Open Hearts

From IALAC (I Am Loveable and Capable) to Luke 4:18-19 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Our faith is a balance of personal piety and social concern.


The cycle often operates like this: God touches our lives and we come to see ourselves as loved children of God. Then we respond because our eyes have been opened in new ways and our hearts have been opened. As a line from this past Sunday’s movie, Call and Response, noted, “Justice is What Love Looks Like in Public”

We think globally because the world is our parish but for the most part we act locally. We have to act locally if we want real substantial change to occur. Acting locally is acting personally and once again it is our lives that are engaged in the movement of the Spirit and our hearts are healed.

Peace,
Steve Hermes

Continually creating an inclusive and accepting family of God by modeling our lives after Jesus the Christ.

God does not cause earthquakes. Physics causes earthquakes. God causes compassion. Work with God. Pray and donate. Give to UMCOR at umc.org. They're already there, and the best.

The United Methodist News Service has already posted stories on the tragedy and will have ongoing coverage about United Methodist mission teams that are in Haiti, response efforts by the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and what local churches are doing to provide aid. Stay tuned to http://www.umc.org/haiti  for more information.

United Methodists have had a long-standing relationship with Haiti through the Methodist Church of Haiti. The strong ties between the Methodist Church of Haiti and The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) helped in facilitating the opening of the UMCOR Haiti field office in 2005. 100 percent of Advance gifts made will go to support relief and development efforts due to emergencies in Haiti.

Support for relief efforts can be made to Haiti Emergency, UMCOR Advance # 418325 (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=pmLZKcM3KtL8JtJ&s=8pKLLZOwH8JNI1PyHmH&m=llIXLkN2ImJ7E)