Hello, Friends!

        Today I'm offering some words penned by a young man whom we  count in our extended St. Luke UMC family, and whom we hope to welcome officially next spring.  Randy's story is uniquely his, of course, and it also echoes the stories of far too many young people.   Some we know personally, and therefore our care and concern are immediate and deep.  Many thousands more are unknown to us, and forgotten. They fall prey to youthful errors in judgment, the sinkholes of addiction, and  a draconian legal system that tends to label and incarcerate instead of helping and encouraging.   Some never make it out of the death-dealing cycles of violence, addiction, crime and punishment. Some never find access to or receive affirmation of their sacred worth as children of God.
        That makes it all the more hopeful and precious when one such as Randy begins to find a spiritual path toward claiming his humanity.   His immediate access is the love of his aunt and uncle, and other family members, who have not stopped loving or believing in him.  He sees our faith community as a place where he can find welcome, when he moves here next spring.
    I'm forwarding a poem he sent his aunt Anita, with a request that it be shared in our fellowship.  There's real courage here, in his willingness to take a hard look at his choices, and  their consequences.  There's courage, too, in approaching God with who he is, and what his heart desires.
    Whatever your own thoughts or beliefs about sin, forgiveness, and the love of God, I hope you can embrace with me the  brave beauty of this young man's expressed longing, and the claim it places on us to follow through on our call to journey with him, and  help him find his way.
           I take Randy's journey and his sense of connection here as  another sacred sign of our charge to be of service to the young ones  of our congregation, our community, and our world--to minister to  their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs as best we're able--and to grow immeasurably, in the process.
     I look forward to ministering, and to growing, with you  this Sunday, and all our days to come.

Shalom,
Sarah+

Good Graces

I miss being in the Lord’s good  graces,
Seeing nothing but pain and hurt in these faces
I’ve turned my back on too many;
Can’t bear to ask him to forgive me.
Like many of my peers I’ve gone astray,
Now on the wide path I lost my way.
I’m told you’re a god of mercy -
Please guide me down this trail I didn’t foresee.
I fear that awesome day we meet;
In my heart I already know my defeat.
On my knees with my head bowed,
I’m not proud,
The need for you cries out so loud, above any crowd. 
How do I get in his good graces again?
Lord, I ask you in - with this simple prayer I’ll begin.
The book says you know my heart and soul
and if I repent my sins you’ll make me whole.
In all that’s good I give this simple plea:
Father, if you can just forgive me.
My promise is to do the best I can;
When I rise from the grave I’ll be a new man
The old ways and life are left below;
Now in my veins your spirit can flow.
With a cleansed soul I walk with the Lord once more,
But never will I forget when my spirit was sore.
Those he’s placed in my life that bless
Bring me the greatest joy and happiness.
I’ll praise him with my last breath
For I truly know I’ve already died my death.
There will be peace for those above in eternity.
Won’t you come join the lord with me?
Because I still see pain and hurt in too many faces
But now I can make a difference,
for I’m in good graces.
           
Randy Boles
            8/24/07