[In a world that seems increasingly chaotic and broken, many of us feel helpless and afraid. We may question what we can do to make a difference. To build collective courage, in this space we will share examples of how individual members of GEC are practicing the way of Jesus, in private action or in the public arena. How might you find inspiration and hope in the small steps others are taking?]

"As people of faith we know that trying times cause us to look inward and reaffirm our values. Life is never free of difficulties but all of us have, in one way or another, found ourselves in periods with more difficulties on our emotional plates than it seems we can bear. Personally I don’t know that I’ve experienced, at least in my lifetime (outside of COVID), being aware of so many people in my orbit experiencing the the trauma of ongoing emotional overload all at the same time. As Minnesotans we’d be hard pressed to find anyone in our communities unaware of this right now. It’s an understatement to say this is not easy. At the same time however, I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced witnessing so many obvious examples of people all at once acting on their values to care for their friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. Examples we’ve seen include people donating time and money to provide mutual aid and rapid response. Being at our service this past Sunday reminded me that simply showing up and being in community with our congregation and feeling the presence and support of each other is also a another way of putting our faith into action. Building community with the intention of following in the steps of Jesus is a radical act of resistance." -submitted by Joe L

Tags: Faith in action, community