A time to love!

June 10, 2020

Greetings in the holy name of God, our Father and Jesus Christ, our Lord! I pray you, your family and loved ones are all well.  We are well and thanking God for keeping us safe and healthy.

These past few months have been very troubling.  We have witnessed things that have never taken place in our lifetime.  The Covid 19 Crisis changed the way we live our lives, how we fellowship, how we do ministry and even how we gather to worship our Lord.  Many remain scared to go outside their homes or engage in person to person contact.  We have learned to distance ourselves from others to keep ourselves and them safe, and we have had to learn new ways to express our love, care or concern as handshakes, hugs and touching are now considered unsafe.  So much has changed!

If that were not enough, we recently watched a black man being killed by a white police officer while in police custody, handcuffed, and laying on the ground with the officer’s knee on his neck.  We watched him begging for his life while calling out “I can’t breathe”, as his life left his body. We were forced to watch this blatant reminder of systemic racism broadcasted repeatedly and experience the painful reality of it all.  An outcry and uprising throughout the country and around the world followed against a culture where something like this could even be considered acceptable.  We watched riots and looting and stores burning, angry mobs and peaceful protest all in the name of seeking justice.  And all of this happened while we are still dealing with Covid 19. 

So much to pray about. So much for our hearts and minds to process.  So much hurt.  So much pain.  And what are we supposed to do with it all?   BREATHE! None of this has taken God by surprise.  He remains on His throne.  He is the Sovereign Lord and He sees and knows it all.  Remember, He loves you and He cares.  He is an ever-present help in times of trouble.  You’re not alone.  God is with you to help you.  Acknowledge His presence and trust Him to bring you safely through all this. 

So many people are hurting. People continue to get sick or die from a virus they cannot see.  People are forced to be home and separated from family and friends.  Many have lost jobs, businesses, loved ones.   Fear and frustration are all around.  Black lives matter.  The lives of the poor and needy on the streets matter.  The life of the elderly matter.  The life of the unborn matter.  Life is precious. Jesus came so we might have life and have it abundantly.  May God help us all to genuinely love our neighbor as our self and live our lives in such a way that people know that their life really does matter to God and to us. 

Stand with us as we reach out with God’s love to the least of these in our community.  Thank you for your faithful love and support as we continue to reach out during these times.  Please pray with us that God show us the most effective ways of ministering His love in this new day in which we are living. 

Love you.  Thank you for caring!

Eartha Harris

President