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| Ms. Patricia R. Bjorling, Associate Conference Minister for Generosity Ministries |
This week's author is Patricia R. Bjorling, Associate Conference Minister for Generosity Ministries for the Connecticut Conference, UCC.
The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. (Selah)
Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory. (Selah)
Because I drive a lot in the course of my job as Associate Conference Minister for Generosity Ministries for the Connecticut Conference, I hear a lot of news radio -- both the actual news shows and the commentary that fills the time slots in between.
This past week as I drove in to work I had been thinking about Psalm 24 and its words about clean hands and not lifting our souls up to what was false and not swearing deceitfully, when a radio announcer began talking about how various political candidates were very busy trying to spin updated versions of what they now believe and what their view of next week's reality will be in light of the rather complicated legal decision presented at the end of June related to the Affordable Health Care Act by the U.S. Supreme Court. The positions that candidates had been advocating prior to the Supreme Court decision no longer made perfect sense. Some positions were a bit irrelevant. New story lines were needed; new attack ads were being conceptualized.
One thing was clear, though, the two political parties were still bitter adversaries. They would be saying whatever is and will be necessary to achieve electoral victory, which seems to be the operating principle for American political campaigning. Full truth and complete facts are inconveniences at best. Let the voter keep his and her wits about them!
But what about this Psalm of David?
"The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it..."
"Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully. They will receive blessing from the Lord, and vindication from the God of their salvation."
What we hear and learn at church is not just Sunday stuff -- our Christian values apply to all aspects of our lives. If we hear half-truths or falsehoods being spread abroad in the land by politicians, or if politicians are being deliberately misleading, it is our responsibility to take action. Write a letter. Call their office or campaign headquarters. We can let those who represent us or wish to represent us know that Christians are listening! "Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob!"
God Almighty, King of Glory,
May my hands be clean,
May my heart be pure,
May my knees bow before you alone.
So that I may ascend to your presence,
So that I many stand on holy ground,
So that I may see your face. Amen.
Please remember:
all the staff, volunteer leaders, and conferees at Silver Lake this week;
all those making their way to the National Youth Event, those from New England working today on service projects in Cleveland, and those many others coming to West Lafayette, Indiana, from all over the nation in the coming days; and
those grieving, homeless, or temporarily displaced by floods in Krymsk, Russia, over the weekend.
Please remember:
those affected by the raging wildfires, those who seek to contain the blazes, those who are temporarily displaced, those who have lost homes, and those who grieve;
those without electricity due to recent storms;
the family and friends of Arthur Thomas Douglas, Sr., grandfather of the Rev. Mia Douglas, associate pastor at Faith Congregational Church UCC in Hartford, who died on June 22;
the family and friends of Alan E. Green, former chair of the Connecticut Conference Board of Directors and former executive director of the New Samaritan Corporation, who died on June 21;
with thanksgiving the birth on June 15 of Jana Renee Grant-Eckhart, daughter of the Rev. M. Ashley Grant and the Rev. Adam E. Eckhart, minister of Christian Education and associate pastor respectively at the First United Church of Christ Congregational of Milford;
the family and friends of Danice Smith, stepmother of the Rev. Samuel Dexter, pastor of the First Congregational Church UCC of Watertown, who died on June 14;
Gail Joslin, former staff member of the Connecticut Conference, being treated for advanced liver cancer;
US Army Staff Sergeant Jeffrey Carroll, son of the Rev. Carla Dietz Carroll, associate pastor at the United Church of Rowayton, UCC, and her husband John Carroll, who is stationed in Afghanistan; Sgt. Carroll and his wife have a young son Charlie;
the Rev. Dr. Barry Cass, the staff, members, and friends of the Somers Congregational United Church of Christ, which lost its 170-year-old meetinghouse to a devastating fire the night of January 1-2;
the Rev. Alison Buttrick-Patton, the lay leadership, staff, members, friends, and community of the Saugatuck Congregational Church UCC, which suffered severe damage from a substantial fire on the night of November 20;
the Conference's partners in the Kyung-Ki Presbytery and their communities on the Korean peninsula;
the Conference's partners working for peace in Colombia amidst violence;
the people of Syria, Sudan, South Sudan, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia, Egypt, and the Palestinian Territories: may they have justice and peace;
the leaders of this nation, that they may meet the challenges of the day with insight, wisdom, and compassion;
this nation, that it may continue its difficult work to end the practices of racism;
those suffering due to the ongoing financial woes of the nation, be they struggling to meet an unaffordable mortgage, confronting the loss of a job, or working to find just resolutions to the crisis; and
those serving or living in war or conflict zones around the world, or where terrorists have struck, particularly in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, and Colombia.
To be added to the prayer list, please send an email to Rev. Eric Anderson at: webmaster@ctucc.org.
Canton Center
First Cong'l Church
P The Rev. Andrew Rushan Sinnaduray
PE The Rev. Evans F. Sealand Jr.
CE Ms. Sarah LeGeyt
Central Village
Central Village Cong'l Church
PE The Rev. Gordon C. Johnson
MM H. Kapszukiewicz
Cheshire
First Cong'l Church of Cheshire
P The Rev. Jeffrey D. Braun
AP The Rev. Alison G. McCaffrey
CE Ms. Caroll J. Cyr
Y Mr. Todd Skrzyniarz
Chester
The United Church of Chester
P The Rev. Kathleen O. Peters
CE Ms. Deb Dondzik
CE Ms. Tracy Bausum
Clinton
First Church of Christ, Inc.
P The Rev. Christopher C. Horvath
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The Spirit Calendar: July 09, 2012 by Ms. Patricia R. Bjorling, Associate Conference Minister for Generosity Ministries
