It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dear Friends,
I’ve been thinking about the events of last week, which have continued to be replayed and amplified all this week. And I’ve been thinking about the way those scenes of violence and hatred combined with so many other horrific scenes of violence in the last many months—all enfolded in a pandemic of both COVID and racism--begin to take their toll on body, mind and spirit until we wonder if that “web of mutuality” is too tattered to hold.
What do we say about traumatic events? How do we face them and feel the embrace of God in them, too? How do we put one foot in front of the other and lead with love? Last week’s Epiphany story said that the magi “returned by a different way” after Herod tried to entangle them in his evil and deadly chaos. What is our “different way”?
I’m not going to answer all these questions for you right now. I want to back up a bit and offer that in traumatic times, it is often helpful to pause so that you can feel the shelter of God’s mutual love first. If we can help our children and ourselves address the immediate anxiety and fear by recentering ourselves in God’s peace, then we can open up space to ask questions, to listen deeply, and to find answers to Love’s “different way".
Our lesson this week offers two simple ways to begin to find that peace. It’s meant to help children but I hope it’s good for the young at heart, too.
Coming Up
This is the Sunday before MLK Day, so we will weave the words of this prophet and others through our worship along with some “protest songs” gathered by a project called The Justice Choir Songbook. It’s a regular webinar worship and we’ll livestream to YouTube. Hope you can join us. Look for the link in the Highlights.
Looking for a way to step out in love to honor MLK Day? All this week there are a number of free online community workshops offered. Go here to see what topics speak to your heart: Seattle's 39th Annual MLK Celebration: https://www.seattlemlkcoalition.org/
…and Star Words. There are still star words on the church door if you haven’t been able to choose one for yourself. OR you can click the word generator below to see what good word comes your way!
http://wordoftheyear.me/
Sunday movie night, January 17 at 6:30: “The Migrants”. The Immigration Taskforce is sponsoring a ZOOM movie night this Sunday and showing “The Migrants.” A new year is bringing a new administration in Washington and hopefully a new approach to how the nation deals with immigration. We’ll watch this short important film together and then have some conversation about what might lie ahead. Go to our Blog on our church webpage to see some questions that Mary Code has posted to get our conversation started. Look for the ZOOM link in Thursday’s highlights.
Peace, peace, peace,
Rev. Karyn Frazier
