A warm welcoming,
As we enter fully into Ordinary Time this week, the calendar reminds us that there is nothing ordinary about becoming the people of God. On the Sunday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, today we observe Human Relations Day, an opportunity for congregations to join together across the connection to raise awareness and funds for social justice initiatives and outreach to at-risk youth. Human Relations Day offers opportunities to listen to God’s call to create beloved community together.
Consider giving a special offering today, the first step in FAUMC’s ongoing work to share the assets of the whole community—gifts, time, skills, money, expertise, connections—to create a beloved neighborhood, a city, a nation, and a world where all can flourish.
It is appropriate that Human Relations Day falls on a Sunday when our theme is listening. Listening and action feed each other as grace forms us into the people of God.
The move into Ordinary Time also means a transition to green as our primary liturgical color as we enter this short season between Epiphany and Lent.
We linger to remember our baptism as we journey through the next four weeks, reminding each of us that we are and we are becoming the people of God through our union with the Incarnate Christ whose identity is made known in Christ’s baptism.