Dear, Dear, Family of God:
As we write this letter we have just celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. He was a man who was driven by a vision of a world in which all people were seen as equally the children of God. He had a vision in which justice would reign and all would equally be served by this justice. He held up the vision of Jesus that the weakest and those on the “outside” especially, needed to be cared for and supported. And he held up a vision of peace. His methods were non- violent and he called for an end to war and hatred in all its forms.
Yet, the hatred, the inequity, the injustice, and the oppression of the world continue. The brokenness of the world maybe different than in King’s day either in method or target, and yet they continue. It sometimes seems easy to despair. But King believed that it was faith in God that kept us from giving up. King reminded us that the message of Jesus was not just a spiritual message, but was, dare we say it, a political message as well.
From the beginning Jesus held up a vision of a new world order filled with all King preached and stood for. And King believed that the Church was to be the carrier of this vision.
In every age the Church needs to be an agent for bringing in a new world. We know we never will, not by our own power. Only our Lord can truly bring in the Kingdom. But we can stand as heralds of that Kingdom in our lives. We can give our lives to the vision of our Lord who believed that the world should be guided by love, love that embraces all, and justice merged with mercy that sought the best for all people and treated all with equity.
We are proud that Trinity holds on to this vision in all they do. We are proud of our welcome statement. We are proud of our work in the community with those who it would be easy to forget. We are proud of our commitment to share the love and promise of God with the world. But there is much to do.
May we remember King’s powerful words: “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
Yours in Christ Pastors Cris and Dave
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