Dear Caldwell,
As we move from Sunday to Sunday this week, we call on our faith and our Lord to guide us in the way of understanding and reconciliation. Last Sunday, we began to think about how the Ten Commandments give us a portrait for life together as a covenant community, just as the “decalogue” (ten words) was intended for the children of Israel on their way to inheriting the promised land to begin life anew.
In Sunday’s sermon (online here) and liturgy We focused on how the commandments serve as “identity markers” for us as God’s people, a particular way for us to be with God in times of chaos and confusion. For eons, the commandments have reminded us of God’s intended moral order for humanity. Too many times, it seems, we forget and need to be reminded again.
Like you, perhaps, I have heard and read so much this week in response to the tragedies of last week. I pray that our nation has reached an historic moment, a tipping point in our centuries-long journey toward true equality and equity for ALL Americans. I am hearing a new readiness among both white and Africa-Americans to deepen empathy, to escape the often-blinding confines of our personal experience that we might better understand the pain – and, yes, the anger and even rage – of many African-Americans and others who have been marginalized and dispossessed across our national history.
In the Ten Commandments and throughout scripture, God calls us to love one another. A form of love is building empathy. On Sunday, we will talk and think more about that. I’d welcome your thoughts on any of this via email here.
Meantime, I hope you can come as we gather tonight to do just that – build empathy and understanding – as well as discuss ways we can respond as people of faith in light of the pain and sorrow of recent days. In Belk Hall, covered dish dinner (please contribute something to eat if you will dine with us) at 5:30 and our discussion starts at 6. Rev. Dr. Rodney Sadler, who has worked with CMPD, will join us.
One pastoral care note: Please keep keep Anne Hunter Eidson in mind, as her mother has reentered Novant Presbyterian Hospital. Kim Bohannon continues to heal at home.
In Christ,
John