During September, we focused on invitations for how to address our anxiety using suggestions from Psychologists, supported by illustrations from scripture. In October, we turn our attention to the ancient wisdom offered in the Book of Proverbs and put into practice in a popular prayer.
Our series is guided by a recent book that comes to us from the Urban Village Church in Chicago, published with the support of the United Methodist Women. The title of the book is, Finding Peace in an Anxious World. Each week we plan to dig deeper into each line of the Serenity Prayer, using the Book of Proverbs as a repository of wisdom. I pray that you will join us either in person or online.
We call our new series Serenity. This topic is a response to the growing list of persons struggling to hold-on to faith in an anxious world. The pandemic continues to wreak havoc with our plans to return to some version of normalcy. Some families welcome this opportunity for in-person school, while others choose to decline. The invitation and the RSVP are complicated.
I’m usually hesitant to comment on politics since I am infatuated with diversity. A world where we all agree would be dull and less creative than a world of varying opinions. Nevertheless, there comes a time when the church is called to take a stand against oppression, intolerance, and even stupidity.
The number of persons dying from the coronavirus as a result of failed leadership is inexcusable. The constant barrage of executive orders dismantling the policies that attempt to offer equality for all persons and protect our earth is an affront to the values we hold sacred in our faith traditions.
October is likely to prove to be an even more anxious month than the present. We can anticipate our airwaves filled with images and hurtful messages coming from a group of people anxious to hold on to power at any cost, and weaponized by foreign enemies of our nation. I pray that this series and our weekly life group study of this book will indeed, help us to find peace in an anxious world.
I pray that you will join us each Sunday morning at 10:30 am. We plan to be live via webinar, through Facebook live, or you can call (929) 436-2866 and enter the meeting number — 324 841 204. We go live at 10:30 am. You can find these links along with more information about us on our website at FlintAsbury.org.
Why spend money on what does not satisfy?
Isaiah 55:2