Acts 2: 1 - 21 " ...we are Parthians, Medes, Elamites, ..Mesopotamia, Judea, Pontus, Cappadocia, .. Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, .. Libya, ..Cyrene, .. Rome, Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans, Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!" (v. 9 - 11; NLT).

What should we do? - last week's Podcast presenter Marilyn Sutcliffe posed! Thousands had gathered; sound familiar? The Christian Church was birthed 2000+ years back and was the backdrop and inspiration of the story told in the above passages. I maintain that purposeful looking-back is primarily beneficial when it teaches us not to replicate behaviors that are hurtful to others or ourselves. On some level our culture will recover or repeat. Our nation's racism issues are deeply imbedded; the potential exists to do [it] as we always have or to change.
Hope springs eternal however amid the virus, its looming nature and the anti-racism protests, with the birth of our youngest's first child! Will I not speak, both in her native tongue and with my life, into that developing mind and heart, of the wonderful things God has done? My prayer for now is that Jada May is not only physically nurtured by her Mom & Dad, but is spiritually and emotionally attached to Christ's vine through them.
I miss an old Christian brother today, who passed away just before Easter in '19. I'm well aware that he's with me in Spirit, but it's our "Jesus-with-skin" interactions, that I miss. His presence continues to encourage me to critically consider people and issues within my sphere, to hash them out thinking Christianly, and then pray for them from that viewpoint.

Lord, teach us to pray, because - that is what we can do! We are with you, your Deacons