Friends,

Two short quotes kept popping up in front of me from different sources this week.

The first quote is from Rupertus Meldenius, a German Lutheran theologian from the early 17th century. Writing to his colleagues during the Great Reformation, he offered this advice: “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” It seems like sound advice, not only for theologians and church reformers as they argued about Christ’s presence in the bread and wine, but perhaps also for US Congressional representatives as they argue about debt limits, spending cuts, tax hikes, and legislative priorities.

The second quote is attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr, whose birthday our nation celebrated this past week: “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” I haven’t been able to locate the context in which this was first said, but I think it is a helpful reminder to us – as we face opportunities and challenges as a congregation, and as we face global challenges of armed conflict and climate change. “Great things” may seem beyond our abilities and resources to accomplish, but we can certainly ‘do small things in a great way.’

We will reflect on both of these quotes together on Sunday morning – one in our ‘Feasting on the Word’ discussion at 9:30 a.m. and one in the sermon during worship. I invite you to join us in those reflections.

Peace,
Pastor Jack