Find Unity

Beloved of God,

    The two big things I want to make sure you know about are…

1. We have a congregational meeting this Sunday, 10/15, following the Sunday School hour. We’ll benefit greatly from the presence of as many of our members as possible.
   
2. There is still time to sign up for our 1st annual Non-Retreat on the weekend of 10/20-10/21. If you can’t come to everything, I hope you’ll still plan on making it a part of your weekend. 
   

Our Scripture reading this week comes from the last chapter of Philippians, and of all things starts with Paul addressing two beloved sisters who have gotten themselves in a bit of a spat. He pleads with them to be of “one mind in the Lord.” It’s an image of humility about which he’s already written in this same letter. He goes on to point to other folks in the community who he expects to love both of these sisters to come to a common cause and reconciliation.
    Paul never names the substance of the disagreement. It could have been as petty as the ones that can crop up among churches today. It might have been philosophical. One of them may have in fact been clearly in the right. Paul doesn’t seem to care enough about the fine points to either address them or even pick a side. Instead, it seems that he’s confident that they should find union with each other and that there are people of goodwill around who can help them do it.
    It can be gratifying to be right, can’t it? But I suspect that more often the well-being of Christ’s body, and the pursuit of our mission in the world, depends on whether or not we know how to exhibit the mind of Christ toward one another. It depends on whether we have learned the disciplines of humility, joy, gentleness, and gratitude that Paul writes about in the final part of this letter. I’m still learning that. I’m grateful that we get to do so together.

Please join me this week in praying for:

• Those among us who are traveling.
  
• Our Associate Pastor Search Team.
• Several among us facing moments of uncertainty; for guidance, wisdom, and peace.
• Those suffering violence in and around Gaza and Southern Israel. 
• Those who respond to emergencies on our roadways, in our wildlands, in our communities, and even in our homes.
• Those in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local levels. 
• For humility, concord, and common cause under the lordship of Christ.
• For each other (please email [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,

Marshall