Tom Priest and I have been talking over the past months about the vision we share for the “Beloved Community.” We shared some of this on the Sunday of the Martin Luther King holiday, and you may hear some more if we do another dialogue sermon. When the phrase has come up from time to time, some of you have asked, “So what is the ‘Beloved Community’?”

Historically, the term was used by a few others and the concept was developed by Dr. King to describe the way he envisioned what others might call the “Kingdom of God” breaking in. Another way of thinking about it is to draw on the themes we’ve been hearing in the scriptures over the past months.

On Christmas Eve, we heard the good news that Jesus Christ came to live among us, “full of grace and truth.” On Baptism of the Lord Sunday, we heard the story of how, when Jesus was baptized, he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him and heard a voice from heaven saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” That Sunday, we renewed our baptisms, and reminded one another that we are all beloved children of God, who have been gifted with the Spirit in our baptism.

On Transfiguration Sunday, we heard how Jesus and Peter and James and John were up on a high mountain, and they saw Jesus transfigured so that his face shone, and they heard a heavenly voice saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

During the season of Lent, we have been making our gradual journey toward the cross. We have been hearing the good news, mostly through John the Evangelist, on Sunday mornings and pondering the meanings of the parables that teach us about the Kingdom of God in the Tuesday evening book study. Many of us have been spending more intentional time in prayer and study.

During this season of prayer and reflection, I hope we will spend some time pondering: What would it be like if each and every one of us truly believed, deep in our selves, that we are beloved children of God? What would it be like if, as our vision of faith becomes clearer, we see every other person God created as “beloved?” If we believe that “God so loves the world” and every person God created, how are we called to act?

The way I see it, if we know deep in our souls that we are God’s beloved, if we constantly remind and encourage one another to believe this about one another, if we reach out in love to include others in this community of God’s beloved, if we practice our faith in the God of Love by specific acts of love, we are living further into the vision of “Beloved Community.”

As we are being transformed by the love of Jesus Christ, may we live more fully into the Beloved Community. As we reach out to include others, may we transform our community and the world.

Salam…shalom…peace be with you all.

INTERFAITH RELATIONS - William G. Gepford, American-Arab Relations
"Faith and Globalization"

It goes without saying that most religions are instinctively global. Both their sacred literature and those who carry their messages through time are for all humanity. Although carried in different cultural (human) vessels, each is concerned with salvation, justice, love and peace.

The challenge that confronts us, however, is the claim that each faith would make to possession of the “correct” revelation versus the other. Throughout history we find such claims to authenticity, or orthodoxy, so intense that wars, persecutions, mass killings and inquisitions are the result. Those with the most power usually end up as the victor and sometimes the oppressive “empire.” The temptation is great to conclude that those with the most power are those who reflect God’s will, and thus God’s blessing to carry that presumption to the ends of the earth, or in modern terminology, “globalization.” Since we won, our way must be what God wants for others as well.

Last year a national education organization sponsored what it called a “Focus on Global Education.” The purpose was to share ideas for “ensuring that a global perspective becomes an integral part of teaching and learning” (Phi Delta Kappan, Journal for Education, issue January, 2008). What caught my attention was that they were not promoting one true way of educating, but rather an educative process that includes the experiences, and collaboration of all children around the world. Using modern technology, they linked students and teachers in different countries, a truly global experience!

On linking student and teacher experiences to the rest of the world, Yong Zhao, a professor at Michigan State University, and the founding director of the U.S.-China Center for Research on Educational Experience, said, “When students have an audience beyond their teachers that makes the work authentic.” He is convinced that modern technology can be the linking connection that adds the authentic piece.

The summit conference mentioned above listed several important suggestions:

SCRIPTURE READINGS

March 2
O.T. Lesson-1 Samuel 16:1-13
Psalm 23
Epistle Lesson-Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel Lesson-John 9:1-41

March 9
O.T. Lesson-Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 130
Epistle Lesson-Romans 8:6-11
Gospel Lesson-John 11:1-45

March 16 Palm Sunday
O.T. Lesson-Matthew 21:1-11
Psalm 118 :1-2, 19-29
Epistle Lesson-Philippians 2:5-11
Gospel Lesson-Matthew 26:14-27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54

March 23 Easter Sunday
First Lesson-Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 or Psalm 114
Epistle Lesson-Romans 5:1-11
Gospel Lesson-John 20:1-18 or Matthew 28:1-10

March 30
First Lesson-Acts 2:14a, 22-32
Psalm 16
Epistle Lesson-1 Peter 1:3-9
Gospel Lesson-John 20:19-31

PRAYER MINISTRY

TAIZE WORSHIP SERVICE

Our next Service is Tuesday, March 4, @ 7:00 pm in the sanctuary. All people regardless of faith background and age are welcome. You are invited to dress comfortably and casually. Invite a friend!

HOLY WEEK

The most important week of the Christian year is approaching… inviting us to “survey the wondrous cross”…to reflect on God’s amazing love and how we are called to respond. For many of us, the Holy Week services are the most meaningful and powerful services of the year. We hope that you will set apart time and be with us and invite a friend as we move through the events of Holy Week and prepare our hearts to receive the good news of Easter.

Sunday, March 16 - Palm/Passion Sunday
Join us at 10:30 a.m. as we wave our palm branches in the service and as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Follow Jesus to the cross on Calvary as we hear the Passion story from the Gospel according to Luke.

Thursday, March 20 - Maundy Thursday
This reflective service begins at 7:00 p.m. and will conclude with the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and the stripping of the paraments.

Friday, March 21 - Good Friday
This year we are having a Good Friday Tenebrae Service at 7:00 p.m. where we will experience the passion of Christ through Scripture and Song in a service of light and shadows.

Sunday, March 23 - Resurrection Sunday
This festive service, which begins at 10:30 a.m., is the most joyous in the Christian year. Come and hear the good news, enjoy the beautiful music and leave with a “Hallelujah” in your heart. Invite your friends to worship with you and celebrate Christ’s resurrection.

PRESBYTERIAN WOMEN

The Presbyterian Women of the Presbytery of Detroit (PWPD) will gather on Saturday, March 1 from 9:45 a.m. through lunch at the Korean Presbyterian Church in Southfield. A special worship service will be held to “Celebrate the Gifts of Women.” Joining in this service will be Rev. Jana Reister, a graduate of Hope College, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Rev. Reister has been a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda, has lived in both Peru and Guatemala, and has traveled to Ecuador, Bolivia, and Belize. She applied to and was accepted for the Lilly Pastoral Residency Program at First Presbyterian Church in Ann Arbor where she now serves. Reservations for lunch must be made to Emily Nietering (313-278-9269) by Monday, February 25.

The Second Mile Center is collecting white polo shirts (assorted sizes – kindergarten to high school), and packages of “Wet Ones.” These contributions may be brought to the PWPD gathering on March 1.

ONE GREAT HOUR of SHARING - MARCH 16

Since 1949, Presbyterians have joined with millions of other Christians through One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) to share God’s love with people experiencing need. “Sharing Resources, Changing Lives” is the theme this year. Our gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance and resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives, and work together to strengthen their families and communities. Recognizing that the hope we have in Christ is lived out in our hope for one another, we respond with gifts that help our sisters and brothers around the world find the hope for a brighter future. Where does the money go? The Presbyterian Hunger Program receives 36 percent of undesignated One Great Hour of Sharing gifts, while the Self-Development of People and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance each receive 32 percent.

“It’s Remarkable What Your Gift Will Do.” Below are examples of how your contributions are used: A gift of $20 can help a Haitian villager purchase a pair of goats which can help support the family with milk and offspring; a gift of $150 provides fishing nets and 500 fish fingerlings; or a gift of $300 will provide one InterChurch Medical Assistance medicine box which helps to prevent or treat disaster-related diseases.