A letter from Bishop Paul Erickson
Friends in Christ:
Like many of you, I watched the election returns last night closely, and while the results were not what I had personally been hoping and working for, I recognize that there may be a wide variety of reactions and responses to the outcomes. I’ve seen some requests to quickly put aside the incredibly painful and divisive rhetoric of recent months and come together to heal so that we might move forward as a united people, but I’m not there.
I firmly believe that healing needs to occur, but not in a shallow or facile way that calls us to move quickly into a posture of harmony and unity. In order for true healing to occur, we must begin with honesty. Honesty about the impact of this long and brutal political season; honesty about how we are experiencing fear and frustration and hope and uncertainty; honesty about how we don’t yet know what healing even looks like.
One of the most transformational books I have read recently is My Grandmother’s Hands, by Resmaa Menakem. He uses the framework of trauma therapy to provide readers with the tools we need to work through the various traumas we all experience, particularly in relation to racism. He writes, “Events don’t just happen. We experience them in our bodies—which means we need to metabolize them in our bodies as well. Talking with someone you trust about your experience can help you complete this metabolic process.” (p. 177)
So, while you may be looking for some brilliant insights that make sense of it all and help us find the courage to move forward, all I have is a simple suggestion to listen. Listen to your body, and where the feelings you have land; pay attention to what they feel like, neither ignoring them nor letting them take over. Listen to your neighbor, your partner, your child; hold space for one another to express whatever you need to express. And then, when and if you are ready, listen to folks who might be experiencing these events differently from you. Listen, be curious, and be kind, to yourself and to one another, and then join me in prayer that, someday, we might begin to inch our way into the healing that this broken world so desperately needs, together.
In Christ,
Bishop Paul Erickson
DAILY DEVOTION
Friday, November 8
On Sunday we spent time in John 11 reading of Jesus raising Lazarus from death. It is good to return to this chapter of John’s Gospel again today. Let us note that Jesus orders the stone rolled away, despite the concern from one of the sister’s of Lazarus that since her brother was dead for 4 days, the stench of death would be awful. Well, Jesus is not moving the stone to have Lazarus stay dead, but to come to life. So it is for us. Here. Now. Jesus rolls away the stone. In faith, we look forward and serve to unbind every Lazarus from the cloths of death. God bless you.
+ + +
MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary
12noon
Fellowship Hall
+ + +
+ + +
Women's Bible Study
Changed this week to FRIDAY, November 8 2:45pm
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86149512155?pwd=TW15RUp1Zk8vS3VnUnlDRDdRNGVjQT09
+ + +
Strong Baby Sanctuary
2nd Saturday, Each Month @ 1130
Sunday Nov 10
The memorial service for Mrs. Trudie Denson will be held at Hephatha on Sunday, November 10th at 1:00 p.m. with a dinner to follow. Please pray for the Denson family in the loss of one so dear to them and to the church and entire community. Blessed be the memory of Mrs. Trudie Denson. Please bring a dessert for the repast as you are able to do so.
+ + +
Enough is Enough updated information.
Remember Erin and her family & friends as one year since she and her unborn baby were killed by a reckless driver. That date was November 3, 2023.
+ + +
This link will take you to a Washington Post article written about Whitley Riley, Lawrence and Linda Riley's daughter. CLICK HERE
COLE Panel Discussion
11132024
BOOKS, BOOKS and More BOOKS
Hephatha Book Drive
We are collecting NEW and USED books
for youth and teens.
Please bring what you can to Church to share.
Thank you for your generosity.
Each week Mrs. Esther Brown, Hephatha's Counselor, provides tips on one page about how we can be better, kinder, and healthier.
Here are the last two tips she has provided. Consider checking out the new sheet every week. The sheet is posted on Monday. More TIPS can be found under "Our Ministries" then "Tips from Counselor".
+ + +
VOICES of PRAISE
CHOIR with Erica
Saturday 1:00 PM in the Sanctuary