I share a post that was among others on Religion News Service today. As I read the article I wondered if those with opinions moved beyond conversation/debate to action? It is a good question for me, and for you who read this. What happens after awareness? ~dan rondeau
From RNS: ‘Homeless Jesus’ provokes debate on what it means to be Christian | Religion News Service.
We have also brought attention to “Homeless Jesus” and the question persists: what will we do with this awareness? Our posts:
At St. Margaret’s we strive to build the body, equip the saints, and change the world. Sometimes our focus can be sharpened by looking in another direction and then turning back to our own efforts.
Here is a story from Nigeria as reported in The Nation: “A quality, national, newspaper with credible and dependable information. Not beholden to any interest group. Loyalty is to the nation.” [About The Nation]
The story:
Every year, people facing sundry challenges get help from a women group in Ebenezer Anglican Church, Nnewi, Anambra State. The Women of Ebenezer have picked up bills for the poor. They have sheltered a good number, and have given hope to many.
This year was the turn of Mrs Ezinwanne Onwuasoeze, a widow of over seven years. In the course of her widowhood, she lost a child, even as she struggled to raise her remaining three male children. All she had for shelter was a mud building surrounded by glitzy buildings of the rich. Then one day, the mud house collapsed following a heavy downpour.
Mrs Onwuasoeze wept, naturally, but when the Women of Ebenezer Anglican Church built her a three-bedroom bungalow, she wept again, for joy.
Read the rest of the story in: The Nation – Women group rehabilitates the poor. Picture from the article.
As you read this story from a Sister Church in Nigeria, come back to our work in the Coachella Valley and see it in a new light. Add your time and talent to our efforts to serve and to change the world beginning right here in the Coachella Valley.
You, made in God’s image,
stamped with God’s likeness,
you are God’s valuable coin.
God intends to spend you
according to God’s desire,
to spend you on life,
on what delights God.Read Spent, a reflection by Steve Garnaas-Holmes on Matthew 22:15-21
(the Gospel text for Sunday 10/16/2011).
I am grateful for writers, poets, and the power of words. I am grateful for this reflection by Pastor Steve. Let us resolve, fellow travelers, to be spent by God as we journey together through this place at this time.
“Today, Americans are cultivating spirituality by probing deeper dimensions of things they do each day, from prayer to exercise and volunteering.” (1)
One way to deepen spirituality being followed by many: volunteering. As part of the Sunday Morning Forum we seek to encourage each other to do what we can with who we are in the time we have, for the glory of God and the welfare of all God’s children and all of God’s creation. Consider:
Even volunteering is serving as a portal to higher things. Organizations that make up the Catholic Volunteer Network guide some 14,000 volunteers to reflect on vocation, suffering and poverty.
“It takes a little while to realize, ‘I might not cure AIDS, but I might be able comfort someone who’s dying, and it makes a world of difference to that one person,’ “ says Katie Mulembe, CVN’s membership and recruitment coordinator. “You realize, ‘That’s why I’m here. And that’s good enough.’ “ Read the entire post
In our Baptismal Covenant we have promised to seek and serve Christ and to strive for justice and peace in the world. Let us fulfill our promises to God and each other.
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(1) “Americans search for ways to infuse daily life with the sacred” by G. Jeffrey MacDonald, USA Today at http://tinyurl.com/4ch4rjl on 31 Jan 2011
In the Sunday Morning Forum we share different ways that we, singly and collectively, have become doers of the word. We recognize God is calling us to be better witnesses of God’s love as we serve. We look for encouragement and inspiration by sharing resources and stories. Here is an inspiring story and a challenging question for each of us who take seriously the Great Commandment and who seek to imitate Christ by serving others as Christ did.
A YouTube video prepared by Children’s Defense Fund
Let us know how you are “Steppin’ up,” leave a comment. Share how you are an advocate, for the love of God and neighbor, for those who are the most vulnerable.
For further reflection
And, we respond, “I will with God’s help.” (Baptismal Covenant used in the Episcopal Church)
Hear what the Spirit is saying 