A PASTORAL LETTER IN TIMES OF SOCIETAL UNREST
OCTOBER 16, 2020
“Clothe yourselves with love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony”
(Colossians 3:14)
which binds everything together in perfect harmony”
(Colossians 3:14)
“God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them” (Genesis 1:27). We believe this to be an absolute and fundamental revealed truth. The same God, become human in Christ, is “Lord of all” (Romans 10:12). “There is, thus, no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female…for all of us are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28)”. This is how Christians believe God sees humanity.
The societal unrest that we are witnessing in different places invites us to deepen this faith perspective, especially regarding persons of different races. Although it should be obvious to us, we do well boldly to proclaim that racism is a sin. Racism is darkness that stands in opposition to the light of love. Saint John tells us “whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness” (I John 2:11). When we step outside of this faith perspective and view one another through a racist or other diminishing and damaging lens, we abuse the gift of faith and begin to slide down a slippery slope into darkness.
Our challenge, however, is that of doing, not simply that of saying. As Christ invites, we want to be a people who love “not in word or speech, but in truth and action” (I John 3:18) and so must ask what we are called to do to heal the wounds inflicted by racist thinking and actions.
What are we to do? We publicly commit to prayer, both individual and communal, wherein we actively place our world in the heart of Christ, Who is the source of all healing. In prayer, Christ turns us to one another, whom we must love unconditionally, by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to lay down our lives for our neighbour, no matter who he or she is, no matter what he or she thinks or looks like. In such loving, we are instruments of Christ’s healing. In his sermon, Loving Your Enemies, Dr. Martin Luther King preached: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” It is in loving each person unconditionally that we change the world.
Such prayer and such love are the heart of our life as Church, are the rich terrain on which we are one in our varied understandings of how faith translates into action in the societal sphere and, from which, we each go forth to bring Christ’s healing. We are listening in prayer and in conversation for how, as a parish, this love must overflow afresh in service to those outside our church walls. As we discern how best to do this, we ask the input of every member and friend of our parish. Please contact the Rector[1] or Wardens[2] to share your thoughts.
Yours in Christ,
Your parish vestry:
John Campbell (Senior Warden),
Rex Tomb (Junior Warden),
Ayla Ybarra
Johnny Demoz
Hamilton Cook
Barbara Mendoza
Dave Fletcher
Maryanna Henkart
Dan Tarapacki
Julia Manchester
Victoria Ebell (Clerk)
Susan Hawfield (Treasurer)
Dominique Peridans (Rector)
Contact Information:
[1] [email protected]; 443-223-1565
[2] John Campbell: [email protected]; Rex Tomb: [email protected]
The societal unrest that we are witnessing in different places invites us to deepen this faith perspective, especially regarding persons of different races. Although it should be obvious to us, we do well boldly to proclaim that racism is a sin. Racism is darkness that stands in opposition to the light of love. Saint John tells us “whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness” (I John 2:11). When we step outside of this faith perspective and view one another through a racist or other diminishing and damaging lens, we abuse the gift of faith and begin to slide down a slippery slope into darkness.
Our challenge, however, is that of doing, not simply that of saying. As Christ invites, we want to be a people who love “not in word or speech, but in truth and action” (I John 3:18) and so must ask what we are called to do to heal the wounds inflicted by racist thinking and actions.
What are we to do? We publicly commit to prayer, both individual and communal, wherein we actively place our world in the heart of Christ, Who is the source of all healing. In prayer, Christ turns us to one another, whom we must love unconditionally, by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to lay down our lives for our neighbour, no matter who he or she is, no matter what he or she thinks or looks like. In such loving, we are instruments of Christ’s healing. In his sermon, Loving Your Enemies, Dr. Martin Luther King preached: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” It is in loving each person unconditionally that we change the world.
Such prayer and such love are the heart of our life as Church, are the rich terrain on which we are one in our varied understandings of how faith translates into action in the societal sphere and, from which, we each go forth to bring Christ’s healing. We are listening in prayer and in conversation for how, as a parish, this love must overflow afresh in service to those outside our church walls. As we discern how best to do this, we ask the input of every member and friend of our parish. Please contact the Rector[1] or Wardens[2] to share your thoughts.
Yours in Christ,
Your parish vestry:
John Campbell (Senior Warden),
Rex Tomb (Junior Warden),
Ayla Ybarra
Johnny Demoz
Hamilton Cook
Barbara Mendoza
Dave Fletcher
Maryanna Henkart
Dan Tarapacki
Julia Manchester
Victoria Ebell (Clerk)
Susan Hawfield (Treasurer)
Dominique Peridans (Rector)
Contact Information:
[1] [email protected]; 443-223-1565
[2] John Campbell: [email protected]; Rex Tomb: [email protected]