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Pastor's Page
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Many of us have been
watching the continuing saga about the oil spill in the
And we listen. We listen to the laments of fishermen who can
no longer fish the once plentiful waters of the gulf. We listen to the stories of those fishermen
and to many other people who depend upon the tourist trade for their
livelihoods and pray that they will somehow survive this disaster.
We also listen to a lot
of finger pointing and name calling. We
listen to the blame game. It seems that
everyone wants to pin responsibility for this mess on someone else. But in reality the blame is something we all
share.
BP did take some
shortcuts – trying to squeeze out just a little more profit by cutting
some corners. It seems that the suppliers of their equipment did the same. Government regulators and inspectors also
fell down on their job – not willing to play hard ball with the oil
companies when equipment did not meet specifications and when there were safety
violations. Then there are the stockholders
- which include many of us. We
didn’t stand up at stock holders meetings and insist upon “safety
first,” preferring to share in the profits. And of course, we as citizens of this country
are addicted to oil and the quality of life a good supply gives us –
ready and willing to overlook the hidden costs of that addiction– those
we don’t see at the gas bump. There
is plenty of blame to go around, but at
some point the blame game becomes counter productive.
We do need to do some
looking back – to understand what happened and what didn’t happen
so we can avoid similar problems in the future.
But looking back is a waste of
energy if the backward glance fails to lead us to a new future. In the short run, we need to concentrate on
getting the oil stopped, cleaning up the mess, and getting people back to
work.
But then the real work
begins.
In the book of the
prophet Micah we find these words: (Micah 6:8 Message translation)
“God has already made it plain how to live, what to
do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
Taking God seriously is
not easy work. Neither is justice. What justice requires is constant vigilance. Justice is not just a matter of how we as
individuals live and interact with those around us – though that is the
beginning. Justice requires us to look
at the systems in which we participate and how what we do, say, give, invest, and
how we vote affects those systems.
The goal always for those
of us who bear the name Christian is to live toward a kingdom reality, a
reality where justice prevails. In the
case of the oil spill that means a world where the oil has stopped gushing; a
world with a pristine environment where plants and animals and humans thrive
and the shorelines of the gulf are protected against the ravages of weather; a
world where those who have lost their livelihoods are working again; a world
where we are moving toward cleaner, more renewable sources of energy.
God wants all of that for
us. And by the grace of God we will be
able to make the necessary adjustments in our living and being and doing in
order to move closer to that reality.
Grace
and Peace,
Pastor Marty
Church
Renewal Leadership Retreat
Friday evening September 10th and Saturday September 11th
Our Church Renewal Team will be
presenting the results of their 6 month study leading to a time to prioritize
ideas and let God’s Spirit help us
determine some next steps so we here at Peace can do the best job possible of
being the church of Jesus Christ.
Friday 6:00 –
8:00 p.m.
Saturday 9a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
All present and future leaders invited
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New at
Peace United
Music Booster Club
The purpose of our Booster Club is threefold:
1. Encourage continual financial support and
special gifts to our music ministry.
2. Enjoy musical events together
Concerts
Folk festival –
Gospel workshop September 17 and
18 – Ripon (see Wi Conference Web-site for more
information)
Who has a good idea?
3.
Encourage the development of musical talents in our congregation.
Attend school concerts in support
of our youth.
Encourage singers/instrumentalists to share their gifts in worship
or other ministry settings of the church. Any other way we can do this!!
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