I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. - John 14:25-27 NRSV Paul Harvey had a radio show from 1976 to 2009 where he shared interesting facts about famous people, famously signing off with, "And now you know the rest of the story." The great delight of his storytelling was in learning something new about these amazing people whom we thought we knew so well. For instance, while it's common knowledge that Milton Hershey is one of the world's most successful chocolatiers, Paul Harvey tells us that Hershey found success after failing to manufacture and sell caramels in Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, New Orleans, and New York. Financially broke and broken-hearted, with only a 4th-grade education, Hershey tried once more to create confections, this time in his hometown of Pennsylvania, and became one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and philanthropists. In this Eastertide narrative, we're going to delve into the stories of the disciples. While we may be familiar with the story of Thomas doubting Jesus, the rest of his narrative is one of adventure, courage, faith, perseverance, and self-sacrifice. Thanks to Thomas' missionary zeal, there exists an ancient church in India dating back to a few decades after the life of Christ. There are countless stories like this—not only about the disciples but also about what God is currently doing in the world. Similarly, Scripture says, "all the things Jesus did cannot be contained in this book" (John 21:25). What we discover is that people and God's world are more fascinating, intriguing, and compelling than we could ever realize at first glance. Though the Bible is a completed text, the ongoing story of what God is accomplishing is being narrated by faithful people today. The resurrected Christ continues to work in powerful and incredible ways beyond our comprehension. Uncovering these stories emboldens us to act on our convictions that God will work in and through us toward the Lord's vision of peace and light. What is the rest of the story of what Jesus is doing in our world, that it can't be contained in all the books in the world? The story is still being written... Prayer of Confession Lord, too often we see dead-ends and hopeless situations. We fail to believe in Your power to transform our lives and the world. So we hunker down to protect ourselves while neglecting the needs of our neighbor. But Your resurrection assures us that there is always more to the story and through Your disciples we see that hope continues through our lives. Embolden us to witness Your love with the courage of the disciples and give us the mettle to go forth as they did living Your love, seeking Your grace, and offering Your forgiveness, in Jesus' name.

I came that they may have live, and have it abundantly. John 10:10 Throughout these past weeks we have been exploring the great challenges that confront us in the headline news: intolerance, politics, violence, poverty, the plight of children, estrangement, and all too often they find their most tragic culmination in an untimely, cruel an unjust death. It is why it is so hard for us to read these headlines because the endings are too often filled with despair and sadness with the sense that evil can win. It was how the story concluded for this Nazarene who had begun a movement to seek to address these same challenges in His world 2,000 years ago. It ended the way all of these stories seem to end with a person of great moral being killed through the collusion of corrupt powers seeking to destroy the one who sought to wrest their stranglehold over the people. It ended with His disciples scattering; fearing for their lives. It ended with the women He loved weeping at the cross and then solemnly sitting at the tomb, disconsolate and broken. And yet, and yet, this time, this one time, this one time in all of history the story did not end in death! And so today on this day of resurrection we discover Jesus’ all-encompassing answer to the headline news… life, but not just any old life – abundant life! Which means much more than it seems to at first. In fact, the concept of life is of primary concern to John’s gospel. Life is one of John’s characteristic concepts. He uses the term 36 times, whereas no other New Testament writing has it more than 17 times …Thus in this one writing there occur more than a quarter of all the New Testament references to life. (John, page 82, The New International Commentary on the New Testament). Furthermore “life” has layers of meaning in the Greek. There is bios, which characterizes all life, including the microbe and us. Words such as biology are derived from this root. Next is psuché which refers to the life of the soul, the mind, and the will, that which makes a person unique. From this root words such as psychology derive. But neither bios nor psuché is the life that Jesus offers. An ancient tale describes an encounter between a Roman soldier and Julius Caesar. The soldier’s life is utterly bereft of meaning and he asks Caesar permission to kill himself; he lacks any vitality or sense of purpose. Caesar looks at him whilst saying, “Were you ever really alive?” In a sense Caesar is saying this soldier had only lived bios, a mere physical existence, but nothing more. The hole in this soldier’s heart and the hole in our hearts spring from a realization. Animals feel pain; they don’t feel existential agony. This agony is a painful awareness that we are meant for more than bios or even psuché. We are meant for zoe; the third and highest form of life in Greek thought. Zoe refers to the eternal life of God. John also uses this word to describe the essential character of Jesus’ existence; zoe is the divine spark God wove into the human creature at creation. * Critically, it is the type of life that Jesus died and rose again to restore to us which He tells us in John 10:10; “I came that you might have zoe, and have it abundantly.”  When the Bible describes eternal life, it is zoe not bios that is promised! It is a life in which the awe of existence pours from our hearts like that of the great poets. The world is charged with the grandeur of God. – Gerard Manley Hopkins You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. – Maya Angelou Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver “Life is beauty, admire it…Life is too precious, do not destroy it” – att. Mother Teresa This is the gift that Jesus bestows upon us, not just existence but superabundant life. Like the disciples though this zoe can be clouded from our vision. The tragedies are real and devastating, which makes it harder to see the signs all around us. The signs for Mary Magdalene were right in front of her; literally Jesus was staring her in the face, but she could not see Him. Jesus told the disciples the signs; He would be betrayed; He would be buried three days; at the Last Supper He warned them times would be hard; but it would be through these hard times that the promise of superabundant life would come to all. Having eyes and ears awake to the signs can help us to find hope and even joy. Some years back when the devastating tsunami struck the shores of India (amongst other places) there was a people, the Moken, who still live off the land the way their ancestors have for thousands of years, out on the water, who knew the signs and rowed to safety. They did not spot a massive wave and head for the hills. Instead, they noticed rolling waves in the midst of the ocean that barely disturbed their boats. You and I would have ignored it, but they knew it for what it was. They also knew there was no time to row to shore and head for the hills. So, they went the exact opposite direction instinct would dictate. They rowed for deeper waters. And in those deeper waters the tsunami could not build to sufficient height and power to threaten them, and all the Moken’s survived that day. Our ability to see the signs have been clouded by the headline news and it can be especially hard to see them; when life strikes us like Mary, who is almost inconsolable, we want to shrink from our faith and console ourselves with fond memories and let go of our trust. Trustdoes not come by sight, but by faith. The Moken did not see the tsunami, they only saw the signs. And John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, did not see Jesus, he only saw the burial clothes lying by themselves which was the sign he needed to believe; Jesus had risen! Like the Moken the call is to row deeper. You and I in the face of the resurrection can face any tsunamis life brings us through rowing deeper into our faith in God. That zoe, superabundant life, will come to all. This power Christ holds of life over death, of not only bios but zoe means a tremendous amount to me personally. For though my father, Robert Maxwell Evans, still has his BIOS, that is his physical existence here on earth, his ZOE has been stripped away by a terrible disease – Alzheimer’s. And I know many of you in this congregation know exactly what I'm talking about. How your parents or your friend or your spouse have also been robbed of their abundant life –that which makes life something more than the mere beating of a heart, but something profound and incredible and beautiful and unique and amazing and lovely. Those moments with my father on the golf course are gone forever. Those moments of debating liberation theology and Karl Barth have evaporated as his mind has been stolen. And it is so heartbreaking that I don’t even want to think about what is lost, but sometimes I cannot help myself and it simply overwhelms, and then I remember what my preacher-dad has taught me since I was very little — God wins! When he preached it, he would say, “Boom, there it is!” Just to be sure no one would miss the point. God wins! Zoe for all! Boom! There it is.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 The following was published last September referencing 22 years since 911: People at baseball games sang “God Bless America” with reverence. The national anthem meant something… Our family members had been slaughtered and now it was time to band together and kick some… How long did it last? A couple years, maybe, until we decided that our enemies were the same people we wrapped our arms around. We started eating ourselves from the inside out. And today, two days before the 22nd anniversary of that horrible day, we are as divided as a nation as we were in the days preceding the firing on Fort Sumter. Oh, there are no standing armies from a coalition of states battling another, but the battle lines are most certainly drawn. Twenty-two years after the most galvanizing act since the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which ushered the USA into World War II, we are a broken country. Not only are there no viable solutions, but there is no appetite to find any solutions. There is too much anger and hatred for our brothers and sisters. No family could survive what we are doing to ourselves.* It is a rather cynical assessment but clearly there is some truth to it. Knight Commission on Trust, Media and Democracy, trust in government is at historically low levels, with faith in businesses, nonprofits and the media having declined significantly “Crisis in Democracy: Renewing Trust in America”.** Fully 71% think interpersonal confidence has worsened in the past 20 years. And about half (49%) think a major weight dragging down such trust is that Americans are not as reliable as they used to be. (Pew Research, 2019) Two thirds of Americans are part of an “exhausted majority” who are tired of the “us vs them mindset and eager to find common ground.” Hidden Tribes: A Study of America’ Polarized Landscape”.*** To answer these problems of division Jesus gave His life. It is why He died. Jesus’ answer to these headlines is not only an answer for our country but an answer for everyone. Our problem of division, though worsened in past years, is the fundamental problem of humanity – estrangement from each other, from ourselves, and most of all from God. Jesus’ answer is reconciliation. As John tells us God “so loved the world” that the Son came down from heaven to heal the rift between God and humanity. As Ephesians tell us, “God is reconciling all things together through Christ.” (Ephesians 1:10) That is the good news that, as Christians, should make us ever hopeful and confident that this enmity will not last. Jesus is our savior but that is only His secondary purpose. He is not saving us to go back to the same life. He saves us that we might once again be in perfect harmony with God…forever. It is the gift of the Lord’s Prayer when He invites us to pray, “Our father.” This is an incredible gift. Jesus is The Son of the Father, but He adopts us to be a part of this holy and sacred unity. And as His disciples He tasks us with the joy of working this reconciliation with the world; to heal the rift. It begins with each of us working on our own personal relationships. Jesus commands, “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23) Next, it not only means admitting our own wrongs but being willing to let go of our grievances against others. Remember, on this Palm Sunday Jesus received accolades of joy but only a few days later the crowd will be shouting “crucify Him.” He forgave them and we are told, “Forgive one another as the Lord has forgiven you.” The next step in reconciliation is to move to peace in society. As the church we have a special commission to work for the reconciliation of society. Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church was prompted by deep divisions within surrounding gender roles, leadership, disrespect for the poor, abuses of the Lord’s Supper and more. And to this Paul writes about Jesus’ work: All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. (2 Corinthians 5:18-21) We are ambassadors to the world because Jesus knew that He would be judged by the world by the behavior of His followers. After all, if the church is a “hot mess” why would anyone want to be a part of it? So He tells us, “The world will know you are my disciples by the love you have for one another.” He does not say by the sound doctrine you propound. The church all too often has been confused. We have thought our primary job is to hone our doctrine, disseminate belief, and train our children. All of these are our tasks, but it is not why Jesus founded this group. We are to be a community, a family, bound by God’s love, responding with joyous praise, empowered to witness to this love in the world; to be the body of Christ in the world. And today in order to examine more deeply our role God would have us to play in the world I want to go over some recent church history and use the church as an object lesson. I served as an Executive Presbyter in Birmingham, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia during a time when our denomination was in the throes of working through ordination issues surrounding LGBTQ siblings in Christ. It was a terribly disheartening time in some ways and very hopeful in others. I remember Sessions, on advice of their lawyers, physically encircling their pastor so that I couldn't talk to them, and ironically, women thrusting their Bibles at me shouting that it's God's Word that tells us man is the head of his wife. And then I dealt with the same issues as pastor in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I remember an evening spending 4 1/2 hours with a dozen congregants examining me, grilling me, scolding me, weeping over my views of scripture. And I must say I relished those Biblical debates. Because inevitably they would cite a handful of passages from what we might consider obscure portions of scripture and say the Bible says it and so it's true! Remember this was Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgia (states and people I truly came to love) so I asked them (I probably should not have done this) what they thought about Leviticus 11:7, that tells us it is a sin to touch the skin of a dead pig, and that is exactly what our football players were doing every week, not to mention the scrumptious barbecue we ate at those same games. Unsurprisingly, that argument did not sway anyone. More seriously though I asked them what they believed scripture called them to do when they were in deep disagreement with their brothers and sisters in Christ. That if they believe the PC(USA) had strayed so far from God's Word, what guidance did God's Word give them? And it was clear that this question had never occurred to them. And then I shared the story of my grandfather. Back in the early 1900s he was a conservative Christian who believe that the PC(USA) had erred and strayed from the Bible and as a result he helped form a new denomination, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, he served as president of their seminary in Philadelphia and was a leader for 20 years in that movement. But he became disillusioned, he saw this newfound denomination that sought to be a more pure form of Christ’s Church split two more times. And then he opened the Bible to try and answer the exact question that I had asked the fellow members of my church – what does the Bible teach us to do when we disagree with each other? And it actually has a lot to say. It teaches us in those moments to mutually forebear one another, to not be too quick to judge each other, to speak the truth only in love, and that God is the one in the end who will judge and separate the wheat from the tare. That is not our task. The early churches to which Paul wrote were filled with conflictual people and he didn't teach them to separate from each other, he taught them to hang in together because God had put them there with one another for a reason. They had something to teach each other and that they needed to demonstrate to the world how it is you can work through deep and profound differences and still demonstrate respect and love for each other. Eventually many of those members and congregations left the PC(USA). And in some ways, it helped. It certainly reduced the conflict and it enabled members of our LGBTQ community to serve openly and without the constant barrage of judgment, scorn, and sometimes even worse things. And yet it saddened me greatly. It was heartbreaking for several reasons. One, I valued their presence. Though I vehemently disagreed with their reading of scriptures, I knew most of them to be people of good will that genuinely wanted to seek and do God's will. And I know that they had things to teach me about the faith even as I believe I had things to teach them. And I believed that if most of them had stayed in our community and our denomination that over time God would change their hearts. I believed it because a few decades before a similar conflict arose surrounding the question of women's ordination. And I saw how my pioneer mother, 50 years ago, claimed her pastoral authority as a servant of God, not through passionate debate around theology, but through devoted, faithful service to all people whether they be counted as friends or those on the other side of the ecclesiastical and political aisle. And it is her example, and my grandfather’s example, that have shown me the reconciling power of Christ’s love, and that if we try our very best even as we fail, indeed, the world will know Christ, by our love. And love is unconditional, “It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” It is the love Jesus will show us as we journey through His betrayal, His sacrifice and His enduring triumph over the grave. Amen. *https://www.leader-call.com/opinion/editorials/our-view-can-anything-repair-a-fractured-nation/article_cede799a-4e69-11ee-b5a4-9f9986fa98c1.html **https://csreports.aspeninstitute.org/Knight-Commission-TMD/2019/report ***https://hiddentribes.us/pdf/hidden_tribes_report.pdf

Shared during Sunday Worship on March 17, 2024. God of peace and Lover of our souls, we lift up our voices to You for Your sustaining grace and power. In Your profound mercy, You have sustained our world, despite the discord and division in some communities and jurisdictionstoday. We join our faiths together and speak calm and healing over these contexts, especially the North Africa and the Middle East, Central Africa, Europe, and South Asia. We decree a silencing of firearms and artillery and declare the freeing of hostages, in Jesus’ name! ​God of justice, we lift up America before You. For actors from across the political spectrum, we ask for love for God and neighbor; for the media, we ask for bold and balanced reportage, and for law enforcement and the judicial authorities, we ask for fairness and right judgment. We also pray for this nation’s workforce, asking for efficiency and appropriate work-life balance. God, remember the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the migrant, and the homeless and show us how to distribute our resources, so that nobody goes without. ​God of love, we bear our families and relationships up in prayer this morning. Where there is strife, bring sweetness; where there is lack, provide, where there is disease, heal, and where there is distress, give us rest. Infuse our very hearts with Your love, God, so that peace on earth may begin with us – from our homes to our communities to the ends of the earth. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 A few months ago, my son Matthew and I were sitting in the kitchen over breakfast as I was scrolling through the news and reading him the headlines. “Serial Killer Found Nabbed in Long Island.” “Shooting Kills Four at Party in Houston.” “Viral Video Shows Cops Attack Unarmed Man.” “Man on the Run Kills Four, Including a Mother, Her Child and a Policemen.” Without looking up from his phone Matt said, “Stop doom scrolling, Dad. They’re just baiting you.” I had never heard the phrase, but I immediately knew what he meant. Each article clicked on felt like another layer of doom. I know there is a heaviness in my heart and many of yours. We have to take the news in small doses or else the doom and evil present in the world overwhelms us. The reality of war in the Ukraine and Israel, mass shootings in this country, chaos in Haiti, kidnapping of 300 children in Nigeria sears our souls. We can scarcely imagine what leads people to commit such horrors. It can be so debilitating that we can be forgiven for thinking we are in the worst of times. But the reality is that, according to evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker, “…violence has declined sharply since the birth of the human race…Compared to our hunter-gatherer days, or the Middle Ages, our chances of dying by violent crime or as the result of war are miniscule.” In fact, in some ways the very fact that we are so appalled by violence as a means to an end is great progress. As Dr. Pinker observed, “Our awareness of the rest of the world -- greater now than ever before -- cultivates empathy and makes us more likely to help than hurt other populations.” And I believe this is due in no small part to Jesus’ answer the age-old headline of hatred, violence, and war, “turn the other cheek.” Jesus taught us to not respond to violence with violence but peace. He taught us to see anyone and everyone as your neighbor, even your enemy. He showed us how to forgive; He taught us how to defeat evil, not through the strength of our arms but the depth of our sacrifice and love. Jesus, who lived in a world filled with violence, had more than lofty goals. He gives us concrete commands. He had a very specific pattern for teaching about and responding to acts of violence. When Jesus unfurled the scroll of Isaiah amongst others, He chose to read the words, “Set the prisoners free.” I don’t imagine Jesus simply had the idea that we should literally open the doors of all the prisons. Rather, set them free. There is evidence that incarceration is strongly correlated to poverty. We know Jesus worked to bring good news to the poor, and part of this good news was to free them from the debilitating effects of poverty, which can lead to desperate acts. Last month there was a discussion at the U.N., “A Human Dignity and Faith Perspective on the Eradication of Poverty as one of the Main Root Causes of Incarceration in the World”. Here is a description of that event: Each of the speakers spoke from their perspective to a filled-to-the-maximum audience of professionals in this area, about how so much of crime is rooted in the effects of poverty, and racism, on people and society – little or no access to medical and mental health care, unsafe neighborhoods, substandard schools / education, poor housing conditions, lack of jobs, the list is long. Many people who find themselves in the carceral system were failed by society long before they ever committed a crime. Brick members were at this event. Brick Church is working to combat poverty which prayerfully will work to curb the environments which foster violence. It means bringing dignity to all people no matter their station in life. It means helping to create pathways for people to experience hope in the bleakest of places. And yet, clearly there is more to the cause of violence than poverty and more to Jesus’words than iron bars. Setting free means so much more. Jesus had followers who wanted a violent uprising, but His goal was not to establish a political realm but a heavenly kingdom shaped realm. It would not come through laws and procedures but by love and sacrifice. At that conference on incarceration, they observed that prisons with a faith element exceeded others in reducing recidivism. Jesus taught disciples to stop the cycle of violence and forgive. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus’ famously challenges us, “You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.” Let me begin unpacking this verse by making something clear, Jesus does not intend these words to allow an abuser to continue abusing another. It is not a universal principle. Rather He means to expand our notions of justice. And eye for an eye sounds harsh but at its inception, thousands of years ago, known as lex talions it was an improvement. If you were a rich landowner and your servant stole a loaf of bread you could cut off his hand. An eye for an eye moved the world into greater equality. But Jesus’ followers have a greater responsibility to end the spiral. Turning the other cheek not only stems the violence, it confronts the aggressor with a new way of responding. Thus, Jesus tells Peter at his arrest: "Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled, which say it must happen in this way?" It’s a rather curious phrase Jesus used in referring to the crucifixion, “It must happen this way.” Why must it? Why must Jesus die a violent death? It sounds as one theologian explained, “…that God the father, is the supernatural shylock demanding a pound of flesh.”  This could not be further from the truth. Rather, it must happen because Jesus truly believed in turning the other cheek. Jesus knew that if He kept speaking the truth people would kill Him. And He was not going to stop speaking the truth. He could not run forever. For His plan was to change us within, to change our love for violence with love of others. I have referenced it many times and I will reference it again. Mark’s gospel tells us that upon Jesus’ death, His murderer and His enemy, a centurion guard, declared, “Truly this man was God’s son.” That guard found God in Jesus’ sacrifice of love. It changed his heart. Turning the other cheek was not mere strategy. It is an act of love. While there are social factors that need to be addressed, ultimately all violence has its root in a spiritual deficit, either within individuals or within society. In response to 911, Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun, wrote these words, which still apply today: When violence becomes so prevalent throughout the planet, it's too easy to simply talk of "deranged minds." We need to ask ourselves, "What is it in the way that we are living, organizing our societies, and treating each other that makes violence seem plausible to so many people?" We may tell ourselves that the suffering of refugees and the oppressed have nothing to do with us--that that's a different story that is going on somewhere else. But we live in one world, increasingly interconnected with everyone, and the forces that lead people to feel outrage, anger and desperation eventually impact on our own daily lives. It’s true, but not enough, to say that the current violence is a reflection of our estrangement from God. More precisely, it is the way we fail to respond to each other as embodiments of the sacred. When we look into the eyes and another and see the face of God no matter how dim its presence is, we can only respond with love. On September 6, 2018, in Dallas, Texas, a Caucasian police officer, Amber Guyer, was returning to her apartment when she found what she believed to be an intruder. In the dark and in fear, she murdered Botham Jean, an unarmed Afro-Caribbean man from the Island of St. Lucia. Only it wasn’t her apartment. It was his. Hers was three floors directly above. At her trial, Botham’s brother, 18-year-old Brandt Jean, said these words to his brother’s killer for all the world to see: … I love you just like anyone else. And I'm not gonna say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did but I presently want the best for you. And I wasn't going to ever say this in front of my family or anyone, but I don't even want you to go to jail. I want the best for you, because I know that's exactly what Botham would want you to do. And the best would be to give your life to Christ. I'm not going to say anything else. I think giving your life to Christ would be the best thing that Botham would want you to do. Again I love you as a person and I don't wish anything bad on you. I don't know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug, please? Please? And then, unbelievably, the two embraced, their eyes filled with tears, for a full minute. When we respond to violence through turning the other cheek it fills us with God’s love, like it did with Brandt Jean. And when that love touches others we pray it does the same, like we pray it changed Amber Guyer. And we trust that the path of Christ is the path that leads to peace within our hearts and for the world. Amen.

The prince is giving a ball! Reserve your tickets to see The Brick Church Community Theater present Cinderella (Enchanted Edition). Step into a world where dreams come true as you watch members of our church and school community shine onstage with their loved ones accompanied by a live orchestra! Tickets are free and open to the public.  Email our director, Courtney Edwards at courtneymatsonedwards@gmail.com if you would like to lend your time and talents to the production. Performance Dates Friday, April 19th | 6:00 PM Saturday, April 20th | 6:00 PM Sunday, April 21st | 2:00 PM RESERVE TICKETS HERE Tickets are free and open to the public, but The Brick Church relies on donations from members and friends like you to support our outreach initiatives, children and youth programs, worship & music services, and community opportunities - including this musical! Please consider donating to expand our community and deepen our impact, so that we may share our gifts and talents with all of New York City! Donation Levels Musical Mouse Gift: $25 - Thank you in the Playbill. Daring Dove Donation: $50 - Thank you + free popcorn at intermission. Enchanted Ball Host: $125 - Thank you, free popcorn, photo with Cinderella. Magic Wand Wish: $250 - Thank you, popcorn, photo, merchandise with logo. Golden Carriage Circle: $500 - Thank you, popcorn, photo, merchandise, front row seat. Glass Slipper Contribution: $1,000 - The above plus champagne (+milk) and cookies at intermission. Fairy Godmother Friend: $2,500 - All the above plus private balcony table + cocktails during the show. Happily Ever After Sponsor: $5,000 - All the above plus invitation to private cast reception after the show. CAST LIST Cinderella - Natalie Hammonds Fairy Godmother - Meagan Hooper Stepmother - Barbara Gao Shapiro Grace - Claudia Caceres Joy - Katelyn Long Prince Christopher - Connor Wright Liona - Molly Revenson Queen Constantina - Michelle Auerbach King Maximillian - Joe Hipps Young Cinderella - Georgie Libbey Young Queen Constantina - Mia Strugar Young King Maximillian - Henry Krumholz Charlotte - Knowles Johnson Dove - Raquel Karloff Mice - Brooke Bales, Elsa Busko, Sophie Busko, Isabelle Cabria, Hannah Elliot, Francie Eshelman, Hope Gorman, Saurabh Goyal, Henderson Hipps, Hana Hudson, Vesper Johnson, Charley Kahn, Juliet Krumholz, Lila Liang, Charlotte Night, Cooper Pennoyer, Elisavet Tsiptsis, Robert Warren Featured Ensemble (Villagers, Merchants, Maidens, and Palace Guests) Emma Dietrich, Tiffany Hoke, Raquel Karloff, Liane McAllister, Elizabeth McFly, Brandon Warren Youth Ensemble (Village Children, Young Princes and Princesses) Charlotte Bales, Cory Bazemore, Siena Brassil, Kseniya Gadh, Harriet Hipps, Josie Johnson, Knowles Johnson, Willoughby Johnson, Henry Krumholz, Malin Lawrence, Seren Lawrence, Georgie Libbey, Kathryn Martini, Charlotte McLaughlin, Victoria Pennoyer, Kzreel Pierre, Mia Strugar Understudies Cinderella: Katelyn Long, Fairy Godmother: Molly Revenson, Stepmother/Queen Constantina: Claudia Caceres, Grace/Joy: Emma Dietrich, Prince Christopher: Joe Hipps, Liona: Tiffany Hoke, King Maximillian: Brandon Warren

On behalf of the Deacons, THANK YOU for giving so generously of your time and talents on Saturday. It was wonderful to see so many members of the Brick family - and guests - show up to serve our partners in the community! Whether you were on site in Watson Hall or ventured to one of our offsite locations, we hope you found the morning to be enjoyable and rewarding. Our gratitude also extends to the Men’s Association for preparing such a delicious breakfast, allowing us to gather in fellowship before our morning of service. With your help, we were able to accomplish the following: Made 280 sandwiches at New York Common Pantry, helping clients order food from the pantry, and bagging thousands of pounds of produce Sorted and packed 12,000 pounds of produce at Grassroots Grocery and delivered it to their community partners Assisted Little Sisters of the Assumption with a mailing, thank you notes, and phone calls to donors Painted, cleaned and organized at Church of the Living Hope Sorted and bagged fresh fruits and vegetables at Urban Outreach Center to serve their clients at their weekly “farmers markets” Assembled 50 children’s activity packages for families served by the Interfaith Prison Partnership Made 50 hot meals to deliver to clients of Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter Made 50 sandwiches to deliver to the Grassroots Grocery community fridge Made 150 bagged lunches and 100 toiletry kits for clients of New York Common Pantry Made 50 cat toys for clients of Search and Care One of our site leaders shared the following devotional, which seems particularly applicable to Saturday! Volunteering is a humble act that carries profound impact. In giving our time and effort selflessly, we discover the true essence of compassion and generosity. Let us embrace the joy of serving others, for in doing so, we uplift not only those in need but also our own spirits. Please enjoy these photos of the day!

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 Listen to these headlines concerning our children: …15% of all U.S. children lived in poverty. (www.childstats.gov) …The U.S. has the highest rate of infant and maternal deaths…out of 13 other high-income countries.  (www.commonwealthfund.org) …1 in 4 New York City Children Now Lives in Poverty (NY Times, February 21, 2024) These are stark, painful statistics, especially considering the seemingly boundless resources we have as a nation. The only reason we aren’t up in arms is the long-standing nature of these statistics have inured us to the urgency of action. As they say, children don’t vote. And yet, we see our Lord’s aim is to welcome the children, to lay His hands on them, and to castigate His disciples for pushing them away. Lest we think Jesus’ was simply speaking in sweet metaphors, “…to such adorable tykes belongs the kingdom of heaven…” He issues a frightening warning, “‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Jesus was serious. In this age and especially in our community we invest a tremendous amount in our children for we see them as divine gifts from above whom God has given us the privilege and responsibility to rear. But in Jesus’ time things were starkly different. And so His words not only confused the disciples but shocked them. In ancient times children often led desperate lives. All too often they were treated like property or free labor, like miniature adults, but without any rights whatsoever. Children existed to serve the needs of the parents. In the 4,000-year-old Babylonian law known as Hammurabi’s Code we find ... harsh penalties… would befall any child who did not bestow appropriate honor and respect on the father who reared him. A son could lose a tongue, an eye, or fingers, depending on the circumstances of the offense. He could sell them into slavery or servitude. Though law required parents to rear all their sons and at least one female child, all too often infants were simply abandoned. According to Children of Ancient History, “An infant could be abandoned without penalty or social stigma for many reasons, including an anomalous appearance, being an illegitimate child or grandchild… The practice of selling sons lasted for about 600 years…” At least seven times Jesus admonished us to welcome children while also holding them up as examples. Throughout this series we have been examining Jesus’ blueprint for recreating this world so that it reflects the heavenly realm. In this passage He tells us that in order toencounter and be a part of this kingdom that we must receive it as little children. Part of the power of a child is the ability to dream about amazing possibilities for themselves and the world. A child’s dreams reflect the depth of human hope. Yet, because we are leaving children behind their dreams all too often are of more immediate matters. Some years ago a New York City teacher gave an assignment on Martin Luther King Day to write about their dreams. These are the 1995 "dreams”: 1. Michael dreams that the leukemia will go away. 2. Brandon dreams that someday he will have a dad, "for real." 3. Amber dreams that someday she and her mom can be "safe." 4. Marcia dreams that she can stay in this house, and the judge won't make her go back to "the one where you are always scared." 5. Cheri dreams of food - "a lot" and "a lot of it." 6. Monica dreams that Daddy really wasn't killed so Mom can buy something that isn't food. 7. Jane dreams that "no one kills me before 16 so I can drive away." 8. Chris dreams that he gets a new heart before this one stops. 9. Tim dreams that someday he can be an artist and not have to fight. 10. Perry dreams that people will stop selling drugs so the cops will stay away. 11. Ashley and Ralph "don't have time to dream cause 'living's hard work.'" By the way, these are 6-, 7-, and 8- year-olds. Brick understands our role in a manner after the heart of our Lord. Not only do we seek to provide the most excellent nurture for our own children, but we find ways to open our doors to welcome and love children from various economic and religious backgrounds. In this, our work to build a world which reflects the heavenly kingdom becomes visible. In heaven scripture tells us there will be people from every ethnicity, nation, and people. The snapshot of our students is a snapshot of heaven. But the kingdom belongs to children because, though they do exhibit most of the weaknesses we all do, in them we discover the true beauty of ourselves, of humanity. Their power to forgive, to share, to dance, and to sing has not been dimmed but the years and children all around the world exhibit Christ to us in the most powerful of ways. There was the child in the midst of a hungry crowd while Jesus was preaching. He was not only smart enough to bring food but rather than hoard it for himself he shared it with Jesus. In turn, Jesus took that one act of generosity, multiplied those loaves, and fed 5,000. There was the 6-year-old girl I met at the orphanage in Haiti. The children get one present the entire year, at Christmas. The other girls each had a toy or a doll, but she had nothing. I asked the director why. “This past Christmas she got the doll she had always wanted. She loved it. Then when we were out for the day she encountered another young girl, this girl had a home, a mother, a father a sister but she looked sad and so our girl gave her the one special thing she had in the whole world.” Jesus told us a parable of the man who sold all he had to obtain a pearl of inestimable worth. He likened it to the Kingdom of God. When that little girl gave away that doll it became a Kingdom-sized blessing of love. Fyodor Dostoyevsky said, “The soul is healed by being with children.” I know this to be true. A few weeks ago, as I was rushing home, I almost ran into a four-year-old on the corner. She had the most beautiful beaming smile and look of delight, as she looked my way. For a moment I was confused, but quickly recognized her from our weekly Chapel services at the school. Her beaming smile still lifts my spirits. One of my colleagues on a trip to the Dominican Republic got to meet a child he and his wife sponsored in school there. He later said to me, “When I looked at her, I suddenly felt in my heart what I always knew in my head, ‘God loves this child just as much as my child in America. God wants the exact same thing for her that God wants for my daughter.’” Children are indeed a blessing from God, all children. Today we have been blessed by seeing the third graders receive their Bibles. It is part of our calling to treasure them and welcome them. It is a great joy to nurture their love for God, for each other, and for themselves. Let us love our children as Jesus commands us, then let us reach past our homes, past our neighbors and our friend circles into the places of challenge and love them with all the love to which God calls us. Amen.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 For centuries in our country the greatest challenge to justice and peace was not only immoral laws but the tolerance by “people of good will” who idly stood by while racism, misogyny, homophobia, and classism thrived. In his famous letter from the Birmingham Jail, Dr.King wrote to a group of sympathetic white clergy who had urged the Civil Rights leader to slow down progress: But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms…. …Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country. Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in this nation. These are the hard, brutal, and unbelievable facts. On the basis of them, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city fathers. But the political leaders consistently refused to engage in good-faith negotiation… …The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet like speed toward the goal of political independence, and we still creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say "wait." Dr. King’s letter was powerfully persuasive. Decades later my family were members of one of the churches who received this letter, First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham. The pastor who received this letter in 1963 responded by convincing the congregation to integrate. The church split and was devastated, for many years…but when we arrived in 2005 it was a multi-cultural congregation with an incredible witness of love. Yet, in our time things seemed to have turned on their head. In the predictable pendulum filled with historic irony, in an effort no longer tolerate the intolerable, like ages past, much of our rhetoric as a society has become intolerant. Jesus shows us a way out of this loop. The solution to intolerance is neither tolerance nor intolerance but love. It is easy to confuse love with docility but in Jesus hands’ it is anything but. Love begins by centering our actions and words in a godly manner. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians wrote the quintessential challenge for our time, not only speaking the truth (which seems hard enough) but “Speaking the truth… in love.” Measure every word, is it a word of love? Or contempt and hatred disguised as righteousness. Just because you are right does not mean you have the right to be censorious, demeaning, and odious in asserting the truth. Today’s headlines are often in order to influence others to a particular point of view distort the truth. But love begins with respect. The philosophical concept of charity of interpretation gives clarity as to how to engage with opposing views. “It urges charitable interpretation, meaning interpretation that maximizes the truth or rationality of what others think and say.” (Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Sadly, we have seen the failure of the principle of charity with the conflict between Israeland Palestine. In one article we see people being excoriated as antisemites for even speaking a word of concern for the Palestinian people and in the next article those suggesting Israel has a right to defend itself are labeled Islamophobes. Charity of interpretation means not reading motivations into what others have said that they have not disclosed. Some years ago, I remember listening to one person speak on their opinion that Christians should not rely on the government to feed the hungry. After all they said that Jesus in speaking to his disciples commanded them, “You give them something to eat.” In my mind I quickly (and wrongly) judged their intentions thinking to myself, “That is just their way of failing to care for the hungry while trying to keep the government small.” Thankfully I did not say anything because I later found out they run a meal ministry that feeds 1,500 hungry people each day! My internal response failed to judge their words charitably because of my own biases. Jesus offers us several answers to the problem of intolerance. First, to thoughts such as mine, Jesus issues a warning in the Sermon on the Mount. “Judge not lest you be judge for the measure you give will be the measure you get.” This means be careful in how you assess others for it may easily turn back on you. Second, He challenges us to be more humble and self-aware: …how can you say to your neighbor, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. The word hypocrite in the Greek means to play a part as an actor on stage. In this case He is telling us that there is a part of us that knows the speck in our neighbor’s eye is a trifle, but we attack others to cover our own failings. In other words, intolerance can be a cover for facing the truth in ourselves. Third, fighting intolerance means being open to those with opposing world views so that we can grow in wisdom and understanding. In His encounter with the Syrophoenician woman,Jesus shockingly calls her child a dog. When she challenges Him not by attacking Him but pleading, His perspective widens, and He proceeds to heal her daughter. Fourth, He shows us how to not tolerate intolerance, by using love, and standing up for those whom others do not tolerate. Remember when the woman burst into meal with all males, washed his feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair? Polite society was aghast. He not only stood up for her but castigated them. And yet in this castigation although He said she would be first in the kingdom He did not say that they would be left out entirely. In fact, He made it a practice of standing with those whom others would not, women, tax collectors, sinners, and more. He spoke the truth in love when a crowd wanted to stone an adulterer. In saying “the one without sin should cast the first stone” He turned back their fear onto themselves and told the woman He did not condemn her. In speaking the truth to them in love, He turned an angry mob into a self-reflecting group who perhaps realized she was no different than they. Finally, He taught us not to so much tolerate our enemies but to love them…to pray for them. He recognized His enemies were not inherently evil but broken people not only in need of correction, but of prayer and compassion, thus while being murdered by them on the cross, He prayed for their forgiveness. In this sense He fulfilled the fullness of Paul’s challenge to speak the truth in love. In the Greek Paul’s words are even more compelling, the literal translation is “truthing in love.” This means to shape your entire life, your words, and actions, so that it embraces that which is true in order to manifest love. Once again to see how the ethics of Christ can be lived out in our world we turn to that hero of the faith, Archbishop Desmon Tutu of South Africa, who embodied Jesus’ love. This story is shared by Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, whose Christ-centered mission is to eradicate poverty. The former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu used to famously say, “We are prisoners of hope.” Such a statement might be taken as merely rhetorical or even eccentric if you hadn’t seen Bishop Tutu stare down the notorious South African Security Police when they broke into the Cathedral of St. George’s during his sermon at an ecumenical service. I was there and have preached about the dramatic story of his response more times than I can count. The incident taught me more about the power of hope than any other moment of my life. Desmond Tutu stopped preaching and just looked at the intruders as they lined the walls of his cathedral, wielding writing pads and tape recorders to record whatever he said and thereby threatening him with consequences for any bold prophetic utterances. They had already arrested Tutu and other church leaders just a few weeks before and kept them in jail for several days to make both a statement and a point: Religious leaders who take on leadership roles in the struggle against apartheid will be treated like any other opponents of the Pretoria regime. After meeting their eyes with his in a steely gaze, the church leader acknowledged their power (“You are powerful, very powerful”) but reminded them that he served a higher power greater than their political authority (“But I serve a God who cannot be mocked!”). Then, in the most extraordinary challenge to political tyranny I have ever witnessed, Archbishop Desmond Tutu told the representatives of South African apartheid, “Since you have already lost, I invite you today to come and join the winning side!” He said it with a smile on his face and enticing warmth in his invitation, but with a clarity and a boldness that took everyone’s breath away. The congregation’s response was electric. The crowd was literally transformed by the bishop’s challenge to power. From a cowering fear of the heavily armed security forces that surrounded the cathedral and greatly outnumbered the band of worshipers, we literally leaped to our feet, shouted the praises of God and began…dancing. (What is it about dancing that enacts and embodies the spirit of hope?) We danced out of the cathedral to meet the awaiting police and military forces of apartheid who hardly expected a confrontation with dancing worshipers. Not knowing what else to do, they backed up to provide the space for the people of faith to dance for freedom in the streets of South Africa. (Jim Wallis, God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It) Desmond Tutu and Dr. King embodied living the truth and, without compromising justice, showed us how to do it in love. In writing the letter from jail to those clergymen after telling them the hard truth he ended it with the following words which has become my prayer not only for my preaching, but my life and invite you to think of it the same: If I have said anything in this letter that is an understatement of the truth and is indicative of an unreasonable impatience, I beg you to forgive me. If I have said anything in this letter that is an overstatement of the truth and is indicative of my having a patience that makes me patient with anything less than brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me. Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Amen.

Submit by Tuesday, March 26th The Women's Association is collecting donations ($30 suggested), to purchase Easter Lilies for the Sanctuary. Make your donation to be included in the Order of Worship on Easter Sunday.

The Brick Church is blessed with many special ministries. One ministry we would like to highlight today is The Brick Church Prayer Shawl Ministry. This special initiative, faithfully led by Linda Simpson, Jaqueline Worth, Karen Fang and Jill Lampe, has been active for ten years. Members of The Brick Church lovingly knit and crochet beautiful shawls and blankets. They then take the time to lay hands on and pray over each shawl before delivering, so that that the recipient is not only in possession of a comforting gift but is also covered in prayers and encouragement. Prayer shawls have blessed over 600 people in the past ten years! Today we invite you to pray with us over some of the shawls that will go out this year. Photos include: 2016 gathering at Jaqueline Worth's office; farewell gift to Doug King made during the COVID-19 pandemic; Oona Elmiger embracing a prayer shawl; and her grandmother, Jean Williams, proudly holding shawls at a meeting in 2016.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 Listen to these recent headlines on poverty in the United States: “Poverty rates soared in 2022 as aid ended and prices rose.” “Long-run decline in US poverty continued in recent years despite pandemic, new report shows.” “Did Poverty Soar Last Year? It Depends How You Measure It” The news on the national level in terms of poverty is often a tug of war between opposing world views, various political positions, and hidden agendas. The facts are shaped to fit the objective of the one presenting them. There is an argument over how bad or good it is, who should solve the challenge, and even over the different nature of poverty in our time verses that of previous centuries. Though important questions, we will explore none of these. Poverty is not an abstract notion in our city. We can see people on the street, the shelters are full, and healthcare, housing, and food prices are stratospheric. The solutions are not clear because the problems are complex. If you and I are pressed by inflation imagine what it means for hourly and gig workers. The greatest increased health risk for those in poverty is not hunger but depression. It is easy to understand the depression for there is also an increased risk for obesity, asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and mortality rates. The maze many of the working poor have to navigate to obtain medicine and food is staggering. Compound that with lack of transportation and lack of flexibility at work, the mere thought of dealing with a crisis would be enough to drive me into immediate despair. As Christians in some ways, we aren’t called to debate the data, for as long as there is one person who experiences the debilitating effects of poverty Jesus’ heart steams and bleeds. More than anyone, Jesus understands perhaps the greatest harm of poverty: it erodes the human not only in body, not only in mind, but in spirit. It erodes a sense of self-worth and most tragically can lead one to feel neglected and judged by God; to believe their life is less valuable in the eyes of society and the eyes of God. The belief that the poor are either inferior or cursed by God has been a common thread through history. Phrases like “God bless you” and “It means so much to know that someone cares” from those receiving help disclose the deep pain it causes. One of Jesus’ answers to poverty came in Luke. He described a key part of his mission in Luke 4:18 – bring “good news to the poor.”  Thus, in the Sermon on the Mount He tells the crowd that the poor are blessed, that they are loved and treasured by God, not cursed, not inferior, but loved. In that sermon He laid out a vision for a world in which earth reflects the values of heaven and made it the heart of the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” In fact, this is Jesus’ answer to all the challenges in the headline news: build the Kingdom of God here on earth; and His Kingdom-shaped answer to poverty is generosity. Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms the journey to the Kingdom of Heaven, to eternal life runs through love of neighbor. In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus tells the lawyer that eternal life is found through love of God and love of neighbor. Then He proceeds, through the parable, to explain our neighbor is anyone in need. We note that the Samaritan did not do the least required, to bandage the man and get him to safety, but he put him on his donkey, brought him to an inn, took care of him some more, then promised enough money for even more care. He was generous with his own safety (after all the robbers may not be far), with his time, and with his money. Of course, part of the point of this story is the Samaritan knows the man in the ditch does not like him, in fact likely has contempt for him and despises him, and the Samaritan may despise the man in ditch as well. Listen to a little bit of the history between the two: “When the Samaritans wanted to join in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem, their assistance was rejected. You will find this in the Book of Ezra, Chapter Four….” “According to John McKenzie in his Dictionary of the Bible, the Samaritans later allied themselves with the Seleucids in the Maccabean wars and in 108 B.C. the Jews destroyed the Samaritan temple and ravaged the territory. Around the time of Jesus’ birth, a band of Samaritans profaned the Temple in Jerusalem by scattering the bones of dead people in the sanctuary." This means Jesus has redefined neighbor to include everyone – even our enemies! In fact,it was one of the reasons the authorities sought to kill Him. In Luke’s gospel Jesus explains the times when God sent His prophets to heal those outside of Israel and this was the response of the people in the temple: “When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.” (Luke 4:28-30) We see the same judgement in today’s politics when someone joins with the other team to bring about change they are excoriated by their own people. But compassion knows no boundaries as St. Augustine said, “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” As a congregation we have sought several paths to live out St Augustine’s sentiment. We give grants to key organizations that combat poverty like Common Pantry, Grassroots Groceries, and we have a meal ministry on Tuesdays. The impact is considerable, but is there another place Jesus is calling us to be generous? Something to create a more systemic shift? I remember on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. We helped with medical care (I did surgery!) and education, but the path to education did not always bring a better job. One year a businessman went on the trip. He befriended one of translators and they shared a bit about their backgrounds and family situations. This Dominican apparently had family land but with no resources to develop it had lain fallow for years. Fast forward five years. That land was producing an abundance of avocados with a market in the United States. That businessman did not know how to administer medicine or dig ditches, but he did know how to start a business. And his Dominican friend is now employing others to help work his land. And the prosperity is spreading. It was a conversation two years ago with Ruben Nuno, the former pastor of Church of the Living Hope, that reminded me of this story. He was so appreciative of the people of Brick helping construct a lovely garden, to sort food, to paint a fence. He truly was but he also said, “What about your people’s real gifts?” After all, he knew we are not a congregation of painters but of entrepreneurs, educators, and financiers. That comment has stayed with me. Jesus’ call to be generous is not only about money (it is about money but not only money!) but to be generous with our gifts. The Brick Church, perhaps as much or more than any other congregation in the country, has an enormous pool of people who have learned how to successfully navigate our society: how can we share that? It can be hard for us to imagine how our gifts can combat the great challenges of our times. Admittedly our most frequent response to poverty is to throw up our hands, close our hearts, or assume someone else is conquering it. But as you can imagine from Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats, this is not acceptable. It is a frightening indictment. Am I a sheep or a goat? Have I clothed the naked, fed the hungry? Have I been good news to the poor? Frankly this parable scares me. And I think that is what Jesus wanted. For me and you to know how important this is. But He does not want us to stay in fear. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, an evangelical organization devoted to combatting poverty, delivered the baccalaureate address at Stanford University several years back. In it he said, “I believe the real battle, the biggest struggle of our times, is the fundamental struggle between cynicism and hope. For those of us who believe in the good news of Jesus Christ we must always choose hope. Hope that people can be better. Hope that we can get along as a planet.” Wallis said, “The antidote to cynicism is not optimism but action. And action is finally born of hope.” Knowing your gifts and your generosity I am filled with hope that God will use all of us in ways yet we cannot see to follow the path of our Lord and to become good news to the poor, all in the name of His grace and His love. Amen.