“Go to the polls. Vote. Love one another.” In today’s message from General Minister and President, Rev. Terri Hord Owens she encourages the church with a word of scripture from Psalm 145.
Hello Disciples, this is your General Minister and President Terri Hord Owens. It’s the first week of November and we have just observed All Saints Day what a precious time to remember those we’ve loved those who have formed us those who’ve made it possible for us to be who we are today whose memories we call blessed in whom we continue to carry in our hearts.
This week is leading up to election day for the 2020 midterms in the United States and early voting is underway and I do hope that you are fulfilling your civic duty to cast your ballot. We have a tremendous responsibility to exercise that vote with due diligence recognizing and protecting each one’s right to cast that ballot this is a part of what it means to love and respect one another.
And together we must be committed to creating a society that is more just and more loving where we all have enough throughout our history as Disciples we have been committed to living into God’s gift of unity. That gift does not mean unanimity but it is a commitment covenant a promised Reinhold Neibuhr would say “to walk together even when we disagree.” So in a season where division can be threatening let’s remember that as part of the one body of Christ we are a movement for wholeness.
One of our lectionary Psalms this week is Psalm 145 and verse 3 says “great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. His greatness is unsearchable.” God is big enough, great enough, wise enough, loving enough, to hold us all close. God is so much more than we could understand. So much more than we can ever know. That’s the comfort and in our humility before God may we remember that God’s limitless love is for us all.
Each one’s humanity each one’s dignity must be respected and reflected in the choices that we make we must always start with love and if we start with love if we truly believe in God’s limitless love for us all. There is no other road we can take but the road of respect and care for all humanity. Go to the polls. Vote. Love one another. God bless you Disciples remember God loves you and so do I.
Jim Link
Yes, “the one body of Christ,” and the Christian “movement,” but truly so as we bear witness together to our One Head, Jesus Christ, leading the way Himself, being Himself the way, His own movement in and with and for the world, in the promise of the Holy Spirit!!
Where then is our witness to the leading name of our Lord Jesus Christ in this transcript, as “the body of Christ, ” and His very own leading living Lord movement, in the leading words,of our general minister and president here in rhis? According to the living God of heaven and earth, as the beloved church of God in and with and for the whole world of nations, let us never neglect, but rather serve to bear witness, to Him and serve with and in and for the sake, His name, the name that is above every name, in heaven and upon earth: the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we exercise indeed our own servant responsiblilties to God, one another, and all our fellow human beings! Let us remember how God peculiarly loves, as He has loves the world! We may be in different political parties, and even denominations, with different denominational, leaders, but let us all remember most of all, above all, and decidedly, by our Lord Jesus Christ, from God, and God’s own beloved and chosen Son, and not first own chosing, we are the Christian church of our one, Head, Jesus Christ, disciples of Christ, together with His world wide church in witness to Him and His work in and with and for the whole world, and that He declares to us “Behold, I am with you, to the end of the age.” By our baptism we confess together that we are our Lord Jesus Christ’s own movement in and with and for the whole world, including the United States of America among all the world, some of us citizens age 18 and r older and registered or registratable voters therein!
Our Living Lord Jesus Christ lead His church and all His Christian in and with and for the good of God’s world of nations together on this earth, under heaven, as He has been for us all by our gracious God in His affirmation of every human being, God Himself having chosen Himself to be the God of His human beings, and thus also chosen us human beings to be His! “I will be your God, you will be my people.” That is fulfilled by God in Jesus Christ our Lord, and in the promise of the Holy Spirit. That is the great mystery of God for us, God’s gracious , “God is with us,” Our Emanuel, Jesus Christ for all human beings !
Rev. Doris Beckerman
Amen! We Disciples, and all lives we touch, all are greatly blessed by your words and your service.
Thank you immensely,
Deveta Brown
Greetings, Dr. Hord Owens,
I am Deveta Smith Brown, senior pastor of Poplar Hill Christian Church (DOC) in the South Carolina Region. I appreciate your kind words of wisdom and love. And also, the beautiful reminder of those Saints that paved the way for us, that we might “Be” … (.) And yes, those whom we will forever hold in our hearts.
Blessings