“We will not fear … God is in the midst of the city.” (Psalm 46)
Dear Caldwell,
It was one year ago this week, in the face of unspeakable tragedy, when I drew our shared attention to Psalm 46, a lament and cry to God as our refuge and strength in times of trouble. Then, it was the shooting at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, which so deeply affected our nation and, in a very particular and profound way, African-Americans.
This week we are thrown back into mourning and dismay after the Orlando shootings. As with Charleston, this tragedy tears at the heart of our nation as a whole while it affects a marginalized community within the nation in an even deeper way.
The connection between these tragedies touches Caldwell, as a diverse community of faith, unlike most churches. In the midst of our tears, whether it is over remembering Charleston or Orlando, we are given the chance to show love and empathy that transcends lines of race and sexual orientation. By the grace of God, we are given to each other to be present to one another “in Christ” through the Holy Spirit, to lend an ear, give a hug, reach out on the phone or connect over coffee or a meal.
With that in mind, all are invited to a service of prayer and remembrance Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary, “From Charleston to Orlando: A Service of Honoring, Mourning and Prayer,” to be co-led by Anne Hunter Eidson and Rev. Veronica Rogers.
One member in particular needs our prayer and God’s comfort. Quan Rutledge lost a cousin in the Mother Emanuel shootings a year ago. He knew at least two people who were killed in the Orlando shootings.
Last Sunday, in the 21st chapter of Revelation, we heard God’s comfort to the persecuted first-century Christians. We were reminded of how God calls God’s people to persevere, to endure, to stick together, to seek in a world of chaos what is “trustworthy and true,” to hold onto the vision of the “New Jerusalem” ushered in by Christ Jesus for us to grasp and embody. We need that vision this week more than ever.
On Sunday, we also sang the words of the Isaac Watts classic hymn, Our God Our Help in Ages Past. Its first verse:
O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home.
I pray that those words – and those of Psalm 46 below – may convey God’s comfort and, somehow, assuage your pain. I also pray that you may be a comfort to one another and any who may be hurting, as the body of Christ.
PSALM 46
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord;
see what desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.Selah
IN CHRIST, John