Sunday,
November 16, 2008
Dear Friends,
This morning our skies around the
Conference are smoke filled, many homes have been lost
and people's lives have been thrown into chaos.
Last night I telephoned some of the churches I knew to
be in the fire areas to let them know the rest of us are
here if there are ways we can be supportive. From
those calls I learned of only a few actual UCC members
who had needed to evacuate and, as of then, no homes
lost. But most of the congregations in the fire areas
were organizing to be responsive to needs in their
communities. I asked them what I now ask any
others whom I didn't know to call : if your
congregation is aware of unmet needs in your community
to which the rest of us could be helpful in responding,
please CALL the Conference office (626.382.6064) and let
us know what is needed. One of the
challenges of being church in times of disaster is that
we all want to be helpful but we don't want to get in
the way or send 'stuff' that is not needed and create an
added burden for those trained personnel giving
relief. (For instance, in Midwest flooding, well
intentioned donors of used clothing created masses of
stuff for which there was no distribution
mechanism...) So to those of us who want to help,
I ask you to wait until you hear from a neighbor
congregation, your local community authorities or from
the Conference about how you/we might
help. In the meantime, we all hold
those impacted by the fires in prayer and stand ready to
support.
About Proposition 8. This comes
to notify Conference members that your Conference Board
of Directors, based on the policy established by
Conference delegates approving the 2004 Marriage
Equality resolution , has agreed to sign on to a
Petition with other California civic and religious
bodies, challenging Proposition 8. Your
Board and staff recognize that we are not all of one
mind on this matter---individually or as
congregations---but it was the discernment of your Board
that the Conference's 2004 action and God's longing for
justice for all persons called us to this
decision.
As we all deal with differences among
ourselves and in our state about this matter, I again
plead that we of the United Church of Christ will
model that it is possible to stand strongly where we
believe we need to stand on matters like this while
still living in and praying for manifestation of the
unity for which Jesus prayed and for which the United
Church of Christ stands. And even as we differ,
may we pray for one another, especially those most
deeply wounded by the passage of Proposition
8.
Friends in Christ, we are in a
time of the birthing of new possibilities. But new
births don't come easily or even quickly---ask any
expectant parent. So with our parent God we sigh
and labor and long for all things becoming
new.
With You in Christ's
Service,
Jane
