On Labor Day 2016,
members of St. George’s, together with members of Germantown United Methodist,
Germantown Presbyterian, New Bethel Baptist and Kingsway Christian Churches,
gathered to prepare to go out on our third Labor of Love experience. As now has
become our custom on those days, we greeted one another, and met neighbors that
we’d not met before, and then we sat together for a time of reflection and
prayer before our work in God’s world began.
It had been quite the
summer: From a massive earthquake in Italy, to devastating flooding in
Louisiana, to an unprecedented killing in Orlando, to a lone Dallas gunman’s
heartbreaking response to police shootings of several African American men in other
cities around the country, the summer had been one to remember, but for all of
the wrong reasons.
But even amid the
sadness, rays of hope shone. Relief teams from throughout the world responded
to Italy, to help locate survivors and provide aid. People who called
themselves the “Cajun Navy” responded to neighbors in Louisiana, rescuing the
stranded, preparing meals, providing shelter, and caring for one another as the
reality of the number of people who were without homes settled in. People
throughout the country responded to the Dallas mayor’s call for prayer for
their city, and in communities like Wichita, police and civilians came together
to begin to forge new relationships and break down barriers that had existed
for far too long between them.
And so, on Labor Day, a couple of
hundred Christians in Germantown came together, too, to show God’s light and love in a weary and tired Memphis community that needed to see that love. And we did it - neighbors coming together with other neighbors -
with smiles and laughter, and grateful hearts. We delivered lots of meals,
cleaned some yards, created 1,000 care packages for those among us who are displaced,
and packed 10,000 meals for MidSouth Food Bank, through the MemphisFeeds
Initiative. Coming together, we were able to accomplish more than either of our
churches would have been able to accomplish alone.
Going forth into the
world to serve God is what we are called to do. We are reminded of that pledge
in our Baptismal Covenant, and we are literally sent forth each week when we
leave the Lord’s Table.
But this year, our
shared time of service seemed to take on new meaning, as we all searched for
ways to make a difference when the needs were so great and the task before us
almost seemed insurmountable. And we discovered yet again that while any one
person’s hands are capable of doing mighty work for God, when we come together
and work together, we accomplish so much more.
And so it is that we who
are people of God are called to come together and work together, so that all of
God’s people may know justice and peace. We must renew our commitment to serve God and God's people, and to break
down the walls that separate us and work together for the good of all.
By now, we know that the
work of breaking down barriers isn’t work that someone else can do for us. It
is the work of the people, all of God’s people. The need could not be greater.
The time could not be more imminent.
And so, my sisters and
brothers in Christ here at St. George’s, we pledge to renew our commitment to
make the world around us a better place by shining the light of Christ’s love,
as it radiates from us, into the darkness. That’s the best response that we can
possibly make to the world. And by shining God's light into the world, we
continue to show just how relevant, and just how important, the Church
continues to be. We can’t stop now. We can’t afford to be disheartened. We can’t
love too much. God is counting on us all. And when we continue to shine the
light of God from our little corner, and walk hand in hand with our neighbors,
we will make a difference, one life at a time.
In Christ,
Dorothy+
