I’m conscious of the pain and anxiety many of us have brought with us to church this morning. Some of you are to mourn and support a grieving family.  I know that many of us are struggling right now to make sense of what’s going on in our city, our state, our world. Some of us have seen our lives and livelihoods attacked in the last couple of weeks and we’re worried about the future of our jobs and the future of the university. We’re angry, afraid, demoralized. We have seen horrific images of executions of innocent people by the Islamic State and of terrorist attacks and wonder about the spiral of violence and hate that encompasses the globe. I attended the mayoral candidate forum on Wednesday held at Fountain of Life and listened as the candidates struggled to come up with solutions to the shocking racial disparities in our community. Wherever we look, the problems we face seem insurmountable, the future seems increasingly bleak. The bright light of hope has waned into ash and dust. Continue reading →