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Dear Ones of Christ Church,
I have two articles to share with you as we come into this weekend when we will hear Jesus’s parable of the Good Samaritan and consider what it means to love our neighbor:
Click here to read our Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe’s op-ed in Religion News Service: “Once the church of presidents, the Episcopal Church must now be an engine of resistance.”
The Most Rev. Rowe writes:
“Churches like ours, protected by the First Amendment and practiced in galvanizing people of goodwill, may be some of the last institutions capable of resisting this administration’s overreach and recklessness. To do so faithfully, we must see beyond the limitations of our tradition and respond not in partisan terms, but as Christians who seek to practice our faith fully in a free and fair democracy.
We did not seek this predicament, but God calls us to place the most vulnerable and marginalized at the center of our common life, and we must follow that command regardless of the dictates of any political party or earthly power. We are now being faced with a series of choices between the demands of the federal government and the teachings of Jesus, and that is no choice at all.”
Senior warden Robb Pflock and I commend to you this letter from the Bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas regarding the devastating flooding in the Hill Country.
Bishop Read and Bishop Cortiñas ask for our “big prayers,” and share two ways that we can donate to flood relief efforts:
Episcopal Diocese of West Texas Donations and Support for the July 4 Flood
Episcopal Relief and Development’s Flood Response Fund
Here is a prayer shared by Bishop Read and Bishop Cortiñas:
Almighty God, your Holy Spirit moved over the waters in the beginning of creation, and your Son Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee: Be mightily present with all those impacted by catastrophic flooding in the Hill Country. Be close to the lost that they may be found; Guide and protect those who search; Strengthen those who await news of loved ones; Comfort those who mourn; Provide for those who have lost homes and livelihoods. And in the midst of things we cannot understand, empower us to entrust all to your never-failing love, and give us the will to persevere in our response to their needs. All this we ask through your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Melissa+
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