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Dear San Marco Church Family: We had an excellent turnout on Sunday for the child and youth protection training event. Thanks to all of you who attended and are planning to serve. The current tentative plan is to offer a “children’s church” opportunity starting Sunday, February 23 and occurring every second and fourth Sunday each month. Please pray that God guides the children and families who will benefit from this ministry to San Marco Church. Over the years, I have participated in many conversations about church plans for the future, and invariably the question of “what does God want” arises. We might ask this same question in our discussions about politics and social issues. An article from The Christian Century magazine this week answered the question as follows: “….our first instinct should be to point to Jesus. He is what God wants: his way of being, his way of loving, his way of becoming neighbor to any and all……….According to Jesus, God doesn’t want people to welcome strife and division into their lives, nor does he want them to pass by helpless victims they stumble by on the side of the road. God wants this world to be……………….a place where justice rushes down like waters, where enemies are loved, where orphans and widows are welcomed and taken care of by the powerful, where people pursue peace, where actions are informed by compassion.” In the current divisions in our world, this may seem like a tall and even impossible order. However, it does cause me to think about how I spend my time. There is no instance in scripture of Jesus being focused on the local or national news, whether in Galilee or elsewhere. I don’t think Jesus would advocate watching more cable news. Rather, Jesus would remind us to learn the names of our neighbors, to be on the lookout for ways that we can serve people in need, and to have a curious and compassionate interest in meeting new people. Adopting these habits will keep us busy and leave little time for following the strife of local and national politics. But there is one caveat. I believe we have a duty to speak up when we encounter injustice. We can speak up by writing or calling our elected representatives and voicing our objections to policies that are unjust. When leaders hear from significant numbers of constituents regarding a particular matter, there is a greater chance that the matter will be addressed. After we let our voice be heard, we can continue the daily work of loving the people we encounter every day. As always, I welcome your questions and ideas about sermons or sermon series ideas that interest you. Feel free to email me anytime with your questions and ideas at stevehart100@gmail.com. I remain grateful to serve as your pastor, and I look forward to seeing you Sunday! Steve Hart
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