By Melaina Trice, Pastor for Worship & Communication
Once upon a time, I was a lanky kid with very little interest in team sports. For the most part, I was a creative kid who enjoyed escaping into my imagination to write stories and poetry, draw pictures, and build Lego houses. I did enjoy riding my bike (correction . . . racing on my bike), climbing trees, or competing in foot races from one end of my neighborhood block to the other. However, I have never been someone who enjoyed working out for exercise’s sake but where exercise met play, fun, and community then I was all in for it. This is still me.
Organized sports that took Saturdays away from watching Bob Ross’, The Joy of Painting, Bob Vila’s, This Old House, or time away from writing or drawing were not for me. Yet, I began to run track during my sophomore year of high school with only the experience of foot racing on my block for fun. I had to be convinced by my friends who had high aspirations of being Flo Jo or Jackie Joyner-Kersee to join the team. They convinced me not with hopes of being a track star but with the fact that they would be there, and they were my best friends. They omitted the parts outlining the intensive workouts at practice that included running miles up and down hills, practicing starts far too many times (even being pushed in the dirt by our coach), sweating profusely every day, or the muscle aches and shin splints I would get. They didn’t tell me about the times I would want to give up and they would need to give me encouragement and hope. But to spend extra time with them, I would have likely agreed even if I knew in advance. I would have given up my favorite shows, exercised, the humiliation of being pushed in the dirt by the coach, and being generally uncomfortable to be with them. And through this love for them, I found running. Running stretched me, made me stronger, healed, and restored my body. I have learned that this is a metaphor for love in action. Love stretches us, moves us, makes us uncomfortable at times, heals, gives hope, restores, and brings us into community.
As Easter people, we will explore love in action. Through the life, death, and resurrec-tion of Jesus Christ we have been free to love. We are free to love God, neighbor, and creation. In fact, the extravagance of grace and love poured out from God overwhelms us with gratitude and joy to love our neighbors and creation. We are moved to action because of love. Mary Magdalene upon re-ceiving the good news of love in the garden, was moved to action. She ran! She ran to share the good news of love with the other disciples. That love continues to reverberate giving liberation, hope, healing, restoration, peace, and community to the world.
Our Stewardship Campaign will begin on May 7 and continue through June 11. The campaign will continue with Mission Possible, and the theme is “Reaching the Goal.” In exploring the theme of “Reaching the Goal,” we will use the biblical imagery of “running the race.” Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are free to run a raceof love. This race allows us to be loved and to be love to the world.
Our giving reflects this love in action. Through giving, the building of Glen Mar serves so many people as a place of hope, joy, worship, encouragement, healing, restoration, and love. Through giving, mission and evangelism teams can serve the needs of our neighbors and community with love, hope, and peace. The goal of the campaign is to reduce our mortgage debt so that we can serve in and outside of the walls of Glen Mar. Let’s run together towards the goal!
We will continue to explore love in action through the messages of the Minor Prophets. The sermon series will begin on June 18 and continue through July 16. The series is called “Come Back to Me: Love Stories from the Minor Prophets”. This series will examine the message of love from God as spoken by the minor prophets. We will learn of love that heals, gives hope, restores, at times is unpop-ular, and gracefully scandalous. God’s love for humankind is the greatest love story ever told. So, run (in spirit) and don’t walk to-wards God’s abundant love!
