Author: MASadmin

Links of the Day – August 19, 2013

The Great Eruption

The Big Picture: Reagan’s Million Jobs Month explained. What happened was a big strike ended bringing a large number of workers back to the job. A million jobs were not created.

io9: Google Maps has a Doctor Who Easter Egg

Naked Capitalism: Five Reasons Congress Should be Deeply Ashamed about Jobs

The Hairpin: A Chat with Mikki Kendall and Flavia Dzodan About #SolidarityIsForWhiteWomen With my recent disappointment with who the ELCA churchwide assembly seemed to ignore, or at least punt, the discussion on race, I found this conversation to be a welcome voice and why the conversation on race shouldn’t be ignored.

io9: I really want to see the new Korean movie, Snowpiercer.

The Big Picture: The Great Eruption in the sky is still going on.

ELCA day 4: another youth and young adult resolution

For those following, this is the draft for the second resolution that the youth and young adults are putting forward at this assembly. It covers the 25th anniversary capital campaign and asks for a new goal to be added to it. It was crafted by a young man named Smith and others, who, like me, are rocking #AreYouWithUs t-shirts today. Follow us on Twitter, hashtag #AreYouWithUs, to see what we are up to.

Recognizing that

The theme of the 2013 ELCA CWA is “Always being made new,”

The ELCA has repeatedly insisted on the importance of young adult and youth leaders,

Lay young adult and youth have a strong desire to make their voices heard in the national church,

The eight priority goals of the 25th Anniversary Campaign build on existing programs and missions of the ELCA,

New action is needed to revive the church,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT

the recommendation for assembly action on the 25th Anniversary campaign be amended by adding the following text after paragraph 4, which ends “completion of the campaign,”

To instruct the Church Council to add an additional campaign priority of encouraging, recognizing, and forming lay youth and young adult leaders,

to add an additional $4 million campaign goal specifically for the formation, recognition, and encouragement of lay youth and young adult leaders in the ELCA,

to direct the Congregational and Synodical Division to form a committee to design new projects, programs, and events for this purpose,

to include among those on that committee lay youth and young adult leaders recommended by ELCA campus, youth, and outdoor ministers, as well as leaders from ELCA affiliated and/or associated youth and young adult organizations, and

To charge that same committee with oversight and dispersal of allocated funds and to search for new ideas and fresh voices emerging in the church.

ELCA updates, day 3.

Big day. Big, big day. A resolution for immigration reform, passed. Five ballots to elect the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton as our first female presiding bishop. And I worked on the language for a resolution, led by a young adult named Daniella, to modify the budget and focus on raising up lay youth and young adult leaders. The text, in draft form, was just submitted. It is one of 3 resolutions pertaining to this cause that have been submitted. We’re also ready to make amendments if necessary. Below is the text for the budget one. My first attempt to work on, and be part of, a resolution in any bigger-than-my-local-church event. I’m posting it here to share what we are talking about.

Whereas, section 5.01.i of the Constitution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, states “As a steward of the resources that God has provided, this church shall organize itself to make the most effective use of it’s resources to accomplish its mission;” and

Whereas, the theme of the assembly is “Always Being Made New;” and

Whereas, 30% of the millennial generation consider themselves as a NONE and are not affiliated with any church and that number is expected to grow; and

Whereas, vocation is multilayered and no one approach towards leadership formation speaks to all young adults and youth; and

Whereas, there is a new generation of youth leaders who are not called towards global missions or called to formation as rostered leaders; and

Whereas, dedicated and numerous Youth and Young Adult leaders throughout the church, synods, and congregations, seek resources and a network to continue to be the body of Christ in the world; and

Whereas, 17% of the Churchwide Voting members gathered here are 30 and under; and

Whereas, there is a need for growth in Youth and Young adult ministries at all levels; and

Whereas, new ideas, leadership, and growth are always needed in the church; and

Whereas, evangelism is a continuous, formational, and life long process; and

Whereas, Christ calls each of us by name in our baptism, no matter our age, journey in life, education, social class, race, gender, or sexual orientation; and

Whereas, there is a growing need to revitalize programs that are focused and led by youth and young adults; Therefore, be it

Resolved, that $100,000 dollars be found in the Congregational and Synodical Mission budget and reallocated to the Youth Ministries and Young Adult Ministries in the amount of $20,000 and $80,000 dollars respectively, to revitalize old programs and promote new programs that encourage the formation of lay youth and young adult leaders in the church.

ELCA Day 2: Back on the bandwagon

My last post said I am no longer a young adult but after the response I just saw with my peers, I will at least be one for this assembly. The thoughts and feelings behind my last post was felt by others. A Facebook page for all the young adults here got some traffic. Posts were made. Concerns over the lack of financial support in the budget and the giant fundraising campaign for young adults and youth was noticed by many. Over 20 young adults gathered at lunch to talk about it. I think our voices were raised. Needs and wants were expressed. We decided to not let this assembly go by and not back up their language with actual concrete support was made. We’re gathering, moving, and resolutions and amendments are being drafted asking the assembly to put their money where their mouth is. I am excited. This is great. We’re asking the church, using a spoof of what Bishop Hanson said often yesterday: are you with me? We’re asking the church #areyouwithus. Will you support lay adults in the ELCa by financially backing a nationwide organization designed and run by the under 30.

At opening worship last night, Bishop Hanson preached on Ezekiel and the dry bones. He challenged us to hear, see, be, and lead by ‘rattling some bones.’ The youth have taken up the call. We’re going to see what happens next.

ELCA asembly day 1 thoughts: always being unable to get young adults

What follows below is a reflection on day 1 of the ELCA Churchwide assembly. We’re celebrating our 25th anniversary as a denomination. I’m writing this post on an iPad during the second day sessions, so I apologize for any weirdness below.

I have aged out of being a young adult. Let me explain.

I am the voting delegate from the Metro-New York synod who is the young adult representative. In theory, I am the right generation. Since Rachel Held Evans has been tapped to be a speaker for my generation, I consider her to be the bell weather for who is in and who is out. I’m a year younger than her! I should be young! But…I really am not because I no longer fit the mold of what the church defines as a young adult. I’m married, with a kid, and seem to have a direction in my life. I’ve graduated, in a sense, from the (partially class-based view) in what it means to be a young adult. And that’s fine. But I really do not get what the church is trying to do with young adults.

After the first day, which involved iPad orientation (we’re paperless), reading of the rules, and first ballot for presiding bishop, the young adults gathered for dinner together. About 17% of those gathered are considered young adults which is good. It could be higher but it is not terrible. I serve at a youngish church and that’s about the same percentage we get on Sunday. So we sat together at tables, chatted for a moment, started to get to know each other, and then we were put on hold to listen to people talk to us. The presiding bishop said hello, the director for mission spoke, and a few others. And I couldn’t help but feel like it was a salespitch for seminary. The words out of the various speakers seemed to imply that mission is open for young people, that positions of authority are there, that you won’t need an M.Div degree to even lead a church (that didn’t thrill me)! But is was what it always is: hollow. I just don’t by the arguments being made because it is reactionary rather than intentional. And it is still coached in a language for cradle Lutherans or people who already in the system. This works, kind of, in the setting of s Churchwide assembly, but it always sets off red flags for me. It is a language that assumes that young people are, somehow, the problem. We are asked to take charge as if the old guard is just serving because no one will step in. Really. Like really. It is patronizing, silly, and ignores the reality that there is a generation in power and they like being there. Young people are not the problem here.

This is a little ranty but there is just so much wrongness associated with how the leadership views the young. There is a prism rooted squarely in speaking the language of insiders. There is a lack of intentional self-reflection and serious question asking. Instead, there is an anxiety that bleeds into the church’s approach towards young adults. And I think it is an anxiety that infects everything the church is doing right now. We run from fire to fire without asking why the fire keeps happening in the first place. And if there is anything that young adults can feel and be turned off by, it is this kind of inauthentic approach towards identity formation. If this had existed in my home church when I first walked in, I wouldn’t have come back. If it could be felt when I walked in, I wouldn’t have stayed. Conflict and anxiety was there, issues existed, but it wasn’t limiting. It wasn’t scary. It was not defining the church. We need to live through and be comfortable with the anxiety. It cannot dictate what we are doing. We are a people who believe in God, in God’s living on earth, in the Cross and the promise that is Jesus Christ. We say that he will return. We are a people of promised hope! That is our strength and it is not an anxious one; it is a freeing one. So lets be serious and act like it is.

This is something that young adults might not be able to articulate, but we get. We get the anxiety, we understand who is in power, we also know we’re not a problem and if this is how young adults are viewed, then even though I have aged out, I will always be a young adult. I am the outsider. And as I write this, young adults get this. They noticed that the budget of 90 million only included 400k for youth and young adults. There is social media chat advocating for new motions and other such things to emphasize youth. But this isn’t an asking-it is a telling but I don’t know if the leadership will understand the difference.

Links of the Day – August 11, 2013

Sunspot

Sermon: July 7, 2013 – Standing Tall

Window detail from Advent Lutheran ChurchPreaching on Pentecost + 7, semi-continuous readings, specifically the story of Naaman and Elisha.

2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11,16-20

[Note: The text doesn’t match the audio 100%; seems I lost my manuscript where my handwritten corrections were made.]

Audio: listen here or download the file directly

*****

Please be seated.

Six weeks ago, I stood here and introduced our current summer program ‚Äì the reading, and preaching, on the stories of Elijah and Elisha. I opened with Elijah taking on the prophet’s of Ba’al on a mountaintop in Northern Israel. And I also said, quite clearly, that we were going to be looking at Elijah and Elisha for five weeks. Five weeks. We’re now at six weeks. We’re doing something a little unplanned because the stories of Elijah and Elisha ‚Äì well, they’re awesome. We can’t stop talking about them. Our original narrow path of five weeks just didn’t seem long enough. We had to break the boundaries that we setup.

I guess we were just a tad too inspired by these rule breaking prophets to just stick to our rules too.

Last week, Pastor Brown introduced Elisha ‚Äì Elijah’s successor. In that story, Elijah and Elisha are on a journey together ‚Äì and as they walk, they are separated ‚Äì split apart ‚Äì by chariots and horses of fire. Elijah is taken up into the heavens in a whirlwind while Elisha is left here, on earth, to pick up Elijah’s mantle and be Elijah’s heir. And with that inheritance comes responsibilities ‚Äì responsibilities that call for rule breaking.

Our reading today begins with Naaman, the commander of the king of Aram’s army. Aram is a word we don’t use much today but it describes the territory around Damascus in modern day Syria. Aram and Israel were not friends. In fact, throughout the book of kings, we read stories of Aram, Israel, and Judah fighting wars against each other. They’re use to being at war with each other more than being at peace. So we have this commander of Aram’s army ‚Äì this leader of the enemy forces ‚Äì a leader who is a mighty soldier, who’s won victories ‚Äì who’s everything he’s suppose to be as the general of the Aram army – except for one thing; he’s sick. He has leprosy. We have no idea how long he’s had it. He might have fought many battles while suffering through it, maybe even defeated Israel a few times. But we know that this disease is going to catch up to him. And he knows it too. He knows that his great strength will fail him. He knows that the community will start to shun him and push him away as his disease worsens. He’s going to lose battles, lose the respect of his king, lose the army, his wealth, his family, and, eventually, his life. He’s wasting away and he’s on a journey ‚Äì as one commentator put it ‚Äì a journey from health, status, power, and control to one of sickness, weakness, isolation and death. He’s a warrior caught in a battle he knows he’s going to lose ‚Äì and he’s starting to get desperate. And we know he’s desperate because he begins to break some rules and he listens to a nameless young girl.

Now this nameless young girl had no position. She had no wealth, no social status. She didn’t even have control over her own life. She was captured in a military raid on Israel and now serves Naaman’s wife. She is, in the eyes of the world, nothing. But she says something that gets Naaman’s attention. She talks about a prophet who can heal him so he does what any desperate person would do ‚Äì he takes a chance and goes to see this prophet in Israel.

Naaman, in away, has broken the rules. He’s listened to the powerless. He’s listened to someone he shouldn’t have. But… he doesn’t just immediately head to Israel. He doesn’t rally the army for another raid though he probably could have. He might have even been able to capture Elisha and force the prophet to heal him. No, Naaman instead goes back to following the rules. He talks to his king, gets permission to go to Israel, gets a letter of introduction and gathers together all the gold, silver, and fancy clothes he can carry to bribe Elisha to heal him. Naaman listens to the powerless and immediately goes back to following what the powerful do. And it works! Naaman finds himself at the door to Elisha’s house. He brings with him his gold, silver, and gifts, his chariots and an entourage. Naaman arrives, in force, at the door of this prophet. He arrives as a general, as one in charge, as one who isn’t on the journey that he’s truly on. He’s losing his life but he’s acting like he’s not. He’s coming to the door of the prophet as one who expects to be healed, not as one who needs to be healed. So it must have blown Naaman’s mind to come to the front door of Elisha’s house and be met by a messenger rather than the prophet himself.

Elisha doesn’t come to the door because, I think, he’s not playing the game that Naaman is. Elisha has seen power. He’s conversed with kings. But he’s also seen a different power ‚Äì a power with a different agenda that doesn’t seem to follow the same rules. A power that seems willing to break the rules that get in its way. Elisha has seen Elijah being taken up in a whirlwind. He’s picked up the mantle. He’s parted the waters of the Jordan and performed his own series of miracles ‚Äì miracle stories we don’t read in worship but that are there in the chapters before our reading today. He’s stopped children from being sold to cancel a debt, he’s caused an older woman to give birth to a son, and he’s even provided food in the midst of a famine. He’s witnessed God’s power breaking into the world to restore relationships that should, by the world’s definition, end. He’s witnessed God’s power stretching beyond the borders of Israel. And he’s seen the commander of the enemy army march to his front door, wield his gold and silver and chariots, and seen this commander ignore just how powerless he is. Naaman, like the captive young girl, is powerless in the face of his disease. He is marching towards brokenness but acting like he isn’t. So Elisha gives him a simple task ‚Äì to go to a local river and wash seven times. To go into the river of the enemy, to remove his armor, his shield, to step off his chariot, and wash seven times, in the wide open, powerless. Vulnerable. Unsafe. He’s told to be naked and weak in the face of his enemy. Only then, when his rules are blown open and he’s no longer in control, will healing take place.

Now, in reality, Naaman never stops being powerful. He never stops being the general of Aram’s army. Even in the middle of the river, his chariots are still under his orders and his wealth that he brought into Israel still belongs to him. He’s in a much different place than the captive young girl who started his journey into Israel. He has a level of control over his life that she never will have. He will always be named while she’ll always be the nameless. Naaman comes to God in the only way he knows how ‚Äì he walks up to Elisha’s front door using the only rules he knows ‚Äì the rule of power, force, wealth, and might. And that’s where God meets him ‚Äì right where Naaman is. That’s where God’s messenger met him. God doesn’t wait to begin the conversation with Naaman until he repents or renounces the gods of Aram. God begins the conversation in the heart of Naaman’s strength and control ‚Äì by having that captive young girl, deep in the heart of Naaman’s family, begin the conversation. God doesn’t wait for Naaman to follow God’s rules before God reaches out to him. God acts first ‚Äì setting in motion the breaking down of Naaman’s expectations ‚Äì and only then does healing take place ‚Äì because God isn’t afraid of meeting Naaman in Naaman’s strength; talking with Naaman where Naaman believes himself to be most powerful. God isn’t afraid of meeting Naaman’s chariots and wealth and military might. And God isn’t afraid of meeting our strengths either.

Naaman is an outsider. He follows other gods, he’s not an Israelite, and he’s even defeated Israel in battle a few times. He’s not suppose to get healed. But he is healed because God isn’t afraid of being bigger than our expectations. That’s part of our invitation in Naaman’s story. Imagine bringing to God all of who we are, beyond just our weakness ‚Äì of laying at the foot of the cross what gives us strength as well as what shows our brokenness. A good job with nice benefits and security; a great family where everyone communicates with everyone else; even our own faith life ‚Äì from our prayers to our attending worship, even during a long 4 day weekend in honor of the 4th of July. Because God’s call to us isn’t for just a part of us. God didn’t ask Naaman to wear a sackcloth and to enter the court of the king of Israel with dirt on his face. No, God met Naaman where Naaman saw himself. And, it was there, that Naaman was changed.

The story doesn’t end with Naaman being clean. Our reading skips the last few verses where Naaman returns to Elisha for a final conversation. Naaman’s mind and heart have been open. He converts. Hebecomes a follower of God. And he asks Elisha to pray for him because Naaman’s job puts him in a bind. As commander of the army, he is required to escort the king to worship other gods. Naaman will bow towards other gods when his king bows ‚Äì and Naaman asks for pardon. He asks for forgiveness. He asks for help because what caused him his strength ‚Äì his military might, status, and power ‚Äì is now going to cause him to stumble. His chariots, silver, and gold, cannot help him in that situation. Naaman’s sense of strength is really powerless in the situation with his king. He’s not in control because the king of Aram is. Naaman asks for forgiveness from God. And, like in the bathing in the river, when Naaman was exposed, God meets him as well. God has taken and accepted all of Naaman for who Naaman is ‚Äì even Naaman’s weakness within Naaman’s powerfulness. Elisha does what we are all invited to do when we come to that place ‚Äì when we ask for God’s pardon ‚Äì ask for God’s help ‚Äì ask for God’s clarity in light of a difficult situtation; Elisha turns to Naaman and reaffirms God’s promises to him ‚Äì that God loves him, will not give up on him, and has accepted who he is but won’t leave him there. Naaman isn’t alone. He’s healing has brought him into the community of God. So Elisha affirms that promise and says to the commander of the enemy’s army ‚Äì Go in Peace.
Amen.

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God’s (Unlikely) Fire: A Pentecost + 2 sermon

Preached at Advent Lutheran Church, NYC on June 2, 2013.
Readings (includes semi-continuous) 1 Kings 18:20-39, Psalm 96, Galatians 1:1-12, Luke 7:1-10

I’m preaching on the semi-continuous lectionary reading from First Kings. The Elijah Cycle! Oh yeah!

Don’t want to read? I recorded an audio version as well.

************

Doesn’t the story from our first reading sound like an old fashion, god vs god, throw-down showdown? In the left corner, we have the God of Israel, YHWH, and in the right, we have the storm god known as Baal. This is a perfect thunderdome moment. Two gods enter, one god leaves. And the rules are simple. The prophets from each side will gather together ‚Äì and as Elijah says ‚Äì it is “the god who answers by fire” who “indeed” is “God.”

So that’s how we’re starting our five week exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures ‚Äì of the story of Elijah ‚Äì by answering the question which god ‚Äì Baal or YHWH ‚Äì will send an answer to the people of Israel with fire.

But why the question? And what is this fire that Elijah keeps talking about?

Our reading today has a little back story. It takes place on Mt. Carmel after the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel had split. King Ahab rules the north and Elijah is introduced by going up to the king, looking at him straight in the face, and saying that there will be no rain in Israel ‚Äì that there will be a drought in Israel until God decides otherwise. This, of course, doesn’t make Elijah lots of friends ‚Äì so Elijah runs. He hides ‚Äì and the drought happens. And it goes on. And on. And on. Then, finally, three years in, Elijah emerges from his hiding places, meets Ahab, and gathers the prophets of Baal, the king of Israel, and the entire people of Israel to Mt. Carmel where Elijah throws it down. He accuses the people of Israel of being unfaithful; of wavering; of putting their trust in something other than YHWH ‚Äì and thinking that something or someone or some other god could end this drought. So Elijah calls for a contest and the rules are simple: the prophets of Baal will do their rituals, prayers, and sacrifices and Elijah will do his ‚Äì and the god who answers with fire ‚Äì the god who can send down lighting ‚Äì the god who can actually make it rain and end Israel’s suffering ‚Äì that’s the god that the people should trust; the god they should devote themselves to; the god they should be faithful to. That’s the question here ‚Äì which god can actually help us. And the one that can ‚Äì all they have to do is just make it rain.

So the prophets do what prophets do. The prophets of Baal do their thing. They perform the rituals they know. They say the prayers they’ve been taught. They do everything they can to get Baal to notice them; to notice their suffering; to hear their case. I mean, bringing rain ‚Äì that’s just what a storm god does. Baal should have no problem with this simple task. And all the prophets of Baal need to do is activate their god, switch their god on, get their god to see them. And, they try. They really do. They do everything they know how to do ‚Äì even when Elijah mocks them ‚Äì they don’t stop. They don’t give up. They try everything to activate their god ‚Äì who they trust ‚Äì who they have faith in ‚Äì but it just doesn’t work.

So Elijah starts his rituals ‚Äì but he begins in a different way. He first gathers everyone together. And when they are close he takes 12 stones representing the tribes of Israel and builds an altar, digs a trench, lays down wood, and drowns the wood in water three times. And, as he begins the sacrifice, he does what I think is the most important part of the story ‚Äì he prays ‚Äì and he starts his prayer with these words: “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel…”

Did you catch that? Did you notice what Elijah does different here? He doesn’t name God in the usual way. He doesn’t say the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. No, Elijah says Israel ‚Äì the name Jacob was given by God after Jacob spent the night wrestling with the Angel. Israel, the name Jacob was granted after he held onto the angel all night long, refusing to let go even as the day broke and the sun rose into the sky ‚Äì Jacob refused to let go until he was blessed. So the angel blessed him, giving him a new name ‚Äì Israel ‚Äì which means “he who struggles with God.”

That, I think, is the ace in Elijah’s sleeve. In this confrontation with the prophets of Baal ‚Äì he’s actually not confronting Baal. This really isn’t a god vs god boxing match. No, Elijah is doing something different. He’s there reminding the people of Israel who they are ‚Äì who they have been ‚Äì who has claimed them and what their true identity is. And in the reminding, Elijah is not trying to activate God. He’s not trying to get God’s attention. He knows he has God’s attention. He knows that God is paying attention to them because they are the heirs of Jacob ‚Äì they are heirs to being the people who struggle with God ‚Äì who live in relationship with God. This isn’t about saying the right prayer, doing the right dance, or performing just the right kind of good deed to get God’s attention. They are gathered not to activate God but to remember that God has already activated them. God has already given them an identity. God has already named and claimed them. God has already answered them with fire ‚Äì from the burning bush of Moses and the pillar of fire that lead the people as they traveled through Sinai on their forty year journey ‚Äì God has already answered them and continues to answer them. The contest on Mt. Carmel isn’t a real contest. It isn’t a throw-down between two gods. It’s a reminder of what it means to be the people of God and that this God has already acted in their lives ‚Äì in their very identity and history. Elijah is calling them to remember that God has already answered in fire ‚Äì and that they are the witnesses to God’s activity in the world; witnesses to God’s fire; witnesses to God’s answer to the world. They are, in a sense, God’s fire for the here and now no matter how unfaithful, unguided, and wavering they seem to be. They are God’s unlikely fire in the world.

Two weeks ago, we heard the story of Pentecost ‚Äì how the holy spirit descended like a mighty wind through the disciples as they gathered to tell the story of God and Jesus. And as they gathered, tongues of fire appeared over them. Tongues of fire. Tongues of fire so that the story of Jesus ‚Äì the story of the carpenter from Nazareth who traveled throughout Israel, who healed the sick, brought good news to the poor, saw the invisible, ate meals with the unwanted, and died on the Cross ‚Äì that this story could be shared to all, regardless of who they were, where they came from, or what they believed or did. And that’s still our present story ‚Äì our present calling ‚Äì to live out Elijah’s reminder that we gather to remember and witness God’s story and to be bearers of God’s fire into the world. Because our story is not about trying to live a life that gets God to notice us ‚Äì but to live in that place where God has taken a chance on us, in all our imperfections, to be part of God’s answer to the world. The Cross of Christ just doesn’t right our relationship with God ‚Äì the Cross of Christ activates us, gathers us, claims us to be living witnesses to the fact that God actually loves the world. Because we are part of God’s fire. Right here, on the corner of 93rd and Broadway, we’re invited to be like Jacob and live out what it means to struggle with God. We’re invited to share our story, to remind others of our story, and to live as God’s fire in the world. We’re invited to pack a bag of groceries for a neighbor in need or serve a hot meal to a stranger who might not get another meal that day. We’re invited to raise awareness of the maternal cost of racism, to fight malaria in Africa, to advocate against discrimination based on gender identity, and this is just a small sample of what we, as children of God, are invite to do. We’re invited to live out Elijah’s call ‚Äì to live out what it means to be a people who are activated by God rather than who try to activate God. Because that’s the gift of grace ‚Äì that this activation isn’t up to us. No, God has turned us on ‚Äì God has made us fire bearers – and we’re invited to live out God and Jesus’ story on this corner in New York City and throughout the world.

Amen.

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