TET SEATTLE! CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR! BRIGHT, COLORFUL DRAGONS, BEING LIONS, CHASING AND ROMPING FOR BALLS! BIG CITY, BIG FUN! PERFECT TIMING! EVERYTHING NEW! SEATTLEU--SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY & MINISTRY. HEAVENLY STAMP OF APPROVAL! A SWARM OF BALD EAGLES, SYMBOL OF AMERICA, SAILED ABOVE THE SEATTLE WOMEN'S MARCH! THE LOVE OF CHRIST COMPELS US! HATE HAS NO HOME HERE. WE WON'T DISCRIMINATE. REAL CHANGE WORKS! THE ROAR OF A LION . . . FILLED THE CANYONS, OF THE CEMENT JUNGLES OF SEATTLE, AS THE WOMEN, MARCHED, WITH 30% OF THE FINAL COUNT OF 175,000 MARCHERS, MEN, A FRIEND OF MINE, SAID SHE COULD NOT TELL, WHETHER, THE ROARS WERE WAVES OF ACTUAL ROARS FROM THE CROWD, OR IF THE MARCHERS, AND SOUNDS, BOUNCED OFF THE SKYSCRAPERS, BUT SHE SAID, IT WAS DISTINCTLY A "ROOAARRR!" WE ARE WOMEN, HEAR US ROAR! WE OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY, WAS KICKED OFF WITH PASTORS, PRIESTS, CLERGY FROM AROUND THE CITY OF SEATTLE . . . ME AND THE CHOIR FROM, THE CHURCH OF MARY MAGDALENE, PERFORMED AS PASTOR, LINDA BOOKER, TOOK A KEY ROLE, IN THIS AMAZING, COALITION OF CHURCHES, WITH THE GOAL, AND I AM GOING TO TAKE THIS FROM THE WORDS OF ONE OF THE SONGS THE WHOLE CONGREGATION SANG: "WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST": WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST, WE ARE ONE BODY, ALL ONE PEOPLE, OUT OF MANY. WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST, WE ARE ONE BODY, ALL ONE PEOPLE OUT OF MANY. THERE IS ONE GOD, AND ONLY ONE LORD; THERE IS ONE FAITH, ONE HOLY LOVE. THERE IS ONE BAPTISM; THERE IS ONE SPIRIT, WHO IS GOD THE COMFORTER. "WHEN OUR SONG SAYS PEACE": WHEN OUR SONG SAYS PEACE AND THE WORLD SAYS WAR, WE WILL SING DESPIRTE THE WORLD. WE WILL TRUST THE SONG, FOR WE SING OF GOD, WHO BREAKS THE SPEAR AND SWORD AND STILLS THE STORM OF WAR. WHEN OUR SONG SAYS FREE AND THE WORLD SAYS BOUND, WE WILL SING DESPITE THE WORLD. WE WILL TRUST THE SONG, FOR WE SING OF GOD, WHO OPENS PRISON DOORS AND SETS THE CAPTIVES FREE. WHEN OUR SONG SAYS HOME AND THE WORLD SAYS LOST, WE WILL SING DESPIRTE THE WORLD. WE WILL TRUST THE SONG, FOR WE SING OF GOD, WHO BRINGS US HOME AT LAST, AND GIVES A SONG TO ALL! I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THIS GATHERING, AT THE ATTEMPT TO HEAL OLD WOUNDS, DIFFERENCES, AND ISSUES, WITH THE THOUGHT OF A NEW DAY, CREATING A NEW CHURCH, AND SING A NEW CHURCH INTO BEING. THERE WERE READINGS, GREAT HEALING SERMON, PRAYERS, CANDLE LIGHTINGS, GREETINGS AND WISHES OF PEACE BE WITH YOU . . . AND, PROUD TO SAY, OUR CHOIR SONG, THE LAST ONE WE SANG, SOMETHING LIKE "PRAISE TO JESUS" BUT, ONE PASTOR STARTED TO CLAP, SO I JOINED IN, AND MORE AND MORE PEOPLE STARTED TO JOIN IN, AND BY THE END, WE WERE ALL SINGING, DANCING AND CLAPPING IN UNISON, ABSOLUTELY THRILLING, UNIFYING, AND FUN! WE ALL HAD LUNCH, GATHER TO TALK, REVIEW THE EVENTS OF THE DAY BEFORE WITH THE UNIFYING WOMEN'S MARCH, AND THE FUTURE OF THIS GREAT CITY AND STATE, HOPEFULLY, ONE WASHINGTON, RUBBING OFF ON THE OTHER WASHINGTON, D.C., IN THEIR EFFORTS TO RAISE US ALL HIGHER, ON THE WINGS OF EAGLES AT THE SCRIPTURE SAY WE SHOULD BE WITH THE ROAR OF LIONS, BOTH IN THE SAME PSALMS! THIS MORNING, AT MARY'S PLACE, WE ALL ENJOYED STORIES OF THE MARCH, AND WE DEAL WITH A QUESTION OR ISSUE EACH DAY, AND IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE, GOD, CREATES, HOLES IN OUR LIVES, TO OPEN, ROOM FOR SOMETHING NEW! THIS MARCH IS A HUNDRED YEARS IN THE MAKINGS, HILLARY'S LOSS, MAY DO MORE FOR WOMEN, WORLDWIDE, THAN HAD SHE WON! GOD MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS! I WANTED TO WRITE THE WONDERFUL WORDS THAT, TWO PASTORS FROM DIFFERENT CHURCHES READ TOGETHER . . . I THINK IT IS HIGHLY APPROPRIATE FOR, NOT ONLY THE CHURCHES, BUT FOR THE NATION, FOR THE NEW PRESIDENCY AND THE NEW UPRISING IN AMERICA! LEARN LOUD . . .

Dividing by our Sins (Confession)

Invitation to Confession

In the course of history, there have been many renewal movements in the Church, which is always in need of deeper conversation to her head, Jesus Christ.  Sometimes these movements have led to unintended divisions.  this fact contradicts what Jesus asks the Father in John 17:23: "that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."  Let us confess our sins and pray for forgiveness and healing for the wounds which have resulted from our divisions.  As we name these sins we will see hor they become a wall which divides us.

Silence

Let us pray: God and Father in heaven, we come to you in Jesus' name.  We experience renewal through your Holy Spirit, and yet we still construct walls that divide us, walls which hinder community and unity.  we bring before you now the stones with which we erect our walls and pray for your forgiveness and healing.

Amen.

One stone in our wall is "lack of love."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for whenever we have failed to love.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

One stone in our wall is "hate and contempt."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for our hate nd contempt for one another.  we humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

One stone in our wall is "false accusation."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for denouncing and falsely accusing one another.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

One stone in our wall is "discrimination."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for all forms of prejudice and discrimination against one another.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sis, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Reflection

One stone in our wall is "persecution."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for persecution and torturing one another.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

One stone in our wall is "broken communion."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for perpetuating broken communion among our churches.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

One stone in our wall is "intolerance."

• Gracious god, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for banishing our brothers and sisters from our common homeland in the past and for acts of religious intolerance today.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

One stone in our wall is "religious wars."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for all wars that we have waged against one another in your name.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Reflection

One stone in our wall is "division."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for living our Christian lives divided from one another and astray from our common calling for the healing of all creation.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

One stone in our wall is "abuse of power."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for our abuse of power.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

One stone in our wall is "isolation."

• Gracious God, the love of Christ compels us to ask forgiveness for the times when we have isolated ourselves from our Christian sisters and brothers and from the communities in which we live.  We humbly pray:
• Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

Reflection

Let us pray:  Lord, our God, look upon this wall that we have built, which separates us from you and from one another.  Forgive us our sins.  heal us.  Help us to overcome all walls of division and make us one in you.

AMEN!

PUGET SOUND REGIONAL SERVICE

THE HOST CHURCH WAS, GETHSEMANE LUTHERAN CHURCH, ON THE CORNER OF STEWART AND 9TH . . . IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS,  OR YOUR CHURCH WANTS TO JOIN, THE COALITION, PLEASE CONTACT THEM? 

CHURCH WITHOUT WALLS, CHURCH WITHOUT BORDERS, CHURCH WITHOUT LIMITS . . . WE ARE ALL OF THE COMMUNITY OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD!  CHILDREN OF GOD!  WE CAN DO THIS CHRISTIANS AND WE ARE BIG ENOUGH TO WELCOME MUSLIMS, BUDDISTS, ATHEISTS, AGNOSTICS, ETC.!  A MORE PERFECT UNION, MORE PERFECT WORLD!