My heart is heavy today (Thursday, August 27). There are many things to be concerned and even angry about.
Covid-19 continues with the death total closing in on 180,000. It seems that things are improving somewhat in Minnesota, but the struggle continues.
Our prayers are with those who are being hit by Hurricane Laura in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi.
And once again this week, we saw some appalling video from Kenosha, Wisconsin of a Black man, Jacob Blake, shot seven times in the back in front of his children. As this was happening, in other parts of the country, protests continue demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, the young Black woman, who served her community as an EMT, who was gunned down in her own home.
It weighs on all our souls, I'm sure.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). How do we overcome the evils we face? We offer our "good" by caring enough for each other that we keep our social distance, wear a mask and wash our hands.
We offer our "good" by donating to the hurricane relief efforts through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
We offer our "good" by supporting our Brothers and Sisters of Color, listening to their experiences and calling on our lawmakers to fix a broken system. As Paul says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
As we offer our prayers and our actions as a people of faith, I invite you to visit our Presbytery website at ptcaweb.org and our national church website at pcusa.org.
Be well, my friends! Peace and Blessings,
TJ
