Pastor’s Corner - April 1, 2021

Dear Beloved,

You are in my thoughts. Whether gathered or scattered, we are united by the creative energy of our Maker, the love of Jesus, and the movement of the Spirit. My being is filled with so much, that I’ve written a number of drafts to you recently, and I’ve been led to offer a simple prayer for this reflection. The stories of Holy Week are filled with many emotions. How wonderful to know that God is with us through them all and in them all and holds us with multiple feelings and experiences all at once. May you have a meaning-filled Holy Week and a joy-filled Resurrection Day celebration~

God of glory and grace, God of mercy and might, I praise you. I give you thanks for Friedens United Church of Christ and communities of compassion and faith near and far. Thank you for the stories of Holy Week. Thank you for loving us through all suffering and pain. Please forgive us when we fail to love you, one another, your world, and ourselves. Please forgive us when we turn away out of fear. Please help us to abide with you. Please help us to grow as people of peace and wellness for all. Thank you for the darkness of the tomb. Thank you for the darkness of the early morn. Thank you for the many varied responses of your first followers. Thank you for being a God who makes a way when there seems to be no way - a God who rolls the heaviest stones away. Thank you for being a living God. Please fill us and lead us with your Spirit that we may follow in the ways of liberating hope, transforming peace, collective wellness, and unbounded love by the Risen One.

Amen.