bloomingdale: 06-02-2020 St. George's Episcopal Church pastoral letter (you can guess the general topic)

From: St.Georges DC <revjenkins@stgeorgesdc.org>

Sent: Tuesday, June 2, 2020 1:37 PM
Subject: Pastoral Letter

St. George's Closed through April 16th

St. George's Episcopal Church

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I, like I many of you, have not been able to sleep these last nights. I am deeply troubled by the disregard of black lives and the most recent killing of George Floyd that has sparked protest around our country.

I write in hopes of providing words to you as your priest and pastor. I want to provide words of comfort but I am not sure that my words would be comforting. I want to offer words that take away the sting of hurt but I am not sure the hurt will go away anytime soon. I want to offer words that will heal right now but healing will take time. I want to offer words of assurance that things will get better tomorrow, but I can't because I don't know. I want to provide the words that will solve hatred, injustice, bigotry, racism, and all the ills of our world, but words alone won't provide the solutions.

There are so many words that I can't offer and so many things that I don't know. But I do know that the suffering is real, the pain is deep and the tears are many. It is in this suffering and pain and tears that I stand with you and I will walk with you as followers of Jesus in the way of love.

In this coming Sunday's lessons we read from the Hebrew Scripture, Genesis 1 about creation, "Then God said, let us make humankind in our image... So God created humandkind in his image, the image of God he created them; male and female he created them...And it was so. God saw everything he had made and indeed it was very good."

As my professor Dr. Willie Jennings taught, God didn't create us out of necessity nor did he create us as contingent. God created us out of love. God created us out of love to love. We are reminded in our liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer that we are commanded to love, "Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ says: You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus provides us the formula for ushering in the Kingdom of God. But this is not easy. It is not easy for any of us on any given day. And it is especially not easy when we see death at the hands of one of those who has sworn to protect and serve.

Our presiding Bishop who preaches the way of love recognizes that this is not easy but as people of hope it is the formula that he preaches - love. I commend to you his sermon this past Sunday on Pentecost (minute 41-60) Bishop Curry hits everything that is going on this past week head on and then says, "And yet, we are not victims of fate, we are not doomed and condemned. We follow in the footsteps of Jesus. And that Jesus taught us that love will make a way out of no way. He taught us that sometimes you have to take up the cross and follow in his footsteps. If you dare to follow his way of love you will find God's way of life. Love is the way that can save us all."

From Paul's letter to the Ephesians I offer you strength, "I pray that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strenthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love."

Know that I stand with you. Know that I will walk with you. Know that I hold all of us and our nation in prayer. Know that I will help all of us find a way to follow Jesus in his way of love so that we can help to usher the Kingdom of God into every heart. We are a people of hope.

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Marilyn Jenkins

Priest-In-Charge

St. Georges DC

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give you what the world gives you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. John 14:27

Wishing you the peace of God during this time of anxiety. -- The Rev. Jenkins