A pastoral letter from our Regional leadership regarding the immigration situation unfolding before us: July 21, 2014 Dear Church, If we love our Neighbor? John 13: 34-35: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples; if you have love for one another.” (NRSV) This summer at our church camps we attempted to teach our youth and children a basic understanding of being a Disciple of Christ. We shared with our children the stories of Jesus reaching out with compassion to the least of these. We taught our youth how Jesus reached out with love to outsiders and considered them as “Neighbors.” Then we encouraged them to go and be Disciples by welcoming and sharing compassion with all, with a particular emphasis on welcoming the least of these. In recent days we have heard the stories of over 57,000 children from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala who are fleeing to the United States to escape untold poverty and devastatingly unsafe conditions. Though the current situation has and will likely continue to be spark debates over immigration policies, discussions about border security, and concerns around the costs to State budgets; as Disciples of Christ, let us teach our children and youth to first see these children as Neighbors to be loved. We ask that before all else we pause for prayer for our Neighbors! Let us “Go and be Disciples” by providing compassion for these children and welcoming them to the tables in our churches. Let us “Go and be Disciples” in the same manner we encouraged all the youth and children who attended camp this summer. May the words we speak and the actions we take help to show the whole world that we are Disciples of Christ who first loved us! Rev. Bill Spangler-Dunning Rev. William Mitchell Rev. Tammy Rottschaefer Rev. Jim Wakelin Rev. Julie Gibson Bert Burns Connie Derby Dicks
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 21:39:14 +0000
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