The first step toward Loving our enemies

Message from Pastor Mori 

Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church The Weekly Newsletter    Message from Pastor Mori Dear Ravenswood Fellowship Family.     Ten years ago, Gallup discovered a correlation between religion and forgiveness. Their question was "Because of my faith, I have forgiven people who have hurt me deeply?" Surprisingly 57% of respondents said they strongly agree.[1]    Forgiveness is not only a Christian faith principle but also one for most religious traditions. For Muslims, according to the Islamic mission publication Al-Risala, "the Prophet Muhammad taught his followers that the individual who pardons his enemy, even while having the power to extract revenge, will be nearest to God in the Hereafter." Also, in the Hindu sacred writings of the Mahabharata, Vana Parava said, "The man of wisdom should ever forgive, for when he is capable of forgiving everything, he attains to Brahma. The world belongs to those that are forgiving; the other world is also theirs." The Buddhist scripture Karuna also gives us directions on forgiveness: "Loving-kindness and compassion." Jesus taught us in the Lord's Prayer that we should ask God to "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."     Many people (57%) said they would like to forgive people who have hurt them deeply. However, what we see in the world is simplistic reductionism which divides everything into two parts: good or evil. Especially in social media, I see postings that aggressively blame others who have different perspectives about social and political issues. I think people can have different opinions and when people disagree, it does not mean they are irredeemable enemies.     Yes, I strongly agree that we need to raise our voice to help solve the problem of injustice and do our best in fighting systemic injustice. When I read news about gun violence, my heart feels torn. Especially when I read about the death of innocent people. I pray about them every morning. However, I disagree that we need to treat people who have other opinions as enemies and give up our Christian commitment to peacefulness. Christians have a religious duty: do good work for justice and dutifully and humbly walk with God and our neighbors. We are to greet each other with the simple expression, may "the peace of the Lord be always with you" The practice should go beyond our sanctuaries.    We can debate and argue with each other but we don't need to hate and try to hurt each other. It does not help to solve problems. I think the first step toward loving our enemies is to not make them our enemies.   I agree with the Episcopal priest and former U.S. Senator John Danforth who said recently that, "Christians specifically, have a duty to act civilly, to will the good of others; or in Christian terms, to bear witness to that divine love that knows no borders; to the God for whom love, love, mercy, and justice are the only standards of human action."[2]   This is the way to reduce polarization, with empty hearts we cannot change the world. Blessings. Mori    [1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/6181/because-faith-forgiven-people-who-hurt-deeply.aspx [2] The Wal Street Journal, Opinion, Sep 04, 2020. page A13 Give on PayPal Give on PayPal Community Info & Links Japanese Garden Work  Fall is the ideal time to plant new projects because the soil is still warm from the summer while the air begins to cool, creating a good environment for healthy root growth.  It is also time for us to meet at our garden and start finishing up the "pond project."  So please, if you can, come to our church garden on Saturday September 12th between 9:30-11:30.  Please let Yuko (Email) know if you are coming. She is also accepting flowers/plants for our garden (LAST CALL)!  Bible Study evaluation team  Pastor Mori is writing the Bible study lessons and a Leader's Guide on the Gospel of Luke and the loneliness. During the pandemic, we have been isolated and faced with an uncertain future. As we live with the crisis, people have lost the chance to form relationships with other people and we have been forced to deal with our own loneliness. The Bible lesson will focus on how the Bible teaches us to handle our loneliness. I have invited you to two demonstration sessions and will ask for evaluations when the Bible study ends. This is part of my ordination process.  Please sign up for two sessions of Bible study. The links are here:  Session 1 October 01 Thursday 7:00-8:00 PM Zoom online  Session 2 October 08 Thursday 7:00-8:00 PM Zoom online       October 03 Saturday Japanese Garden Prayer: Pet Blessing  A Blessing of Animals, in many congregations, witnesses to God's and the Church's love, care, and concern for creation. As we recognize our mutual interdependence with God's creatures, the Church's witness of stewardship of creation is strengthened.   The tradition of pet blessing originated from the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. This year Ravenswood Fellowship UMC has invited a Franciscan priest from St. Peter's in the Loop Church to share in our pet blessing.  Pastor Mori and the Franciscan Priest bless pets.       Date and time: October 03 Saturday, 10:00 AM  Place: Hermitage side of Ravenwood Fellowship UMC   September Worship Bible Reader  Please sign-up for September Bible Reader. Here are the sermon series and Bible scripture. The sign-up link is here.    Holy Communion For October Holy Communion, we will have prepared prepackaged wafer-bread and juice. You will be able to pick it up beginning this weekend. It has all been blessed and is in the sanctuary ready to use. If you cannot come to church, please let us know and we will send the package to you before October communion.     Thank you-VIP (Volunteer for In-person worshiP) team!  Thank you for signing up to join our VIP team!  We have enough people signed up for our Sep 13 VIP demonstration worship. According to the re-opening team's decision, this Sunday, September 13, Pastor Mori and the VIP team will worship together in the sanctuary to demonstrate in-person worship. We will evaluate the possibility of re-opening.  Also, we will carefully observe what is the most safe way to re-open worship. We will inform you of the results of the demonstration next week in the weekly newsletter. If you are not on the VIP team, we will meet on Zoom for worship on Sunday at 10:30 AM as usual. Thank you.      2020 Church Conference Save the date!  The Church Conference season will look very different this year with most Conferences taking place through Zoom video conferencing. Ravenswood Fellowship UMC's Church Conference date is Sunday, November 15, at 12:00 PM. The SPRC meeting is at 11:30 AM. Click here to access the 2020 online forms for the committee chairs.   Meeting Announcement  September Church STAFF meeting  September 17 Thursday 1:00 PM  Zoom online and Café Mori  September SPRC meeting  September 15 Tuesday 7:00 PM  Zoom online The Northern Illinois Justice for Our Neighbors Have questions about the immigration news that seems to be changing daily? Wondering how you can work toward justice for immigrants? Then, please join us for a time of online conversation and updates for one of two dates. RSVP by email to paula.crippsvallejo@nijfon.org  Happy, Hopeful Hour with NIJFON on Monday, September 14 from 6:30-7:30pm.    UMM 2020 Spiritual Congress Online Conference Saturday, Sept. 19 – 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM CT  Prayer and Reflection "Sunrise at the Point"   Sunday, Sept. 20. 7:00 AM  Theme: Be a part of the long-term and permanent solution to end racism, violent crime, intolerance, and social unrest. Theme: Guest Speaker: Danny K. Davis – U.S. House of Representatives. Bishop Sally Dyck – Northern Illinois Conference United Methodist Church. Lori Lightfoot – Mayor, City of Chicago.Father Michael Pfleger – Senior Pastor, Saint Sabina's Community of Faith. Bishop James Swanson –Mississippi Conference United Methodist Church Flyer and information link here  After Covid-19 Updates. Read about the Phases for Re-Opening here. Is that document too long? Read the summary version here.   COVID-19 Assistance Program  -The Illinois Emergency Mortage Assistance Program.  This program will begin accepting applications on Monday, Aug.24, for those who meet the requirements. More Information is here  -ComEd's Customer-Assitance Package.   This program helps customers affect the pandemic with grants up to $500 to more flexible payment options. More information is here.                                                                                                                                                  Links for Worship.  Join Zoom worship by going to this link at 10:30 AM on Sunday: https://zoom.us/j/806489040. Or call in at 1-312-626-6799 (Meeting ID: 806 489 040).  Let's boost our worship! Please sign-up for Worship Bible Reader. September Worship  Bible reader sign-up here. September Bible Scripture here Young People's Bible Study. Ages 12-18 are invited to join the Zoom discussion of Jesus stories at 9 AM on Sunday mornings. Join the Zoom call here (Meeting ID: 828 2305 3546, One-tap mobile+13126266799) Want prayer? During our Prayers of the People, we will read your prayer requests. Submit your prayer requests here.  Download. Get your bulletin here. Having trouble? Try logging off and logging back on to Zoom during the video. Or simply log off and call in.  Missed last week? Check out the Facebook Live video on our page here. Youtube Link here Give on PayPal Our mailing address is: 4511 North Hermitage Ave. Chicago, IL 60640 Contact us at: ravfelumc@yahoo.com (773) 561-2610 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

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