 A collaboration by the Extraordinary Connection pastors offering a service of remembrance of hope. May God bless and comfort those who are feeling blue this Christmas.  Rev. Sari explores how "thin places" can open doorways to new realities and shares a chant of awakening based on Ephesians 5:14: "Wake up, you who sleep; Rise from the dead, let the anointed fill with you light"  Drawing on family systems theory and Matthew 10:34-39, Rev. Sari reflects on how conflict, chaos and disruption are opportunities for God to work true change in a system, whether it's an actual family or an entire country. She ends with an original song called "Disruption."  A reflection on Juneteenth with a reading from Exodus 12:32-39 and the civil rights hymn, "We Shall Overcome." We all have a vital role in the continued struggle for freedom and equality for all. Please consider donating to organizations working for equality for Black Americans today. Here are some suggestions: Color of Change: https://colorofchange.org NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org Equal Justice Initiative (featured in the film "Just Mercy"): https://eji.org  All lives matter deeply to God—but Rev Sari. explains that it’s important to say "Black Lives Matter” right now, because those lives that have been oppressed, persecuted or ignored need special attention from God and from us to recieve justice and liberation, as we see in Psalm 146:5-9 and many other passages of the Bible. We worship an "Upside Down King" who focuses on uplifting to those at the bottom, as Rev. Sari sings in the original song she shares here.  We are in extraordinary and terrifying times: 100,000 American deaths from COVID-19, over 6 million people contracting this disease worldwide, innocent men and women are being killed at the hands of the police force that is sworn to protect them, the stress of this is pushing our society to the breaking point. At times like this it is not our place to give answers, Scripture calls us to mourn with those who are mourning, and to lament the sins of this world, the sins we are guilty of, and the sins we are complicit in. Please join us today as we offer a workshop in conjunction with the National Day of Mourning and Lament. |
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