Tuesday, November 25, 2014

My Thanksgiving Letter to Ridge Church

Last week I spent an hour at Eads Elementary School as a community reader.  Each month, people from the community come into Eads and read a book to a class (or 2) and talk about a topic that the book was related to.  This month, the theme was gratitude, and I read a cute story about a family that everything goes wrong for their Thanksgiving Dinner --- yet in the end, they realize that Thanksgiving isn't about the food.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I want to take a moment and say THANKS.  Thanks to my family, without you my life would not have the meaning it does!  Thanks to the staff of Ridge Church --- Holly, Dave, Kathy, Sheri, Phil, Allan, Peggy, Linda, Diana and Susan --- each of you have an amazing heart and you share that love with the community in wonderful ways.  Thanks to all of you who call Ridge Church home, without you we cannot reach out and share the love and way of Jesus.  That is why we exist!

As you gather around your thanksgiving table, I pray that you will take time and see all the blessings that you have and that you will remember those who are not as fortunate as you.

I hope that you will also say a prayer for our country.  I don’t know what happened that fateful August night in Ferguson MO.  What I do know is that an unarmed black teenage is dead, the officer who fired the weapon that killed him will not be subject to a trial in which the facts of the incident can be publicly known and scrutinized.  In a country that is becoming more and more polarized over income and race, last night’s decision, I am afraid will only increase the distrust that is felt.

I am not black, and have only once been subject to discrimination based on my racial make-up (I was thought to be Palestinian in Jerusalem); I cannot imagine what it is like to grow up black in America today.  There has to be fear, and last night only added to it.  Whether we want to believe it or not, racial discrimination still is alive in the USA.  We don’t like to hear that, but I hear the jokes, the stereotyping all the time.  We as followers of Jesus must take the lead and say NO MORE!  It is time that we pray and seek a better world for all of God’s children.

I, will be praying for forgiveness.  I know I have not done enough in my own life to stem the tide of hatred in this land.

Humbly,


Pastor Steve

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