Finding A Place At The Table

PeacePrayers

At 11 homicides already in this calendar year, our City will almost certainly far exceed the 14 that occurred in 2007., and could easily far exceed the record of 22 which happened in 2006.  Clearly there is something wrong with the fabric of our community, our city and our society.  Despite real needs that can only be met by government, surely there is a significant role that the faith community is called to bring to the issue.   One place to begin to figure out what we are called to do, is to go to God in prayer.  We begin to work for peace by asking God for peace, and by asking God to help us discern what God calls us to do to be peacemakers in our community

We invite the community to join us for PeacePrayers, on Sunday, May 4 at 5:00 PM.  Through this service of scripture, song and prayer we will bring our fervent prayers for peace to God, even as we seek to determine what God is calling us to do to be an effective witness for peace in our community.  Please join us for PeacePrayes; and please join us in praying daily for peace in Wilmington.

Praying for Peace

Being concerned about the rate of violent crimes in our city, and especially in our neighborhood, we encourage everyone to commit themselves to praying for peace regularly.  Please, pray for peace in our city.

We also invite all to a special service of worship and prayer, called PeacePrayers.  PeacePrayers will be a service of prayer, song and scripture in which we remember the hope we have in God and in which we pray for peace in our city.  Please join us for PeacePrayers on Sunday, May 4 at 5:00 PM at West Presbyterian Church.

Lenten Oil

I read recently a small news item in the Christian Century (February 26, 2008 issue) about a campaign called "Less Oil for Lent" in which some churches in Harrisonburg, Virginia have been involved.  People in those churches have pledged to use less fossil fuel during Lent as an expression of concern for climate change and the war in Iraq, as well as to call attention to our use of oil in the United ates.  People in those churches were asked during Lent to make an effort to consume less oil by doing things like walking or riding a bike to church, eliminating or reducing the consumption of meat, turning down hot water heaters, or keeping homes in winter a few degrees cooler.

While we are well into Lent, perhaps this is an idea worthy of consideration for Holy Week this year for us.  What if this year we made a real, concerted effort during the week that begins on Palm Sunday to significantly reduce our consumption of oil?  Drive less, keep our homes a little cooler, eat more locally grown vegetables and fruits, eat less meat, be more mindful of lights being on in unused rooms of our houses, etc.     While attending carefully to our consumption of oil for one week might not significantly change the destruction of the environment, it might make us more aware of things we can do year round to care for God's creation.