Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I've Been to the Mountaintop"
This week is the annual celebration of our nation's birthday. It sure will feel different with no symphony, no picnics, no grand fireworks spectaculars. It makes me sad. But, in the absence of big celebrations, I wonder if we can ponder anew the words of our founding fathers so many years ago:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

-Declaration of Independence
July 4, 1776
The collective momentum behind movements like MeToo and Black Lives Matter has been building unity toward the ideal, articulated all those years ago, that all *people* are created equal. That vision represents the city on a hill that America aspired to become from its inception. We still have a long way to go to reach the ideal but, this week, I will be celebrating forward progress.
Here are a few of our wise and foolish building experiments from last week. Pastor Taylor talked yesterday about how our relationship with God influences our relationships with others. What can you do this week to open your eyes to someone you don't normally "see"? Email me ( [email protected] ) or post on social media ( #FUMCBarnabas ) how you engage. Next week, I'll have a new graphic for the month of July! Stay tuned!

Be encouraged.
Barnabas
First United Methodist Church
1201 Lavaca St.
Austin, TX 78731