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Dear
Congregation,
I have been pondering the current discourse in our country around the building of an Islamic Center several blocks away from Ground Zero and the plans of a Gainesville
church to burn Korans on Saturday, along with what I saw and heard from Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters in Lebanon and Syria. No doubt there is a need for more of us to speak in a different tone, engaging one another as one human
being to another, and certainly to challenge misperceptions about one another’s religious beliefs and practices.
I was heartened to read in a weekly English publication in Beirut a plea for moderate Muslims to speak loudly against extremism. In that same publication, the author reminded his
readers that not all Americans are in favor of burning the Koran.
Saturday, at noon, at All Saints, we are invited to join others in hearing words from sacred texts. I will be sharing a reflection during the time of prayer. Music, a universal
language, will also be included as people of faith come together to sing a different kind of song and pray for peace among all people.
My colleague, Rev. Eric Myers, pastor of Frederick Presbyterian Church, wrote a wonderful letter to his congregation, expressing his thoughts concerning “religion and politics” and
so much of what he said mirrored what I have been feeling and thinking that I asked his permission to share excerpts of it with you.
“There are those who say, ‘you shouldn’t mix religion and politics.’ I would disagree for everything we do in our daily living – our voting, our serving our communities and
countries, our business transactions – everything we do grows out of our following Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, as our Lord and Savior. Having said that, normally I do not involve myself in ‘politics’ and certainly don’t
‘preach’ politics from the pulpit. I vote and my voting, I believe, grows out of my convictions as a believer. I trust the Spirit of God to move you in your daily living and voting as well. But currently, there are several thoughts I
would like to share with you that seem to be related to politics and religion….
I am moved to a state of sadness at the hatred that is swirling in the atmosphere of our country at the moment with regards to religious freedom and our neighbors who are Muslim. It
seems to me that our country as always been proud of its ‘freedom of religion’ and the current atmosphere seems to be an atmosphere of ‘freedom of religion as long as it is Christian....’…
I encourage you to be in serious prayer these days and weeks for our country and the hatred that is in the air and also in serious prayer for those who believe as we do not and those
who do not (including some Christians). And lastly, I would like to encourage you to so what you can to help redeem the perceptions of those outside of the Christian faith who have an opinion of our faith that is not favorable by sharing in
word and in deed the love of God that we know through Jesus, our Christ.” (Eric T. Myers)
&Sunday
Morning Worship:
Rally Day
Jesus’ critics grumble against him in Luke 15: 1-10 because “this fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.
Today we will be commissioning our Christian Education teachers. Following the service, you are invited to come to the social room and see the many ways you can be involved in choirs.
groups, committees, and projects around ERUCC.
Food for Thought
“In the struggle for justice, the only reward is the opportunity to be in the struggle. You can’t expect that you’re going to have it tomorrow. You just have to keep working on it.”
(Frederick Douglas)
Barbara Kershner Daniel
Evangelical Reformed Church, United Church of Christ
15 West Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701
301-662-2762
e-mail: bkdaniel@erucc.org
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