It comes nearly a year after the [Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's] highest legislative body voted to permit persons who are in “life-long, monogamous, same gender relationships” to serve as clergy. The ELCA also adopted a social statement on human sexuality, acknowledging that there is no consensus in the denomination on homosexuality and recommending that the ELCA commit itself to finding ways to recognize same-sex relationships.

There were ominous rumblings after this action last year; the ELCA would be destroyed by schism; its communion partners would surely run screaming from the room, etc. But as it turns out, not so much. Only a handful of churches have left the denomination over the statement, and now the Reformed Church in America has adopted a resolution that, while certainly not embracing the ELCA’s position, has made it clear that there will be no change to the full communion partnership between the denominations.

Reading between the lines, this action is a way of acknowledging that there’s only one direction things are going to go. It says “this is not a question of whether there will be full inclusion of our GLBT brothers and sisters, but how that change will happen.” Further making the point, the Reformed Church approved a resolution that invites the ELCA, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ and the Christian Reformed Church to join in a “consultation on the interpretation and use of Scripture in moral discernment and ethical decision making.”

The Presbyterian Church (as well as some other mainline denominations) continues to make progress toward full inclusion, while the UCC has been adopting statements affirming GLBT inclusion since 1969. It’s not an easy thing to do, and we need to be compassionate about the pain, confusion and fear that comes with being asked to discard a view of human gender and sexuality that, while it completely defies what we now know to be material reality, wastes lives, and tears families and churches apart, is all that many people have ever known or imagined. The shift that is underway is of the same magnitude as that which resulted in the acceptance of the heliocentric universe. It’s that fundamental to “what we are,” and the traditional religious “Truth” under challenge is just as much at odds with actual Creation.

The proposed conversation about how Scripture is used and interpreted (and more to the point, what we think Scripture is for) will no doubt be very valuable. I’m grateful that the UCC’s leadership and example on this front is slowly bearing fruit.

In a few weeks, we’ll celebrate the Fourth of July and recall a Declaration of Independence that says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, [and] that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The Preamble to our Constitution speaks of “securing the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

Our Pledge of Allegiance concludes “with liberty and justice for all.”

We love liberty! But while the Declaration of Independence says that “all are equated equal,” it is not always apparent that we love equality.

When Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister—and a Christian socialist—wrote the Pledge in 1892 for public school programs sponsored by the National Education Association of which he was chairman, he considered including the word “equality”—but knew that many state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African-Americans.

I’m reminded of what one of my African-American friends once said to his white sisters and brothers back in the 1960s: “When you recite the Pledge of Allegiance what you mean is ‘liberty and justice for y’all.’”

There are numerous contexts today in which equality, in terms of liberty and justice for all, needs to be recognized in fulfilling the promises of what was declared on July 4, 1776; perhaps one of the most significant contexts is that of marriage equality and recognitions of same-sex marriage.

So especially for those of us who relate to a Christian tradition, St. Paul, one of our earliest organizers, makes this declaration: “Sisters and brothers, you were called, as you know, to liberty; but be careful, or this liberty will provide an opening for self-indulgence.” [Galatians 5:13]

Liberty, without equality, reflects a self-indulgent nation.

The Rev. Don Prange, of St. James United Church of Christ in Lovettsville, can be reached at 540-822-4306 or via http://www.stjamesucc-love.org.

We’ll return to some experiences of looking at spiritual truth from outside the Christian tradition with the visit of Sr. Sheikha Farhanahz Ellis who is the Interfaith and Outreach Director of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) located in Sterling. It is one of the largest Muslim communities/mosques in the DC Metro Area and in the United States, serving over 5000 families with 7 branches(Sterling/Herndon, Tysons Corner, Fairfax, Reston, Leesburg, Ashburn, and South Riding) in Northern Virginia.

She will be sharing a brief overview of Islamic faith along with Muslim perspectives on the life story of Jesus and how they understand concepts of resurrection. And in our recognition that women are so prominently remembered in the first accounts of Jesus’ resurrection… and that this Sunday is also Mothers Day… Farhanahz, who is also a mother, will also be sharing thoughts related to realities for women in Islamic contexts.

It may come as somewhat of a surprise to most of us, but of the estimated 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide, no more than 20 percent of them live in the Arabic-speaking world, with the largest Muslim population living in Indonesia… and with less than 1 percent (7,000,000) living in America. And there could well be other surprises for us when Farhanahz shares thoughts around the essence of the Islamic faith as one of peace, mercy, and forgiveness that in no way ever condones acts of violence against the innocent. So we will learn that “Jihad” does not mean “holy war” – but a spirit of striving and struggling for truth – and that includes struggling against evil inclinations in ourselves as well as the struggle to improve the quality of life in society and in the world, including fighting against tyranny and oppression.

With all that is going on in the world… and with all the misinformation we are often getting… we are truly fortunate to have someone like Farhanahz Ellis to share some truth out of her perspective as a Muslim. There will be ample time for questions and conversation… and a brief reception will follow the worship time.

So surely hope to see you on Sunday . . .

don prange

Jesus was born, was crucified (under Pontius Pilate’s decree), died and went down into the realm of the dead… and on the third day he rose again (and) ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God… and will come (again) to judge the living and the dead….

That’s the substance of what Christianity’s Apostle’s Creed said about Jesus. Now, that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are central to the Christian tradition is unquestionable! But that these realities mean and signify all that traditional Christian dogma has claimed for some 15 Centuries is debatable. That is said not with irreverence for traditional Christian theology, but is based on the very biblical contexts that preserve the stories of crucifixion and resurrection. And nothing contributes more to this perspective than a narrative recorded in the Gospel of Luke remembered as The Road to Emmaus. [cf Luke 24:13-43] The story revolves around two followers of Jesus on their way home from Jerusalem after experiencing the horrible tragedy of the crucifixion… and that along with that traumatic experience, some stories were being told that the tomb in which Jesus had been buried was found empty. So they were engaged in excited conversation about all this when a stranger suddenly appears on the road. Then, according to all the major modern translations, the stranger asks: What matters are you discussing as you walk along? [Now the old King James version puts it this way: What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another?] But those translations hardly come close to an accurate understanding of the Greek word antiballete that is used in the original text. It’s a word that is also the root for a term used in describing advanced weaponry technology today – as in antiballistic missiles. So the literal translation would be: What are these words that you are throwing at each other? [Why are you going ballistic?] And that’s what typified much of the debate that was going on among first century Jews in their synagogues and villages as they were trying to unravel and understand the meaning of the whole Jesus of Nazareth story.

Now, that ancient Apostle’s Creed reflected one side of the debate: the views of those labeled as Christians because they were also insisting that Jesus was Christ… the Messiah. And by the 4th Century it not only became the dominant side of the debate… but Christianity became the officially recognized religion of the Roman Empire of Constantine. What Constantine needed for good order in the empire was a simple statement of faith that would unify the religious tradition and end any debates once and for all.

But when you examine the substance of that statement called The Apostle’s Creed it’s not so much what is said that is striking – but what is unsaid. While it speaks of crucifixion and resurrection… nothing – absolutely nothing – is said about the life of Jesus and all that had happened to bring about his crucifixion. Had he died of natural causes he would not even be remembered… let alone be the central figure in a faith tradition that became the religion of the empire. So why did he have to die?

It was around that question that another kind of debate took place that finally developed a Christology focusing exclusively on a belief that he died as an ATONING SACRIFICE for the sins of the world… and that in believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior you would yourself experience a resurrection of the body and become part of the life everlasting in heaven… which is how the creed concludes. That was the orthodoxy that held things together for centuries… and to challenge any of that could mean getting burned at the stake.

But what about all the folks outside that debate? The Jews who became identified as the Christ killers… and the Islamic infidels… and of course all the so-called pagans? Because the debate had been resolved within the empire, they really didn’t matter… except as persons to be exterminated in pogroms and crusades and finally a colonialism accompanied by violent strategies of genocide. So when we are truly honest about the evolution of what we know as Christianity and its prominence within the imperialism of Christendom… that is a story we must humbly acknowledge and confess.

Fortunately… by focusing on the life of Jesus… and by embracing a meaning of death and resurrection that allows some destructive forces of religion to die so that something new and different can rise again… some who consider themselves Christians have been able to transcend that kind of creedal orthodoxy with all of its violent implications… and St. James United Church of Christ is on that side of the debate. So we have moved on with building our lives around a commitment to the actions of mercy, justice, and peace… the kinds of actions that got Jesus crucified in the first place… along with reaching out in a spirit that brings unity out of diversity in building human community.

So while much of our worship and direction for life revolves around a biblical tradition and the life of Jesus of Nazareth… leading us to reflections in which we attempt to discover a way of life built around the truths of justice, mercy, and peace… we are also open to the insights that might come to us from other traditions so that we might be enlightened and empowered to live out those truths mentioned above. So it is in a context like that we know in LOUDOUN INTERFAITH BRIDGES that we have discovered an openness to the other… an openness in which we seek to understand each other’s traditions and, most hopefully, to learn from each other as we pursue justice, mercy, and peace together.

So in this Easter Season with all of its significance within the Christian tradition… it is in this spirit that we are inviting representatives out of other traditions to share their stories… to speak of their origins and how they have evolved to the present moment… to describe the essence and substance of their faith tradition… and from those perspectives to also comment and reflect on how they understand and relate to the Jesus Story… especially as it relates to concepts of death and resurrection.

The schedule for the Easter Season is as follows:

• April 11 – Rabbi Michael Ragozin of Congregation Sha’are Shalom (Leesburg)
• April 18 – Stephen Johnson of the Baha’i Community (Sterling)
• April 25 – Sher Singh of the Sikh Community of Loudoun County
• May 2 – The Rev. Kate Bryant of St. James Episcopal (Leesburg) with an
  opportunity to experience traditional Episcopal worship
• May 9 – Sister Farhanahz Ellis of the ADAM Center (Muslim) in Sterling
• May 16 – Sheila Kryston of the Goose Creek Quaker Meeting, (Lincoln)

The background and rationale for how all this fits into the celebration of Easter at St. James UCC grows out of that story of The Road to Emmaus cited earlier… and the debate that went on for several generations around the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection stories… a debate that continues on today.

That we might discover some connections between some of the accents of Lent and Buddhism, or that we might think about those connections because of someone named Tiger Woods… might be one of the great epiphanies surrounding us at the moment. (While liturgical Epiphany is behind us… transforming and transfiguring insights never stop!) What I’m referencing is the comment of Tiger Woods in the midst of a public confession… although it was more of a step he is taking in beginning to recover from a certain kind of addiction. After reminding his audience that his mother had raised him with some principles of Buddhism that he had unfortunately forgotten, he said: “Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches us to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint.” Then he went on to confess that he had “lost track” of what he was taught.

In Luke’s narrative of the life of Jesus there is no accounting for where he was or what he was doing with his life from age 12 to 30. (Some have speculated that he was off in some country east of Palestine, learning some of the wisdom from the east. Buddhism was, after all, emerging in India 5 centuries before the time of Jesus, interestingly enough at a time when the Babylonian exile was part of his own ancestral faith story.) But when Luke picks up on things at that point (age 30) it is clear that Jesus had been doing a lot of introspective meditation, something we are invited to in The Season of Lent. He is stirred by John the Baptist’s preaching about the need for repentance to submit to a baptism of conversion… hears a voice from heaven saying ‘You are my son, my favor rests on you… and is then led by the Spirit into a wilderness where a dialog ensues between Jesus and The Devil – someone who is temptation personified – around what all of that really means.

But if you take a look at this narrative in Luke 4:1-13 that we’ll be reflecting on tomorrow, what comes through is that he rejected temptations related to a craving for things outside (himself) in a search for security… and submitted himself to a faith and way of life aimed at worshiping God and serving God alone. (Doesn’t that connect with the essence of a ‘Twelve Step’ process that is probably part of what Tiger Woods is doing?) And alongside that reading from Luke we’ll also be looking at a narrative out of the ancestral faith story of Jesus found in Deuteronomy 26:1-11, a story that is also set in a context about the meaning of authentic security. So take a look at these narratives and let them stir your curiosities around tomorrow’s reflections dealing with Wilderness Experiences That Test (And Shape) Our Sense of Security.

And….. tomorrow is also CHURCH SCHOOL for children time… along with ADULT DISCUSSION time, both at 10:00 a.m. In another synchronistic moment the chapter we’ll be reviewing out of the book, “The Unfolding Drama of The Bible,” is Study IV – A New Exodus… and it relates to how people were searching for a sense of security in the midst of national calamities, including the destruction of Jerusalem and many people carried off into exile. (cf. note above on that!) And, as the book suggests, “the best way to prepare for this study is to read through all fifteen chapters of Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) in a modern translation.” What you’ll discover is that it will also be good preparation for what we’re doing in worship.

Still not sure about street-parking around the church… but there’s plenty of space across the street at the BB&T Bank… and a very clear path from the street to the church.

Look forward to see you tomorrow… don prange

It’s impossible to forget where we were last Sunday. We’re still reeling from the events in Haiti… still remembering those words from Isaiah… The earth is mourning… the foundations of the earth will rock… the earth will shiver and shake. Isaiah used metaphors like this long, long ago to describe a variety of disasters… and he often linked the metaphors of earthquake with that of darkness, one that portrayed hopelessness and despair… a reality that still lingers for many in Haiti… but not only there because there are other places in the world shaken by natural and human disasters… too many to name… and perhaps even felt in our own land, our own state, our own community… or even in our own lives.

But if Isaiah could talk about the shaking of the earth’s foundations and of a time when the metaphor of darkness was all too real… he was also one who saw beyond the darkness of death and despair to see the Spirit of God at work bringing light and life. You might recall words that we often hear in Christmas liturgies from Isaiah 9 . . .

The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light;
on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.

At another time Isaiah was proclaiming . . . Arise, shine out, for your light has come, the glory of God is rising on you, though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples. And he went on to say:

The spirit of Yahweh God has been given to me,
for Yahweh God has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,
to bind up hearts that are broken;
to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison;
to proclaim a year of favour from Yahweh . . . [Is 61:1,2]

On a Sabbath Day when Jesus showed up at the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, he was extended the courtesy of reading from their scriptural lectionary… and the scroll just happened to be unrolled to that reading from Isaiah. So he read those words… and then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. Then with everyone’s eyes now glued on him he began to speak: These words of scripture are being fulfilled at this very moment as you are listening to them. [cf the whole context in Luke 4:16-21]

It was Jesus’ way of making a mission statement… and it is one around which we are called, indeed anointed – christened – as we aim for cultivating our own mission statement as a community of faith united around the essence of his mission and ministry… as we aim for being a united church of Christ.

And if we can play around with the metaphors of darkness and light… then you might want to take a look at 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31 and the metaphor of the human body that Paul utilized to talk about what it means to be the body of Christ… to be an extension of the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ in all the contexts of darkness that surround us today… and, especially, to be united as an enlightened and empowered community of faith in living out the light of good news to the poor and liberation of the oppressed.

For a change, it seems this weekend’s weather is smiling on us . . . so hope to see you tomorrow when we will do some reflecting around Pursuing Unity Around The Mission Statement of Jesus . . .

don

“I come to this magnificent house of worship because my conscience leaves me no other choice…. I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of Clergy and Laity Concerned… (and) the recent statement of your executive committee reflects the sentiments of my own heart… ‘A time comes when silence is betrayal.’ That time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.”

HAS THAT TIME COME AGAIN IN RELATION TO AFGHANISTAN?

We will be pursuing that question at a FAITH & LIFE FORUM on Thursday, February 25th, in Leesburg, Virginia, where the featured presenter will be THE REV. GRAYLAN HAGLER, the Senior Minister at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington DC. He is a long time advocate for peace and social justice and in one of the rallies against the war in Iraq he was credited with giving “The Greatest Speech of the 21st Century,” featured in the documentary “Finding our Voices.”

He has carried his opposition to war in Iraq to the war in Afghanistan, and at a recent event sponsored by the “Bail Out The People Movement” he said:

“Let’s build a world filled with justice…. We need to push and shove to make people do what is right…. If we can reward the banks, then we can surely reward the workers in this country.”

He also voiced strong objections to President Barack Obama’s recent decision to send 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. He went on to say that everyone is entitled to the “dignity of a job with a future” and that “we need a gigantic jobs program once again in this country that puts everyone to work.”

What is significant about these words is that they parallel some of the thoughts and concerns of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April of 1968 when he was coming to the aid of sanitation workers in Memphis. King had linked the extravagant spending for war with an extravagant neglect of domestic programs, something he had already begun to address in the speech at the Riverside Church when he said…

“The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this reality we will find ourselves organizing clergy and laity committees for the next generation… unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy…”

..and here we are, several generations past his prophetic insight and clergy and laity are uniting once again, and the Rev. Graylan Hagler is at the forefront of this questioning of American life and policy. And some other words of King in that 1967 speech at the Riverside Church are relevant…

“I am convinced that…we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”

It is out of contexts such as this that Graylan Hagler will relate to concerns around Beyond Afghanistan, A Time to Break Silence… and especially the question: What might Martin Luther King Jr. be saying to America today?

The Rev. Hagler came to Washington, DC in 1992, and has been a major voice in issues of justice and peace ever since. He is on the Steering and Administrative Committee of UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE, a national coalition working to oppose aspects of U.S. foreign policy that the group believes contribute to war and aggression, and it is especially out of this context that he has raised questions about the continuing war in Afghanistan.

But he has also been active in many issues relating to his own community and the District of Columbia. He fought the proliferation of liquor stores in the Black community and has insisted on community participation in development issues. In 1993 he opposed the Exxon Corporation’s plans to build a ‘super gas station’ in the neighborhood where he lives and where his Church is located. In 2003, he broke ground on that same Exxon site after acquiring the property. Instead of a ‘super station,’ 69 units of subsidized apartments for the elderly opened in February 2005. He has also worked to preserve the only publicly funded hospital in the District of Columbia, organized a successful effort to oppose the death penalty from being instituted by the U.S. Congress on the District, and continues the fight against school vouchers, which he sees as a plan to divert funds from public education to private schools.

Rev. Hagler is also the Development Director of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA), the largest neighborhood stabilization organization in the United States, which helps working class people become homeowners, and is chaplain to Local 25, Washington, D.C. of the Hotel Employees, Restaurant Employees/UNITE. He believes in the dignity and worth of workers and continually strives to support that principle.

He is clearly a prophetic voice in the tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr., and in the observance of Black History Month in February, it is certainly fitting that he will be speaking at the Faith and Life Forum on February 25. The forum will be held at the Senior Activity Center, 215 Depot Ct, SE, Leesburg, Va. [703-737-8039]. The forum is an expression of the Outreach and Advocacy Committee of St. James United Church of Christ. For more information visit our website at: www.stjamesucc-love.org, or call The Rev. Don Prange, 540-539-0908 or David Weintraub, 540-822-4814.

What was so disturbing about the incident was its tone. There was an almost gleeful manner with which certain churches and individuals embraced the status of victim, as if they welcomed something they could feel militant about. Although there was no reason to see the policy change as intending to discriminate against Christians, it was immediately publicized as a “war on Christmas,” complete with testimony by white Christian suburbanites that they were suffering from “religious persecution.” And worst of all, some of the comments left at online forums and the petition (organized by one of the most militant individuals) directed hateful vitriol at members of other communities, for example: “I do not like the smell of curry therefor if we are unable to have a Christmas Tree and a Nativity Scene then get rid of your curry!” and “Freedom of religion is a right of every citizen this is not the middle east. If a nativity scene or christmas tree offends you, go home.” It was certainly jarring to witness this behavior during the Christmas season.

I realize you rarely get to travel in true “teabagger country” but here in rural Mississippi, there is an interesting phenomenon occurring that the Brit Hume brouhaha brings into clearer focus.

If you travel down any road, you will see churches popping up everywhere. I’ve lived here my entire life, and it used to be that each community had one church, usually Baptist, with a place name. Now they have names like Bread of Life, The Living Water, and By Faith; single-word names like Cornerstone, Compass, and Centricity.

They pop up in the middle of nowhere, in abandoned storefronts, in closed-down factories, in metal buildings put up in the middle of the woods. And everyone has a preacher who is called Brother, or Elder, or Bishop. And all these fundamental churches spend the majority of their time either directly or indirectly involved with local, state, and national politics, involved in the Tea Bagger Movement, the War on Christmas movement, the myriad boycotts of every hue, and posters and ads of every conceivable variety.

As someone who had become immune to most of it, I can’t help but be aware of the way in which religion in this area has been very deeply cheapened. It ceases to occupy a space of personal and public sacredness. It focuses not on the personal, but the political. And I am even beginning to detect this cheapening in acquaintances who I know to be quite religious.

So I think the Brit Hume incident may be very reflective of what is happening here in the South.

After watching BILL MOYERS JOURNAL last night… especially his conversation with HOWARD ZINN (author of A People’s History of the United States) that included some clips from THE PEOPLE SPEAK program that will be featured on the History Channel tomorrow night (check out for time)… all of it dealing with the kind of community organizing that has gone on in the past and is still going on today… and is all VERY RELEVANT for all we continue to deal with as a faith community… we need to hear what a woman named GENORA DOLLINGER said many years ago:

“Don’t depend on our leaders to do what needs to be done….”

That’s a significant quote for our reflections tomorrow that will grow out of the narrative in LUKE 3: 1-18 around the story of John the Baptist’s preaching that led some of the people to ask the question:

What do we need to be doing?

We’ll be dealing with the same question tomorrow… and many of the contexts of life we are dealing with at this moment make some words we sang last Sunday all too true:

O God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry;
Our earthly rulers falter, our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn divide;
Take not your thunder from us, but take away our pride.

So if you have time… read the Luke narrative… but, but all means, try to make it for worship tomorrow!

Hope to see you…

don

p.s. The children are meeting at 10:15 to do some practicing for the following Sunday… and we hope to begin doing some decorating around the church, so feel free to come earlier than 11:00 and we can get more accomplished . . .

p.p.s. And if you can’t make it, do try to see THE PEOPLE SPEAK on the History Channel tomorrow nite!

A very, VERY short word about tomorrow….

It’s the FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT… getting a start on a NEW CHURCH YEAR… and in some respects we begin where we have been the last several weeks… especially when you consider this reading from Luke we’ll be looking at… Luke 21-25-36…

(After talking about a time of persecution and calamities coming to Jerusalem with an occupation by foreign military powers, Jesus went on to say): “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth dismay among nations confused by the roaring of the surging sea. People’s courage will fail them when they realize what is threatening the world, for the very powers of Heaven will be shaken. Then they will see The Human One coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and hold your heads high, because your liberation is very near.”

Then he told them a parable: “Look at a fig tree, or any tree, when it bursts its buds and sprouts leaves, you can see for yourselves that summer is nearly here. So, when you see these things taking place, you can be equally sure that The Reign of God is coming. Believe me, this generation will not pass on until all this has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my teachings will never pass away. So be very vigilant – and see to it that your hearts and minds are not occupied with wasteful pursuits or drunkenness and the worries of this life, or else that day will catch you like the springing of a trap – for it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. So stay alert at all times, praying that you may be strong enough to come safely though all that is going to happen, and to stand in the presence of The Human One.”

It will help us to reflect on SIGNS OF THE TIMES… THEN AND NOW…

Hope to see you tomorrow… let’s start the New (Church) Year together!

don prange