07-10-24

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
July 10, 2024
Quick update - as of 7:30pm last night, we still had no power at the church. The tree removal company was out during the afternoon, and they will finish the job tomorrow (we hope). We have one big tree leaning on the breezeway between the Forum and the Centrum. I hope the damage is only cosmetic. The tree removal company believes it will be a challenging tree to remove, and this novice would have to agree. I know many of you are dealing with similar or even more challenging situations. I slipped into the chapel mid-morning to pray. There are times when my prayers are scattered. It wasn’t that my attention was elsewhere, but there are simply too many things for which one could pray. These are moments when it is good to remember that prayer is never informing God about a problem, as if God is going to say, “I did not know that.” Prayer is centering ourselves in the presence of the One who can help us find a way forward, even when there does not appear to be a way. Though I probably didn’t mention you by name or even the specifics of what you are facing, please know that you and your neighbors were brought before God… and I know I wasn’t the only one.

Merciful God, you know the contents of our hearts and every challenge we face. When we do not know what to offer in prayer, we are thankful for the opportunity to sit with you and to be reminded of how we are loved immeasurably and unconditionally. Such a gift may not solve all of our problems, but it is a good starting point as we take the first step toward dealing with the challenges before us. Amen.