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It Is All Too Much

By Vicar Lisa

I recently read a blog written by Pastor Nadia Boltz-Weber, which spoke to me. She mentioned that she lived in an old apartment complex with an old wiring system. And, if she were so careless as to think that she could use the blow dryer and the stereo at the same time, of course, she had to reset the breaker. It was a wiring system set up for a day before electric hair dryers and the system failed when too much was asked of it.

She then compared that old wiring system to our personal psyches.  She believes that our psyches were not developed to hold, feel and respond to everything coming at them right now; every tragedy, injustice, sorrow, and natural disaster happening to every human across the entire planet.  

I can relate. I had just had a heart-wrenching conversation with my sister. Unlike the rest of the family, she stayed behind in Memphis, where we grew up.  She, her husband, and son all work in downtown Memphis.  And you know what is going on in Memphis with the beating death of Tyre Nichols and the mishandling of this incident. 

My hometown is torn up again by violence. I can still remember when Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis and the whole town erupted in racial violence.  Lockdown ensued and the National Guard filled the streets.  That was 37 years ago and Memphis is still a hotbed of hatred, discrimination, and prejudice. Which is one of the reasons I will never go back to life and don’t even like to visit.

Pastor Nadia’s blog stated, “The human heart and spirit were developed to be able to hold, feel and respond to any tragedy, injustice, sorrow or natural disaster that was happening IN OUR VILLAGE.”  But now, our emotional circuit breakers are overloaded because the hardware was built to an older time and our village has expanded to the entire planet thanks to the world news media. 

She then points out how social media shames us into thinking that we are not doing enough.  As in, “If you aren’t talking about, doing something about, performatively posting about ___[fill in the blank]___then you are an irredeemably callous, privileged, bigot who IS PART OF THE PROBLEM.”

Yet, for those of us who do care, every picture and story we see leaves us feeling like we just can’t do enough.  Those who care are left wondering, “Am I doing enough, sacrificing enough, giving enough, saying enough about all the horrible things right now to think of myself as a good person and subsequently silence the accusing voice in my head?” 

No, we never can. Does that mean that we do nothing? 

No, it does not mean that either.  

Pastor Nadia states that we need to remember, “1. We are still living through a global pandemic and that means the baseline of anxiety and grief is higher than ever and shared by everyone. 2. The world is on fire literally and metaphorically. But, 3. I only have so much water in my bucket to help with the fires. The more exposure I have to the fires I have NO WATER to fight, the more likely I am to get so burned and inhale so much smoke that I cannot help anymore….” 

So, she tells herself and us that it is okay to focus on one fire. Focus on what is yours to care about.  Be it immigration, homelessness, global warming, or social injustice.  I can’t fix Memphis even though she breaks my heart.  But I can focus on my little village of Trinidad. And that is enough.  

God’s Peace.

Sunday, Feb. 5, Fifth Sunday After Epiphany 

10 a.m. Worship with Holy Communion 

Please join us, either in person OR via ZOOM ('hybrid' worship). If you will be worshiping via Zoom, log on or call in using these links: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85889977831?pwd=Z1hXUlBCdUlrQkhFOENKMWIzaG1tUT09

Meeting ID: 858 8997 7831, Passcode: 538710, +1 719 359 4580 US

Worship Leaders:   Vicar Lisa Rygiel, Julie Wersal

Lector:  Jo Moss

Zoom Leader(s): Sharon Sorenson and Ernie Parker

Musicians: Connie Pallone

Ushers: Jo Moss & Joni Jones

Communion: Pamela Nelson Serafina & Dr. David Serafini

Flowers: Given by Doris Blalock for February birthdays and From Julie Wersal in celebration of Willa Mae Gartside’s 100th Birthday on Feb. 9. 

Announcements:

Adult Education:  At Sunday School at 8:30 am, we will resume our study of Luther’s Small Catechism.  If you are new to the Lutheran faith, considering membership or baptism, or just want a refresher study, please consider joining us.  You can also join us via Zoom: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82340581969?pwd=V0E5UWNzYXFWK3NoNEUxcmR3SW9KZz09

Meeting ID: 823 4058 1969, Passcode: 938515, Dial by your location, 1 719 359 4580 US

Church Council:  If anyone would like to serve on the church council or any other committee, please see Julie or Vicar Lisa. 

Lent is Soon Upon Us: We begin the Lenten season with Ash Wednesday worship, at 7 p.m. on Feb. 22. Lenten Sunday worship services continue on Feb. 26, March 5, 12, 19, and 26. Palm Sunday is April 2. The Lenten season ends Saturday, April 8. Easter Sunday is April 9.

During Lent, we will be holding Lenten Soup suppers Wednesday nights at 6 pm.  We are looking for someone to coordinate this effort so that we have food each Wednesday.

Women’s Bible Study:  Women's Bible Study will resume at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, March 17 in the Fellowship Hall downstairs and will meet every other Friday. Please direct questions to Carol Smith.

Annual Meeting:  Feb. 5 is Zion's Annual Meeting and a Sunday potluck luncheon. Watch your email, E-formation, bulletins, and newsletters, for updates and information.

Transition Team Update:  Please note that the report from the transition team will be handed out at our annual meeting on Feb. 5.  Please take the time to prayerfully read and consider the report.  There will be a question-and-answer session following worship on Sunday, Feb. 12.

Wine and Art: Paula Little will reprise her popular Wine & Art event, so plan now to join in, on March 4, 10 a.m. -1 p.m. Everyone is welcome, no talent is required!

Flower Guild: The Flower Chart has been replaced by the Flower Book, located in the back of the sanctuary. Now is the time to sign up for Sundays in 2023, many dates fill quickly so volunteer now. Sign up and use the envelopes in the book for your flower donation, which can be placed in the offering plate.

E-formation - Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

We cannot live without salt or light. In the gospel for this coming Sunday, Christians are called to be like salt and light for others. Come to worship, to enter once again in the light of the baptized assembly, to hear the word, and to share in the meal of forgiveness.

Matthew 5:13-20

Christians receive the call to be salt and light, for the gospel means to transform not merely the self or the members of the church, but the entire world. The impossibility of our living such a perfect life makes us rely on the mercy of God and the power of the Spirit.

Isaiah 58:1-12

This prophetic passage is appointed as background to Matthew’s words. Jesus reiterates the prophet’s call to justice and the biblical metaphor of light. Christians see in Jesus the continuation and culmination of the Jewish hope for righteousness. This passage is also an optional reading for Ash Wednesday.

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

The “spirit of the world” that Paul writes about is precisely what Matthew is urging Christians to reject in favor of a radically transformed life in the Spirit. Christians see in Paul’s description of the actions of God, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit as the foundation of the later doctrine of the Trinity.

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Zion's Lutheran Church
zionsluth@gmail.com

719-846-7785