Shared during Sunday Worship on December 24, 2023. God of all, we are grateful for the shepherds. While their encounter with the angel discloses a mystical moment of historic importance, we are reminded that jobs like theirs are not easy and entail a measure of risk. On this morning in which we find ourselves in a warm sanctuary with bright lights we are reminded that it takes people like the shepherds to keep our world going. They work long hours through the night hauling food on trucks, running out in the snow to fix power lines, and keeping safe watch over our homes, our streets, and places of business.  While many of us are in our beds, others work emergency rooms, drive ambulances, and keep pharmacies open 24 hours a day. We pray for those who work into the deep of night and those who incur risk to care for our lives while we sleep… Lord, in the deep of night the shepherds found themselves quaking with fear. As we consider the relative safety of our lives we realize there are people in places of violence all around the world and even in our country whose every waking moment is filled with the possibility that this breath will be their last.  We pray for Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, Russia and more. We especially pray that You watch over children and all civilians. We pray that our Lord, the Prince of Peace, will bring peace to all people and places in conflict. We pray for those who live in fear… Upon hearing the message of the angels, the shepherd's fear turned to awe; at that moment Your Word tells us the glory of the Lord shone round about them, the beauty of this moment invokes our wonder at Your brilliant presence. After this gift they went and shared the story with Mary and in turn others wrote this story down that we might be blessed in its retelling. Restore to use the awe of Your presence that we might bear witness to Your grace. We pray for the Spirit to dwell within us to glorify and praise You… To you God belongs the awe, joy, and delight of the beauty of life and grant us the vision to see in the Christ child what you ask of our humanity and what we are to see in the nature of our glory. Amen.

The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. - Luke 2:10-11 Mary receives an unimaginable message – become the mother of God. After the angel assures her that this is good news, she visits her cousin Elizabeth, and with her voice becomes the most constant herald in the history of the world. There are many iconic voices in this story.  John the Baptist, the shepherds, and even the angels…all pale in comparison to her Magnificat. It is read, sung, and spoken in Latin, Portuguese, English, Mandarin, Hindi and hundreds of other languages EVERY SINGLE DAY! Mary’s song of love to God carries within it one of the most resonantly poetic, beautiful,and powerful phrases in all of scripture. “My soul magnifies the Lord.” To hear it is to want to know more about what God has done in the heart of Mary to lead her to utter such devotion and love. It gives one the impression that the Lord God has touched her deeply in her innermost being in such a way that utter faith, utter hope has secured her heart such that she moves forward in life with perfect confidence that God will accomplish not only her deepest hopes, but the healing of humanity itself. But I believe it was not only the Spirit above but the tragedies below that shaped her voice. The voice of this fifteen-year-old is unmatched in her timeless insights. It is the power both of her lofty praise, “My soul magnifies the Lord!” and her grounded passion for God’s people, “He has filled the hungry with good things.” And in this case God’s people means those laid low by injustice, poverty, and shame. For Mary, perhaps it was the journey to her cousin that gave her time to process the possibilities of this child and rather than ephemeral fanciful thoughts, it was rooted in human pain. Imagining the power of this child, she saw an opportunity to shape His heart. In this way Mary not only herald’s God’s words but whispers back to God through the Son’s ears. I find myself wondering how much of Jesus’ earthly nature was shaped by His family tree in this case by Mary. If she hoped for a savior who favored the poor and the hungry wouldn’t that lead Him to do the same? If she exhibited a humble servant nature wouldn’t that teach Jesus the same attitude? Or to put it bluntly, how much of the Magnificat’s concepts did Mary drill into Jesus’ head each and every day!? Her Magnificat seems to anticipate His life and ministry. In calling for the hungry to be fed with good things, it calls to mind Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. In promising the rich will be sent away empty-handed we see Jesus send away the rich young ruler. In looking for the day the lowly will be lifted up we see Jesus bringing respect to those denigrated by society. Mary’s voice was not only compassionate but radical. At this time many believed that poverty was a punishment from God or at the very least a sign of one’s inferior blood. But Mary turns this view upon its head, and instead shows that rather than God’s heart centering on the powerful it centers on the poor. That is a complete and utter change. And in New York City we have a lot of compassion, change, and work to do. The New York City Council reported “According to Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization, 1 in 10 New Yorkers, or 1,882,580 people, struggle with hunger, and of them 596,060 are children.” Brick is working to do its part. Through the Christmas gifts for struggling families we are collecting to the filling of neighborhood refrigerators with food, we are seeking to follow Christ’s call. It is especially important at this time of year as we celebrate joyous moments with family and friends to never forget those Jesus always remembers. I have seen teenagers throughout my ministry with Mother-Mary-like focus and powerful heraldic voices. One asked if he could begin a weekly meal ministry in the church inviting people off the streets for a warm meal and friendship. Another petitioned Session to put a public box on the edge of our church property which people of the church filled with toiletries, small gifts, and more for families on the edge and the people on the street.  Still yet another stood up at a Deacon’s meeting here at Brick over a year ago, telling them it was time to start back our meal ministry and it is going strong. And yet another at this very first Congregational Care meeting suggested we take cookies to the homebound. All of this happened because they spoke with Mary-like compassion and conviction! We must act but we must also lift up our voice to lift up awareness around our city. The power of the herald is within us all. We may not have Mary’s unique opportunity, but we all have a chance to speak, for the human voice has incredible power to build up and to break down. Scripture tells us it is both a gift of the tree of life and a restless evil filled with deadly poison. It is hardship perhaps most of all that hones the soul enabling it to express the depth of human experience. And because of its power a voice can even be frightening to the one who wields it. Perhaps you remember the tragic and triumphant story of Marguerite Annie Johnson. Her first years were incredibly tumultuous, she moved from place to place, her parents separated, and she lived with her grandmother for a time and then her father brought her to live with her mother. It was there her mother’s boyfriend violated her. She told others and after being released from jail a few days later he was murdered. For five long years she said not a single word, as she said, “I thought, my voice killed him; I killed that man, because I told his name. And then I thought I would never speak again, because my voice would kill anyone." Her biographer, Marcia Ann Gillespie wrote, “It was during this time of silence she developed her love for literature and her unique ability to observe the world around her.” Later, known as Maya Angelou, she wrote “I know why the caged bird sings.” Like Mother Mary, she knew hardship, and challenge, and like Mary her spirit rose stronger than her tragedies and oppressors and so she too has become a herald for God’s causes. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (poem by Maya Angelou) The free bird leaps on the back of the wind and floats downstream till the current ends and dips his wings in the orange sun rays and dares to claim the sky. But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage can seldom see through his bars of rage his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with fearful trill of the things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. Freedom is Christ’s mission. Freedom from hunger, freedom from fear, freedom from shame and freedom to live in the abundant love of God. Let us herald that He comes to fill our stomachs and our souls with good things and get then busy making it come to pass. Amen.

Join us this Sunday, December 17th after the service in the Carnegie Room to wrap gifts for children in need this Christmas. Can't make it? You can still bring a wrapped gift to the Christmas Eve Family service at 4:00 PM. Please indicate age and gender on the tag.

The Building and Grounds Committee recently undertook a reorganization/cleaning of the attic storage area inside the clock tower. This project included the relocation of a family of pigeons who were living there and subsequent cleanup which was proficiently accomplished by Lyric Lagos (Brick Church Facilities Manager) and Anthony Gorcsi (Brick Church Facility Coordinator). During this extensive project we discovered portraits of former Senior Ministers of our Church. George Thomas (Brick Church in House Mechanic) skillfully restored these portraits, and they are now hanging in the hall outside the Session room. If you are interested in learning more about these former Senior Ministers, you can read about Reverend Bevan on pages 93-94 and Reverend Richards on pages 118-121 of Mr. E. Deane Turner’s excellent and thorough book on the history of the Brick Presbyterian Church. This book is titled: A Fellowship of Kindred Minds and a copy can be found in the newly reorganized Anderson Library. The Committee wishes to thank our Facilities Manager, Lyric Lagos and Margaret Stocker, Chair of the Archives Committee for their cooperation with these projects. Patrick D. Barrett, Trustee and Chair Building and Grounds Committee

The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:10-11 On April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren learned through Boston’s revolutionary underground that British troops were preparing to cross the Charles River and march to Lexington, presumably to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Fearing an intercept by the British, Warren had devised a redundancy plan to warn Hancock and Adams. He would send one rider by land and one by sea. (Source.) He gave a silversmith the easier route and to the local tanner he gave the more dangerous mission. The tanner set off at 9 p.m. and managed to make his way through a British Checkpoint– according to one account, by pretending to be a bumbling drunk farmer. Soon after all travel out of Boston was halted. He arrived at the Lexington Hancock House at 12:30 a.m., meeting up with his fellow town crier. The two proceeded forward to then warned the residents of Concord and on the way the silversmith was captured when they encountered a British Patrol. The tanner, however, concocted a ruse about an ambush, which scared away the British soldier. In the end the ride was successful. I know you know the name of the silversmith, does anyone know the other? Who managed not to be captured and took the more dangerous route? Williams Dawes faded into obscurity while Paul Revere became a household name. It’s hard to tell how history chooses those to honor and those to be forgotten. Both men, however, fit into the mold of town crier or herald, if you will, respected members of society out to warn people of the danger to come. But the Bible is fascinating in who’s voice it chooses for God’s heralds. It features the obscure, the rabble rouser, the non-conformist…someone much more likely to be forgotten by history than William Dawes. And yet the very first verses of Mark’s gospel feature a wild-eyed man from the wilderness. John the Baptizer who spoke with even more urgency and fervor than those on that midnight ride, for he came not to warn of an enemy assault like Dawes and Revere, but the coming wrath of God and the arrival the Lord’s anointed, the Messiah. In Roman times, a herald would announce the coming of the emperor hailing his kingdom and lauding him as savior and deliverer. It was of course through war and devastation that this so-called peace came. Specifically, the emperor’s herald would describe their whole message as “euangelion” that is Greek for “Good News!” In stark contrast to these Roman heralds, John the Baptist displays an entirely alternate visage. Rather than pomp and circumstance surrounded by royal attendants in fine robes, John emerges wild-eyed from the wilderness in a hair shirt with locust on his breath. John comes to announce a new king and kingdom of which God, not the emperor, will be sovereign over. As you see, the words used by the gospel writers were very deliberately chosen:“savior” and “good news”, “king”. They were offering an alternate world view from the Roman world. Jesus as savior not Caesar, and the good news is not Caesar’s arrival but the coming of a heavenly kingdom ruled by a loving God not a tyrant. This kingdom will not be established by the brutality of Roman warriors but by the apostles of servanthood. And though it is not by the sword it will require sacrifice. In Matthew’s gospel John warns the crowd of God’s coming judgement. Though John’s words sound harsh they are meant to awaken us to a whole new world, a whole new kingdom that will bring us true peace. He needs to be forceful because so many have become numb to a different reality that they must be jolted into new possibilities. And the people listen! They receive John’s gift and then are ready to hear Jesus. This is the primary role of the herald. As one source tells us, “Kings and emperors would send heralds ahead of them as they journeyed to a city … to instruct the people to make preparations for the arrival of the king.” That is a task for every one of us to make preparations for the arrival of our Lord, to be the mouthpiece of God announcing the coming of the newborn king. And that is why we are here this morning in the season of Advent. To prepare for the coming of the King and His kingdom. And if John’s message prepared people for Jesus back then it can surely prepare us today. When John the Baptist comes most famously to “prepare the way” he does so by telling people to get ready through repentance. Repentance in our common understanding means being sorry for the mistakes we have committed while being determined to set yourself on a new path. It is a very logical human approach. Self-improvement through a steely determined will. It was Edison’s path to success, as he said of his famous 4,000 attempts to invent the light bulb, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” In the football world hall of fame coach of the Packers, Vince Lombardi observed, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will." Certainly, both of these sayings are wise and true, and I am sure many of you have used a similar drive to find the success you have enjoyed in this life. But unfortunately, what works in the world of business, and school, and life may not work in the life of faith. It requires and different type of effort and a new disposition. Human nature shows us willpower will only get us so far for so long and faith can lead to despair, especially If we think repentance means turning ourselves around, changing your life by willing yourself to do something different! Telling yourself, “This time I will stick to my diet.” “This time I will not lash out at the ones I love.” This time, this time, this time… But this is not what John is talking about. Note the wording of his message calling us to “a baptism of repentance.” It is not “repent and be baptized.” We don’t repent. We can’t, or else Jesus would not have had to die on that cross. It is the baptism that does it for us. God changes us. We can change our habits, we can change the words we use, we can change our spending patterns…but we cannot change our soul; we cannot find our true selves on our own. This is why John’s message is such good news. These baptismal waters wash away our pride, our fear, our self-grasping and make us receptive to the love of our infant Lord. It is why when Martin Luther was struggling, he would shout out, “I am baptized.” That is, I am something new, not because of me but, because of God’s gift in Jesus Christ. This Advent, take the time to remember your own baptism and consider all that it implies. It makes you a part not only of the Brick family, but of the worldwide family of 2 billion Christians, and even more a part of the heavenly family of father, son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism has the power to heal and restore, it is a moment in which the parents who bring the child forward place all their hopes for a long, healthy, and glorious life, in which the parents are keenly aware that they do not have to do this all on their own, in which there is a community who vows before God to help. It is a moment when the congregation who sees these priceless children are reminded the profound preciousness of their lives and of all life and the amazing God who grants it. As we gaze into the eyes of these children all the ways we adults have complicated life dissolve away and the raw beauty of life shines through the fog of hearts and mind that have been dimmed by the trials and stresses of our lives. And for the adult who is baptized it is the moment of deep realization of God’s infinite love, in which we let go of barriers of protection and our lives become shine like our Advent candles: hope, peace, joy, and love. Remember your baptism of repentance and herald it to the world with passion, joy, and fervor for we are heralding something more than “The British our coming!” Instead, it is the King of Kings who comes, the Lord of all creation who comes humbly in a manger as one of us. Amen.

As we step into this Advent season, the time between December 3rd and December 25th, we will explore a rich tapestry of biblical characters who served as heralds, preparing the way for the arrival of the King of Kings, Jesus. These heralds, from Mary and the humble shepherds to the divine angel messengers and the unconventional John the Baptist, collectively echoed a message of hope, peace, and salvation. A common thread unites these heralds—they never spoke on their own authority. Instead, their words reflected the divine message from the King. Their purpose was clear: to make the people ready for the arrival of Christ the King, whose coming signified not only strength, power, and protection but, above all, peace. Mary, a young and single girl; the lowly shepherds proclaiming, "We have seen the Messiah;” angels delivering the message of Emmanuel (God with us); and the outsider John the Baptist urging repentance—all played a crucial role in heralding the arrival of Jesus. But God’s message of salvation doesn’t stop with the characters in the Bible. We are all modern-day heralds, entrusted with a unique message proclaiming God is with us. This Advent season, we are called to listen to the unique messages placed within our hearts. Through our voices and contributions, we can proclaim: Christ came through a baby and Christ is within each of us. When we speak this message, we bring forth the Kingdom of God which is based on love and service, where enemies become brothers and sisters, and strangers become friends. In the grand tapestry of heralds, we find ourselves as integral threads. What kind of herald are you? What is the message God has placed in your heart? Are you the bearer of gentle and loving words, or are you challenging the status quo? These questions invite us to reflect on our role as heralds in our communities and the wider world. As we embark on this Advent journey, may we embrace our roles as heralds of salvation, carrying the timeless message of peace, love, and service. In discovering and sharing the message within us, we contribute to the restoration of God's vision for humanity—a vision where all are united in their love of God and one another.

The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. - Luke 2:10-11 This Advent we will be exploring the role of the herald in God’s plan of salvation history. You know the word perhaps most famously from the hymn, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!” A herald was the official mouthpiece of the King announcing his proclamations and his impending arrival. Today the choir serve as God’s Advent heralds; singing of God’s messiah, that Jesus Christ is coming into the world, not only that He came so long ago but that He is coming again. And the composer, Conard Susa, offers us something exceptional and distinctive. For as believers in a God who reigns over the all the earth, it is essential that we listen to heralds from other contexts and cultures to give us the widest and broadest view of our most amazing Lord. Sousa has brought forward traditional music from Spain, Puerto Rico, and more. Here is what Sousa said of his visit to Mexico: And the people have a look of long-suffering patience about them...Everything – their language, their food – all works together, just so beautifully. .. I felt very drawn to the south, and in a lot of my own music I’d written Spanish and Mexican type music. I don’t know why, but it comes out. … I felt very at home with those tunes, as if I had known them as a child. (San Francisco Conservatory of Music / Conrad Susa Oral History) One of the early performances took place in the barrio in, of all places,Minnesota. A few days before the performance only 40 tickets were sold in a church that could hold 500. But thanks be to God in this case for Garrison Keillor, who played one of the pieces on his radio show and that set a spark! Listen to this report from the concert as reported to Sousa: “Conrad, I have to tell you that that church was packed with people. They were even standing in the back aisles. There were more people than the fire laws admit. We’re going to have to give a second concert for people who want to hear it live.” I said, “Oh, well, that means it’s a great success.” He said, “Yes, there was a woman who came up and said, ‘Thanks for giving us back our carols.’” (San Francisco Conservatory of Music / Conrad Susa Oral History) Let us listen to these voices from the Southwest, heralding the coming of the King. Amen.

Shared during Sunday Worship on November 26, 2023. Heavenly Father, We thank you that we can abide in Your presence through the communion of the Holy Spirit, and offer You our prayers of supplication and thanksgiving. Help us to be people who pray to You in times of prosperity and in times of distress. Help us to love You, to love Your people, and to serve those in need. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Shared during Sunday Worship on November 19, 2023. All-wise God, our hearts overflow with gratitude because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Together, we thank You, God, for being so intentional in forming each of us. Even better, we are grateful that You put us each in community with others – we don’t take for granted the love of family, the joy of friendship, and the company of colleagues and neighbors. Through these lives, we see Your hand move in our lives to the glory of Your name! As if making the world and all that’s in it wasn’t enough, You are doing new things through us today, God. For all our essential workers, we lift up our worship. For all who defy the weather daily to get primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors of the world’s economies running, we are thankful! We also thank You, God, for those who are not able to work or are unemployed. Help their self-worth and meet their every need. And in these turbulent times of wars and disasters, God, we can’t thank You enough for our humanitarian workers and peacemakers. May their lives be preserved in the line of duty and may God’s counsel ring in our governments' ears to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before God. Here at Brick, we know we are called to join in God’s work among us and in the world. Reinvigorate our hands and feet, God, with Your divine power so that our energies and resources may not wane. Holy Spirit, open our eyes and ears, so that we may know how to go in our missional activities locally and internationally – let it be only where God needs us. May we be like God’s Son, Jesus, in every way, overflowing with God’s love and compassion for the lost and marginalized. Let these be, God, in the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’ Isaiah 6:8 I will tell you from the outset of this sermon there are more questions than answers and, perhaps like me, you will leave baffled by God’s action / inaction in the case of Samson’s story. His whole story runs contrary to our concept of justice, of mercy, of love, of fidelity. I could not find a single clear virtue in the whole of the Samson cycle! To tell you the truth, it was depressing to reread it. I had remembered a noble, courageous man of God with superhuman strength which he used to defeat the enemies of God. I remember as a child being mesmerized by the story of him using the jawbone of an ass to slaughter 1,000 men. Undone by the trickery of a beautiful woman, in one last moment of desperate faith, he gave his life to vanquish the evil philistines! But that’s not the story. He is not a hero, not at all! At least not in the traditional sense. Every act he commits is based on self-aggrandizement, sexual bravado, and petulant revenge. Samson was given an extraordinary gift from God. He was meant to be a hero. He was meant to be the original superhero. The Philistines had been a thorn in the side of Israel for decades, defeating and humiliating them time and again. God gave him this strength to defeat them. He was to keep and protect Israel, but instead he used his gift for his own entertainment and personal revenge. He wreaks such havoc that his own people tie him up and give him over to the enemies! Unlike others we have explored these past weeks – Joseph, Sarah, and Jonah – who are flawed characters with some redeeming qualities, Samson does not demonstrate a single one. Not one redeeming or godly act. Read it for yourself! Even his most famous act of pulling down the temple is simply to get revenge for being blinded by his enemies, but he is perfectly willing to kill 3,000 people-men and women for this purpose! This is what Samson said in Judges 16:28, “Lord God, remember me and strengthen me only this once, O God, so that with this one act of revenge I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.” He could have said, “Lord God, grant me strength so I may repent for my acts and defeat your enemies and save the Israelites!” He wasn’t doing it for God, or the Israelites. It was revenge, pure and simple. Samson is a man whose virtues are clouded by his own personal faults and demons. He is like the star athlete that becomes so enamored with his own bravado that his entire life becomes a train wreck. Samson never used any godly virtues such as patience, love, or mercy in his trials. He never sought the wisdom of others who could have helped temper and moderate his raw passions. And yet the Bible tells us he judged Israel for 20 years. He was the leader of the people for that time. It was clear that God had given him this special gift. But God is oddly silent throughout this whole story. We might expect a call story like God’s encounter with Jeremiah as a boy in which God declares, “Samson, I have given you this strength that you might free my people from the Philistines.” Nothing. You might think God might warn him, “Samson, only use this gift in battle. Do not tell the secret of your strength lest you spurn this gift and violate my command and die.” God never speaks. Furthermore, the narrator does not offer any evaluative judgements regarding Samson’s actions for good or ill. We are left on our own to judge Samson the Judge. First in God’s story of salvation, it is ultimately about the purposes of God and not our faith. Samson keeps Israel for 20 years because God wills it and so it will be. God is sovereign over heaven and earth and as such the Lord’s plan cannot be thwarted by humans. Samson is the Lord’s appointed. However, if Samson had been a godly man this story could have been much different. Take the horrific incident regarding Samson’s wife. He asks the people a riddle about a lion that he killed, which was filled with honey. The riddle was impossible to guess. In the end because of his actions 300 foxes die, olive groves, vineyards, and wheat fields are burned, his wife and father-in-law are murdered, and 30 random men are slaughtered. All of it completely unnecessary. All of it due to his low moral character. As you can see, if Samson had simply fought the Lord’s enemies in battle with his God-given strength things would have been very different for everyone. God’s intentions were fulfilled, Israel had defeated the Philistines, but rather than a story of triumph it is a story of tragedy. The key to understanding Samson’s tragedy rests in his hair. That was the source of his power, that special gift from God and he spurned it. Samson was a Nazirite. This was a tradition found in the book of Numbers in which people devoted their lives to God, abstained from wine, cutting one’s hair, or touching a corpse. His strength was literally in his hair but there is another layer of meaning for us all. For each of us our strength is found in those places in our lives we have devoted to God. When we cut them off or treat them cheaply, we lose that strength. Samson abused his great power and others in our time have done so with similarly disastrous results. Take the disgraced Sackler family, private owners of Purdue Pharma. Endowed with entrepreneurial power, they helped manufacture drugs that would bring great relief from physical agony that so many in this world endure. This alone would make them fantastically wealthy. Yet, their greed outstripped their morals, and they wielded their power and influence which spurred the opioid epidemic taking 450,000 lives. “[They] also instructed its pharmaceutical representatives all over the country to tell physicians that oxycontin was not addictive primarily because of its slow-release properties. Purdue told its representatives to tell doctors that only persons with an “addictive personality” became addicts.” Over half of the deaths began with a doctor’s prescription. Along the way they corrupted thousands of doctors and pharmaceutical representatives to be a part of their scheme. Like Samson the collateral damage they caused can scarcely be calculated. And they have ended in disgrace, their names being taken off buildings. When Israel first arrived in the Promised Land Moses reminded the people that God had blessed them “with houses full of good things, which you did not fill, and cisterns hewn out, which you did not hew, and vineyards and olive trees, which you did not plant...take heed lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." All that we have is a blessing and gift from God and God calls us to dedicate it all in Nazirite fashion to the Lord. Consider Jonas Salk in contrast with the Sacklers. He liberated millions from the scourge of Polio. Unlike his contemporaries, he believed that “vaccines composed of ‘killed’ polio virus could safely immunize without risk of infection.” He boldly immunized himself, his wife, and his children demonstrating the courage of his convictions. In the two years before the vaccine was widely available, the average number of polio cases in the U.S. was more than 45,000. By 1962, that number had dropped to 910. Hailed as a miracle worker, (and this is the incredible part that would never happen today) Salk never patented the vaccine or earned any money from his discovery, preferring it be distributed as widely as possible. Like Samson he was given a gift from God. But unlike Samson and the Sacklers he used it not for his own benefit but for others. God gives us the call and the abilities but the shape and character we put on it is our own. Samson had extreme power but made poor choices which ended in his death despite his power. The strength we have is the strength of character we execute each and every day we wake up with every single person we meet. May we use all that we have and all that we are to the glory of God and the benefit of others. Amen.

Check your closets! If you have gently used adult-sized winter coats that you no longer need, the residents of the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter would greatly appreciate your donation. Please drop them off in the Garden Room on or before December 15th. We are specifically seeking adult sizes, and the larger, the better. Thank you for generously sharing warmth with our neighbors!

I do Order of St. Paul because I like having a purpose in the Worship services. It's a way for me to contribute something beautiful, and feel more connected to my church community. - Holly Miller Calling all seventh - twelfth graders! Members of The Order of St. Paul assist in the worship service each Sunday, carrying the cross (we call the crucifer) in the Procession, serving as flag-bearers, and serving as candle attendants, as well as assisting the pastors at special services during Lent. If you are a seventh grader or older and interested in worship leadership, The Order of St. Paul is for you! Community service credit is available at program-year end based on service hours and commitment to the Order.