My mother was a schoolteacher, an orator, and a much sought-after speaker; she was also deeply spiritual, a devout Missionary Baptist. One of the speeches she was often asked to deliver was entitled: “Cast Thy Bread Upon the Waters.”

There is nothing better than a great tasting golden delicious apple, a juicy orange, or a slice of sweet watermelon! Just seeing fruit that looks good can be mouthwatering. Before purchasing fruit, however, most of us will first take a close look at it to ensure that it is not rotten or spoiled.

In this scripture, Mary, the mother of Jesus, has just received word from the angel Gabriel about her being blessed with the glory of birthing the “Son of the Most High.” She hurries to tell Elizabeth, and as she calls to her, the baby within Elizabeth’s womb starts to leap with joy and recognition.

When we look at all to the devastating things that are going on in the world today, we must wonder are they signs from God. Is God trying to tell us something? Is the day of Jesus return coming soon? Should we be fearful?

In our text for the day, the apostle Paul can hardly contain his joy — and perhaps even surprise — at the reception of the Thessalonian believers. Paul seeks to praise the Thessalonians for their faith and to encourage them to remain true to the mission of Christ even in the face of hardship.

Prayers of Thanksgiving, In Memory of Ahmaud Arbery

Don’t miss Liberating Love, this year’s Annual Membership Assembly, Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 10:00 AM Central Time via Zoom. Hear inspiring words from Rev. Dr. Danielle Buhuro and learn about our legislative wins this year and our ongoing work to build Beloved Community.

As we somberly and soberly reflect on the lives lost two decades ago on this anniversary of the heinous acts of September 11, let us also do the hard work and reflect on how fear can create our own inner terrorist. Terrorism evolving from our fear of the “other” – whether that be an “other” gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, political party or religion. CRS Board Member, Avalon Betts-Gaston, shares a reflection on the events of September 11.

The start of a new school year marks an exciting new beginning. This especially true this year as we embark on a new normal after experiencing over seventeen months of a once-in-a-century global pandemic. A global pandemic that has caused you to be disconnected and isolated.

After twelve months of this pandemic, if our greatest desire is to get back to where we were a year ago, we have missed the memo from the Holy Spirit.

My fifth-grade teacher had a box on her desk for loose change that we collected and sent to an overseas children’s mission. We learned the children received food, clothing, vaccines, and were also baptized as a result of our offerings. One day, our teacher said that our offerings had lagged, and the children were not getting the help they needed.

Our hearts are heavy and exhausted. For some, hopelessness and despair is a daily companion due to the pestilence of mass shootings and violence that appears normalized.

Some of my favorite parables throughout the gospels are the ones where Jesus is speaking to us about growth; specifically, the idea that something big can emerge from something small.

Behold, the sacred, beautiful and resilient bodies of Black womxn. For centuries our bodies have been vessels of truth telling. Our bodies, woefully sacrificed, raped, stolen, objectified and commodified. Yet, with tenacious courage and truth, we emerge unbowed and restlessly pursuing freedom and justice.

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock: “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25

When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked prevail, people go into hiding. No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:12-13

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

I recently came across a poem that I wrote one Lent. It reminded me of the intentionality of the Lenten journey: not merely giving up chocolate or wine to say we did it, but going all the way down the path to find our True Self.

He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. Matthew 4:2

6 This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. 7 What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Isaiah 58:6-7 MSG