Let Your Light Shine: Who Are We Called to Be?

October 15, 2026

Dear St. Lukers,

If you have been reading along with us in this series, you might be humming the same thing as me this week … “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” This week we come to that passage we most associate with what we consider a children’s song. However, this song has a much more storied history, not as a children’s song but as a gospel song that became an anthem of the civil rights movement.

The issues of justice our country has faced throughout history – ways that we have not seen the marginalized or our neighbors – could easily turn us outward, pointing fingers at others who have not lived up to the ideals of our nation, or of the Christian faith that so many of our ancestors and current leaders claim. And yet, in using songs like “This Little Light of Mine,” our civil rights leaders focus not only on the systemic injustices around them, but also on their belovedness, and the inner light they each carry.

As I shared in last week’s podcast, we see our neighbors with grace not because of who they are or because they have all earned our care, but because of who we are. And this week in worship, that’s what we’ll focus on – who is it that Jesus declares us to be as his followers? Salt, he says, bringing God-flavors to the world; and light, he says, shining like a city on a hill.

If you found last week’s theme to be challenging, as I can assure you your pastors did, this week is our chance to reflect on why seeing all of our neighbors is such a challenge, and what living into that challenge requires of us to believe about ourselves. So I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we unpack just what it means to claim Jesus’ declaration over us that we are the salt and light of the world.

Blessings,
Pastor Melissa

The Rev. Melissa Cooper Minister of Adult Formation and Leadership

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Let Your Light Shine: Who Are We Called to Be?

Your Week With St. Luke’s