Dear St. Luke’s Family,
All year long at Love University, we have been moving somewhere on purpose. We began by learning God’s story, by opening scripture, asking questions, and remembering who we are. We practiced living God’s story in community, with serving, studying, and building friendships that shape us. We centered ourselves by loving God’s story in worship, through prayer, generosity, proclamation, and praise. And now we arrive at the final movement: Lead your life with God’s story.
This has always been the goal. This is the goal of a student of Jesus, which is what the word disciple means.
We learn, live, and love so that we can lead… lead our everyday decisions, our relationships, our work, our civic engagement, and our presence in the public square through the lens of Christ. We are becoming people who reveal God’s kingdom of justice, love, kindness, and equity wherever our feet land.
Since last fall, we have also been naming ourselves as Change Makers: St. Lukers who use our faith, our resources, our time, and our passion to make a difference on behalf of our neighbors and community. Being a change maker isn’t about volume or visibility. It’s about alignment and letting God’s story shape our response to the needs around us.
This week, we invite you to watch the Florida Conference’s video on immigration and to hear the stories of our immigrant neighbors living in a time of uncertainty and fear. Narrated by our Florida Cabinet of the Annual Conference (you might see a familiar face or two), these stories are straight out of local United Methodist congregations. Listening is a faithful first step. Hearing real stories grounds policy conversations in people’s lives.
For those who feel called to advocate for reform, Bishop Berlin has invited us to join him in a Walk for Peace in Washington, D.C., on February 25, sponsored by the General Commission on Religion and Race and the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church. After the walk to the Capitol, participants will spend the afternoon speaking with legislators. Immigration policy reform is complex and necessary, and we must also remember that, as followers of Jesus, we begin with God’s story that commands us to care for the stranger among us. If you want to know more, you can follow this link.
This Sunday, we will ground ourselves again in 2 Peter 1:3-15. The scripture lesson ends with these words: “So, friends, confirm God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now… Do this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing… the way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ… Because the stakes are so high… I’m not going to let up for a minute in calling you to attention before it.”
On this weekend of love, we cannot help but understand that the stakes are high. And so we keep reminding one another who we are, students at Christ’s Love University, learning to love like Jesus in all we do. Join us Sunday as we lean fully into this final movement – leading our lives with God’s story: steady, courageous, and grounded in Christ.
With hope and resolve,
Jenn.
