Sunday Worship: Luke 13 & 14, with discussion
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HOPE HERE
Why hope here?
Whether you’re here for a year or a lifetime Reedville is a landing place, a community that cares for one another.
“Big enough to pray for you, small enough to pray with you.” — Lila W.
“The most beautiful liturgy in the world.” — Ben P.
“The church itself feels relaxed and real.” — Matthew
“The preacher’s not an idiot.” — Siri H.
News from Reedvile
Statement on Gun Violence Following the School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas
From Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) in the Cascades Presbytery Connections
May 24, 2022 (with July 28 update)
Today our nation watched in horror as yet another mass shooting claimed the lives of 21 souls. Tragically, 18 of those killed are elementary school students. Our hearts are broken for the lives lost as we stand alongside the grieving.
This massacre follows recent mass shootings in Milwaukie, Buffalo, Palo Alto, Laguna Beach and Chicago. Why is there is a mass shooting nearly every day in this county? We ask this as echoes of the Psalmist ring in our heads, “How long, O Lord?”
The United States of America stands alone when it comes to gun violence. These types of shootings simply do not happen in other countries, let alone with such frequency. In the last five months alone, a gun has been fired on school grounds in the United States 288 times. The next closest country is Mexico with eight.
Something is wrong in our country; most anyone can recognize it. Yet we live in a country where elected officials refuse to take even modest steps to protect the vulnerable. How many more children must die before these elected officials take urgent action? We implore them to do so now. Their “thoughts and prayers” ring ever so hollow and reinforce their cowardice.
Because the all too predictable pattern of outrage and shock has become not only tedious but morally inadequate, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon invites immediate action by supporting the work of Lift Every Voice Oregon (LEVO). Through LEVO, people of faith and good will can pursue with expediency IP17–Reduction of Gun Violence Act.
IP17 is a ballot initiative petition that will reduce gun violence by making gun owners more accountable and ammunition less lethal. IP17 has made it onto the November 2022 ballot.
At least for Oregon, we can make a difference. May we turn our sorrow into hope and actions that will assure the day when gun violence is no longer an everyday occurrence.
For more on LEVO and ways you can get involved, please see this letter shared by our own Rev. Tom Campbell-Schmitt CLICK HERE
For more on the PCUSA response from the Office of Public Witness: CLICK HERE
For the Statement from the Stated Clerk of the PCUSA on violence in America: CLICK HERE
Enough! Gun Violence Must End.
From the Office of Public Witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Enough! Gun violence in America has gone on for far too long, too many have died, and far too little has been done. It is time to Act!
As people of faith, we must continue our fight to eliminate the scourge of gun violence from the face of the earth. Lives are being lost needlessly and access to guns is prevalent throughout the country. We must hold Congress accountable and demand that they pass legislation to address this crisis. After years of watching innocent people die as a result of these senseless acts of violence, elected officials must take action to prevent gun violence. Congress needs to hear from us! We will not accept gun violence as a part of everyday life in the United States.
Therefore, the Office of Public Witness reiterates the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s previous call for common-sense gun violence regulations. We call for legislation that will:
- Ban all assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. These are weapons of war and have no place in the hands of common citizens.
- Require universal background checks when purchasing any firearm.
- Make gun trafficking a federal crime.
- Repeal the 2005 “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act” that prohibits lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers claiming liability in gun deaths.
It is our prayer that Congress might take a courageous stand to eliminate the proliferation of weapons causing death and destruction. This is a matter of utmost importance for our nation’s well-being and our children’s emotional, mental, and physical health. Let us pray and act that gun violence may not only be reduced in America but brought to an end.
We must also recognize the racism that is deeply embedded in the fabric of our society and “stand against racism in all its myriad forms.” Racism is a sin against humanity. Our sacred text tells us that ALL humans are made in God’s image and likeness. As people of faith, we must honor the inherent value and dignity of all people and seek justice when that value and dignity is attacked.
The soul of America needs healing and repair with the spiritual foundation that connects us one to another, a belief in a God who created us to live as children of God. Isaiah 2:4 says “(God) shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” We pray for that day.
Notes from Pastor Jeff
- August 21, 2022 July 28, 2022
- Sunday, July 24, 2022 – Established in Faith July 11, 2022
- Sunday July 17, 2022 – Discipleship – Mary and Martha Style July 11, 2022
- Sunday, July 10th Sermon: Bearing Fruit and Growing July 6, 2022
- Sunday’s Sermon: Naaman and the Prophet June 27, 2022
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