Dear Glen Mar,

I’m grateful for those that joined us for prayer (either on Zoom or on your own) on Tuesday to pray for our nation and for peace. Like many of you, I have watched in shock and horror as our capital was overrun by rioters who broke windows, chased police officers, and vandalized spaces. I have never in my life thought that I would see what I saw, including a Confederate flag in the Capitol Rotunda. So many of our friends and neighbors have dedicated their lives to defending the US Constitution and served with honor in our government or our military, resolutely doing their duty to God and Country regardless of political party. My heart breaks for the events of this week that so disrespected those things. I hope you will continue to join me in prayer for our country, for healing and for the rule of law. I’m heartened by the bipartisan condemnation of this violence and I’m hopeful it can be a sign of healing to come.

Alexis de Tocqueville was a French diplomat who visited the USA in the mid-nineteenth century and wrote about his impressions in his seminal work Democracy in America. He observed, “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.” My prayer is that we can be continually repairing and recommitting so that we can continue to be and to grow into an America as good as the promises we make, about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, about “a government of laws and not of men,” and that “all…are created equal.”

This weekend, I’m looking forward to beginning our worship series, “Overcome: Hope and Healing In the New Year” by preaching about what Scripture teaches us about overcoming fear. I’ll be looking at the story of Jacob, whose fear made him dread meeting his brother on the other side of the river Jabbock, and whose encounter with a God who wrestled with him, led to a new name, a new life, and a new way of walking for Jacob, now called “Israel.” It’s been a hard week. Let’s pray and worship, remember our baptisms, and affirm who we are called to be. Y’all come.

See you “online,”
Pastor Mandy