Dear Church Family and Friends,
In February, our Council voted that we would collectively commit to a church-wide social action program running over the course of a year. The official title for this undertaking is The Moses Project: A Year of Reflection, Action, and Celebration. In this letter, I want to introduce this exciting project to you.
The parable that I have found to be the most helpful way of conveying what we are seeking to do begins with a villager who one day sees a baby floating down the river. He jumps into the river and saves the baby, but the next day he finds two more babies floating down the river. On the following day, he sees four babies. The number keeps growing each day, and soon the entire village is helping to save the babies. Quickly overwhelmed by the task, someone eventually raises the question of where all the babies are coming from. It is proposed that a team be organized to go up river to the source of the problem.
In order to effectively address problems like homelessness, we need people who are in the water saving others. We need people setting up shelters and running soup kitchens, but, eventually, we are going to also need to go up river to address the source of the problem. To do this, requires taking social action.
Our Mission and Outreach Ministry has carefully selected five potential organizations who we are confident can assist our church in taking action. Information packets about these organizations are available at the church. From these five organizations, we will select one partner. On Sunday, May 23rd, anyone who wants to participate in the project is invited to vote during worship for the organization he or she would like to see our congregation have as a partner. The goal is to find an organization who can unify us as a church and inspire us to follow our passions.
Leading up to the vote, members of our church will be hosting “Burning Bush Parties” as a way to build community and to discern our social justice calling as a church. I have already unveiled an enticing lure for these parties: burning bush marshmallow cookies. I am challenging the cooks in our congregation to come up with a burning bush dessert that is just as good.
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Brooks
