our life.
Whistle joyfully or trudge along with head bowed. There is one whistling with us and one despairing with us. We learn in our Lenten trek we are not without God. We can endure. We can go through to the other side. Good news for those caught up in a pandemic. Good news for those caught up in life.
Sunday ONLINE Worship – May 23, 2021
Maundy Thursday – Until Your Love Reaches Every Neighbor
Watch a short one minute and eighteen second video.
A visualization of the Gospel for Maundy Thursday. As we reflect on Christ’s suffering, this video inspires us to imagine how we might live out His commandment to love one another.
An Open Letter to Arizona Residents
18/3/2021 / 12424
Bishop Hutterer and many other community leaders signed this Open Letter.
Community Leaders Issue Statement in Support of LGBTQ Equality and Religious Freedom
(Mesa, AZ. March 20, 2021) – In an open letter to Arizona residents, United States Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Equality Arizona, ONE Community, and leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, United Church of Christ and Jewish faiths expressed support for LGBTQ equality and protecting religious rights.
“My faith compels me to treat all people fairly and equally, with deep humility and respect. As a person of faith, I believe that inclusive non-discrimination is the essence of the Golden Rule, which exists in most, if not all, religious teachings worldwide. Its crux is that we should treat others as we would want to be treated,” said Robert T. Hoshibata, Resident Bishop, Desert Southwest Conference, Methodist Church
“Simply put, protecting people from discrimination is about treating others as we want to be treated. LGBTQ rights and religious freedom do not have to be in conflict. Instead, we can come together to protect all people and unify our community on what has for too long been a divisive issue,” said Elder Dale Willis, Area Seventy, with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“As someone who grew up in the LDS Church in Mesa and is also transgender, this is an incredible moment of love and acceptance of the equal worth and dignity of LGBTQ people. This letter serves as a powerful rebuke of attempts to repeal the ordinance and divide our community using fear and lies. I hope Mesa residents will join Church leadership and decline to sign the petition seeking to repeal the ordinance,” said Michael Soto, President of Equality Arizona.
“We are proud to have support for non-discrimination from the LDS Church and faith leaders across the state,” said Angela Hughey, President and Co-Founder of ONE Community. “Equal protections benefit everyone in our community, LGBTQ people and people of faith included. Everyone deserves an opportunity to earn an honest living, have safe houses and access to services,” concluded Ms. Hughey.
The full statement, which can also be found here, reads:
An Open Letter to Arizona Residents:
As citizens and leaders in the community, we write in support of non-discrimination ordinances that protect all people, including LGBTQ people, from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, while also protecting important religious rights.
No one should be denied these protections for being LGBTQ, and likewise religious persons and institutions should be protected in practicing their faith.
We are deeply concerned that the ongoing conflicts between religious liberty and LGBTQ rights are poisoning our civil discourse, eroding the free exercise of religion and preventing diverse people of good will from living together in respect and peace.
We hope that every level of government will apply these common values and core principles in a balanced approach with all stakeholders engaging in respectful dialogue. LGBTQ rights and religious freedom do not have to be in conflict. Instead, we can come together to protect all people and unify our community on what has for too long been a divisive issue.
We respectfully urge all Arizona residents to join in support of public policy that provides protections for LGBTQ persons as well as people and institutions of faith.
Sincerely,
United States Senator, Kyrsten Sinema
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Dale Willis
Robert T. Hoshibata, Resident Bishop,Desert Southwest Conference, United Methodist Church
The Right Rev. Jennifer A. Reddall, VI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona
The Rev. Deborah K. Hutterer, Bishop, Grand Canyon Synod, ELCA
Rev. Dr. William Lyons, Conference Minister Southwest Conference UCC
Rabbi Robert L. Kravitz, D.D. Past-president, Board of Rabbis of Greater Phoenix
Angela Hughey, President, ONE Community
Michael Soto, Executive Director, Equality Arizona