notes from lisa...

Most of us are familiar with the evils of the system of Apartheid that existed in South Africa for many years. Even today, many experience the aftershocks of that wicked and damnable system. Under Apartheid, only European whites were completely free, in South Africa. Indians, no matter what their education and accomplishments could not travel freely without "papers" and were still subject to harrassment. Blacks suffered far more--being even darker. They were forced to live in crowded townships, only allowed to leave to work for the European whites (who couldn't survive without their labors). When they began to demand their rights as citizens, they were beaten, jailed and brutally murdered--sound familiar? These evils aren't limited to people of color either--remember Adolph Hitler? He was so fixated on creating the "perfect" race of blond-haired, blue-eyed people with no "imperfections". They should all have a particular nose and jaw line, and ...

It has been oft said that, "the most segregated time of the week is Sunday morning". What an awful indictment, for those of us who call ourselves Christians--for Christ, prayed for us to be one even as He and the Father are One (Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are John 17:11 ). In 2009, a year in which we have made some great strides, we still have some very great hurdles ahead of us. Some may think there is nothing wrong with the fact that most african-americans and caucasians still worship, separately. They attribute the separation to differences in styles of worship, preaching and church management. Well, how can we ever be one, if we cannot find commonality in worship and come together under the banner of Christian love. If we cannot accomplish this, it's as if we give credence to those racist groups who came before us who forced us to worship separately. If we worship together, we remove so much...

Today, our society is shaken to its roots. It seems as if everybody is overwhelmed with talk of the recession and possible depression. The economy is the constant headline, each new day. Even the church is caught up in the fear of financial crisis. Conversations everywhere turn to where to place your money to keep it "safe", how to save your home and belongings from foreclosure and repossession. Barns. Yes, barns. Jesus spoke to us of these things, in the parable about "the barns". Jesus said, "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth". It seems as if our lives--or the value of our lives are totally determined by the "things", in this day. I'm not exactly sure of all of the factors that brought us to this condition--and in fact, I believe the factors are many, and vary from person to person. What is important, though, is that we begin to refocus on what is truly important and place the "barn...