Friends United Meeting |
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October 2004
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Valiant for Truth |
Contents |
“Shine Like Stars,” our cover says this month. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. Philippians 2:14-16 Paul went to Philippi and saw the culture was full of darkness. But in the midst of where they lived he called those Christians to continue holding out the gospel to those around them. And how were they to do so? To shine like stars! I asked my son, Mike, to write one paragraph about how stars shine. He wrote, “The reason stars shine is because two forces are working against each other. Stars start out as giant clouds of hydrogen. Because of gravity, the cloud becomes smaller and more constricted. This forces the hydrogen atoms closer together until nuclear fusion occurs in the middle of the star and two hydrogen atoms become a helium atom. When fusion occurs a huge amount of energy is released and the star tries to become a bigger sphere. Since gravity is still making the star smaller, the star has all this excess energy from the fusion to get rid of. The excess energy makes it to the surface of the star and is emitted as heat and electromagnetic radiation, including light. How bright it shines depends on how big it is and how hot it is. Bigger and hotter stars shine brighter.” Stars shine because they have excess energy in their core that comes to the surface. The more energy; the more shine! But in order for us to shine, we must have the Light of Christ within. As our relationship with Christ is deepened, our light shines. “Are we the kind of people who can set the world ablaze with the Light of Christ?” writes David Robinson in the Mid-America Yearly Meeting newsletter, Insights. “Is it possible that we can once again rekindle the flame that burned with the first generation of the Society of Friends? Even into the second and third generation, when they saw the plight of slaves, prisoners and people in darkness, they worked to bring light into their world. How are we doing?” Check out the contents of this issue and see the many ways people are holding out hope and sharing the gospel even in difficult circumstances. Some examples are: The Stone Soup Quilters offer comfort, love and hope when they give a quilt to a cancer sufferer. The African Great Lakes Initiative/Friends Peace Teams bring hope and healing into the trauma left from genocide. John Lomuria of Turkana shares how he became a Quaker. And John Mastor of Washington asks, “Do we welcome the mentally ill?” Because of all these wonderful examples of shining stars, I had no space to share Yvonne Harrison’s journey to Houston Graduate School of Theology and the Olympics, or how the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Arizona saved the lives of five people. So many stories; so little room! We may wonder if we are making a difference in our generation and that is good. But take heart, the Light of Christ shines through you to the world around you. You have the Light, so let it shine forth… To light the path for you and those journeying with you… To overcome darkness, hopelessness and despair… To grow hope and share Christ’s love. Blessings in Christ, Trish |
17 The Compassion of Jesus 8 Grow a Healthy Church 10 Let’s Talk About Evangelism 12 From Trauma to Triumph! 14 Spreading the Fingerprints of God 15 A Walk Through Freedom Features4 News from Friends United Meeting 16 Salt and Light 17 Soul Food 18 Reflection 19 Turning Points 20 News 22 Peace Notes 24 Fox Pix 26 Passages 28 Classifieds 30 Meeting Directory 33 Friends United Meeting Member Yearly Meetings 34 Viewpoints |