Pastor's Column: Year of Justice Dawns

Blessings, fellow Epworthians!

We made it to 2021. Can you believe it? We are calling 2021 The Year of Justice. How can we be engaged with God’s plan to make the world a more Just place? What is Epworth’s place in that plan? What is your place in God’s plan?

We began the Year of Justice in worship on January 17. Our Scriptures throughout the year will explore justice. We’ll go in depth into the Older Testament book of Amos and the New Testament book of James, taking particular note how they address justice.

We’ve just started a Racial justice Book Club. We are reading How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. Even if you don’t join the Book Club, I’ve got copies of the book for you. I’m confident that the conversations will be rich and enlightening. I hope that we’ll come to new understanding, perhaps be transformed, and maybe even endeavor to change the world. Hopefully this will be just the first Book Club in a series, so if you didn’t join this first one, look for the next one.

As our nation undergoes a change in presidential administrations, there will be opportunities for us to seek justice, to work for justice, to build a more just world.

Lent begins soon. Ash Wednesday, marking the start of Lent, is February 17 and ends on April 3, the day before Easter.

We’ll need your contributions again to create a new Epworth Lenten Devotional. The deadline to submit your writings and your artworks is February 7 so we can get Devotionals to you before Ash Wednesday.

The COVID vaccination has arrived and is being administered, but it will probably be a while before we can worship in-person indoors again. Until we can be safe, we’ll continue streaming worship. When we can worship together again, we’ll continue streaming services as well. I like to thank you for faithfully participating in worship.

If you have ideas for our Year of Justice, want to contribute to the Lenten Booklet, or have questions, comments, or concerns, please email me pastorsteveepworth@gmail.com or connect with me on Facebook or call or text my cell phone 612-708-2466.

Blessings,

Pastor Steve

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The just get involved with the poor and know their issues, but the unjust cannot comprehend such concerns.~ Proverbs 29:7 (The Voice)

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