Faith Lens

Scott Mims, Virginia Beach, VA

Warm-up Question

Has anyone ever made fun of you for what you believe? How did you feel about this?

“What Unites Us Is Stronger Than What Divides Us”

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg. Next year – 2017 – will mark the 500^th anniversary of this event, and of the Reformation movement that Luther’s thought and actions helped to spark. In anticipation of this important milestone, it was recently announced that the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church will hold a joint ecumenical commemoration later this year. On October 31, 2016 in Lund, Sweden, our Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches will take another step forward in a long dialogue towards mutual forgiveness and reconciliation. You can read more about this joint commemoration and what it means here:

https://www.lutheranworld.org/lund2016

https://www.lutheranworld.org/news/what-unites-us-stronger-what-divides-us

Discussion Questions

Do you and your friends ever talk about religion or what faith means to you? If so, what have you discovered? If not, why not?
What churches/faith communities have you belonged to?
Lutherans and Roman Catholics have been in dialogue together for over 50 years now, working hard to achieve greater understanding and reconciliation. Do you think all of the time and effort is worth it? After 500 years of being divided, what, in your opinion, is the significance of this work? Of holding a joint commemorative worship service?

Seventh Sunday of Easter

Acts 16:16-34

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

John 17:20-26

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year B at Lectionary Readings

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

The Backstory

For the past several weeks, we have been in flashback mode. Even though we stand on the resurrection side of things in the Easter season, our readings have taken us back before the crucifixion, back to Jesus’ final evening with his disciples. This week is no exception. John 17:20-26 captures the last part of Jesus’ final prayer just before he and the disciples leave the place where they are and walk to the garden and his arrest.

Jesus’ prayer itself comprises the whole of chapter 17. What has come before this moment in chapters 13 – 16 has the form of a farewell discourse – a last will and testament to his friends. Now the time has come. Jesus’ hour for glory is upon him, and so he prays for himself (verses 1-5), for his disciples (verses 6 – 19), and lastly for the Church (verses 20 – 26).

That They May All Be One

So, who is the Church, and what does Jesus ask on its behalf? The answer to the first part of this question is that the Church is everyone who will come to believe in Jesus as a result of the disciples’ message. This means that it is not just the disciples for whom Jesus prays, he is also praying for us. John 17 is a prayer for you, for me, and for ALL who believe in Jesus the Messiah. Together, we are the Church, and Jesus’ prayer for us is that we “may all be one.”

Unity is the key theme in this part of Jesus’ prayer. We can see this because the idea of believers being “one” gets repeated (verses 20, 22, 23). Yet it is important to notice that the foundation for this unity is first and foremost Jesus’ own relationship with God the Father, and not the result of our efforts. That is to say, we don’t create this unity by our hard work towards love and cooperation. Rather, our efforts towards a more complete and true unity with other believers are the necessary byproducts of the relationship we share with God the Father through his Son, Jesus. Because God the Father loves us, and invites us into the mutual relationship he shares with Jesus, Jesus prays that we will know a similar unity of love with one another.

What’s more, this unity is to be a witness to the world that what we say about Jesus – about his love, about his death and resurrection, about his identity as Lord and Savior – is true (verse 21). Jesus “new commandment” given in chapter 13 at the beginning of this farewell discourse is that we love one another as he has first loved us. Love is the mark and sign that we are truly his. Here, at the conclusion of his prayer, one effect of such love is made clear. As the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding.” As love breaks down the barriers that divide us, as love heals divisions, overcomes fears, and joins different peoples into communities of faith, joy, and praise, the wider world sees the truth and the power of the God we proclaim.

The Gospel of John in Miniature

The final verses for this week not only complete the prayer, but serve as a summary for the gospel itself. You can hear echoes of John 1 and John 3:16 here. The world does not know God the Father, but Jesus, God’s Son does. There is a unique and eternal relationship between them (see verse 5). What’s more, Jesus has made the truth of God known to those who have believed in him. Having communicated the Father’s “name” to them, he promises to continue to make God known to the Church through the Holy Spirit. (Jn. 16:12-15) The goal of this is so that the love God has for Jesus may also be in all who belong to Jesus. In this way, they – that is, we – also enjoy a living relationship with God, through Christ.

Though the language that John uses in chapter 17 can seem repetitive and hard to understand, it is important to hear the whole of this passage as a prayer in which we are also included. Perhaps part of the reason that our lectionary (the three-year schedule of readings we follow) draws us back this Easter season to Jesus’ final evening with his disciples is to remind us that, because Jesus is alive, his words remain for us, and for the world, a living and life-giving message.

Discussion Questions

How do you define the word love? What do you think it means for Christians to love one another?
Can you think of examples of different Christian churches or groups disrespecting or condemning each other? How does such behavior damage our witness to the world?
Does unity mean uniformity? What sorts of things should be the same? What sorts of things could be different?
When it comes to Jesus and our faith, what do you think of the following statement: “What unites us is more important that what divides us?”

Activity Suggestions

Through our full communion agreements with six other church bodies, along with various other inter-faith conversations, the ELCA is building bridges toward greater unity in the church. Find out more about our church’s ecumenical and inter-religious work at: http://www.elca.org/Faith/Ecumenical-and-Inter-Religious-Relations/Full-Communion. You will also find links to the website of our full communion partners. Perhaps explore some of these sites together. What are some of the connections we share? What part has history played in shaping our current differences?

“Where Do You Stand” You will need enough space for this activity for participants to line up according to their preferences/beliefs. You can download an activity guide from the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fjr23w0ky6enz9u/Where%20do%20you%20stand%20%28Ecumenical%29.docx?dl=0

Option 1: Have participants line up according to their personal beliefs. For example, “How do you view the Bible – inerrant, inspired word of God, totally the work of human beings, or somewhere in between?” You might then talk about where the “official” ELCA position is on the questions you choose. How much agreement is necessary? Where is there freedom?

Option 2: Create a summary sheet for each of the denominations that you would like to include – ideally each participant gets one. Use the categories at the top (View of God, Saved, Sacrament, etc.) to have participants stand on the continuum based on what their assigned denomination believes. Use this to talk about the great diversity of beliefs. Again, how much agreement is necessary, and on what things, for the unity of the Church?

Credit: Special thanks to Pastor Leslie Scanlon for compiling and creating this chart, and for her permission to include it here.

Disclaimer: The information in this activity is a general summary only. All attempts were made to be as accurate as possible. However, there is often a diversity of positions within any given faith tradition or denomination.

Arrange to worship together at a congregation from a different denomination. You might decide to visit one of our full communion partner churches, especially one from a tradition you know little about. What was similar? What was different? What things are essential?

Closing Prayer

Holy God, gracious and merciful, we thank you for the joy of Easter. Through the work of your Holy Spirit help us to love one another, and, in that love, to work against the walls and barriers which divide us. May we be one in you, and may our unity bear witness to the power of your love for all the world. We pray this through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dennis Sepper, South Hill, WA

Warm-up Questions

What do you think of when you hear the word “home”? What do you see in your mind’s eye? What feelings do you associate with the word home?

Being Home

April 16, 2016—Greece. Pope Francis made a five-hour visit to the Greek island of Lesbos. He was joined by the head of the Church of Greece and Orthodox Christian leader Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. On this humanitarian visit the religious leaders visited Camp Moria, a camp where refugees are awaiting deportation to Turkey. Camp Moria was home to migrants free to come and go at will, notes NBC’s Bill Neely. Now it’s a detention center where some 3,000 people are held.

It is hard for most of us reading this week’s Faith Lens to imagine what it would be like to leave our homes and possessions behind to go somewhere else in the country or world. Yet as noted above thousands are now refugees in our world due to war, famine or oppression in their countries. Even here in the United States people are without a place to call home due to poverty or illness.

“Home” is very powerful image. While we often think of home as a building, it is really much more than a structure. Home is where we feel safe and nurtured by those around us no matter where we are. Home is where we find love and are empowered to go out from home to follow Jesus and to serve our neighbor and the world.

Now we know in a sinful world home is not a comfortable place for some. Broadening our definition of home allows us to see that there are places and people who create “home’ for those who do not find it in their place of residence.

When Pope Francis left Camp Moria he took three families with him so that they could create a new home in Italy. Francis also told the thousands of refugees that they were not alone. Even though they were hundreds of miles away from their homeland people would be praying for them and God and Jesus would be with them.

Discussion Questions

What is the best thing you like about home wherever that might be? Why?
What are some of the characteristics of home that make it such a powerful image?
Where are some of the places one could find “home” outside of the house where you grew up?

Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 16:9-15

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

John 14:23-29

John 5:1-9

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Our Gospel text takes us back before the resurrection of Jesus. In this section of John’s Gospel Jesus is preparing the disciples and other followers for his upcoming departure, arrest, and death. Here Jesus promises that God will send the Holy Spirit who will remind them of everything Jesus told them. Jesus also says that those who love him and keep his words will be loved by God and that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will make their “home” with them (verse 23). In light of that the followers of Jesus should not let their hearts be troubled or be afraid because the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit will be with them to nurture them and assist them in their life of discipleship.

The Church places this text on the Sixth Sunday of Easter because on Thursday we celebrate the festival day of the Ascension of our Lord remembering how Jesus again left the disciples and ascended to heaven after his resurrection. In that way the words of Jesus then are spoken to us now. Within us and within our faith communities, the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit reside. They make their “home” with us.

With Jesus and the Spirit’s presence we are nurtured and empowered to love and follow Jesus is lives of service and faithfulness. When God is in our lives we need not be afraid of what the future holds and we can experience the “peace” Jesus bestows on us through the Holy Spirit. Now that’s a home no matter where we are in the world.

We should also note how this home image plays out in our other readings this week. In the first reading Paul heads to Macedonia where he seeks out a group of women praying by a river. The women seem to gather here regularly for prayer (could it be home for this group of faithful women?) One of the women, a wealthy person named Lydia, listened eagerly to Paul’s teaching and is moved to be baptized along with her whole household. Out of appreciation Lydia invites Paul to come and stay at her home which Paul did.

In the second reading John of Patmos sees a vision of a new home, the holy city Jerusalem at the end of time. A home where there is no need of moon or sun because God and Jesus (the lamb) are its light. A home that has the river of life flowing through it and a tree of life growing nearby bearing fruit for the people and whose leaves are for healing. This is a beautiful image of our heavenly home where there will be peace and safety.

Finally in our alternate Gospel reading, John 5:1-9, Jesus heals a person who had been ill for thirty-eight years. For all that time this person’s home was a place on the ground by the pool of Beth-zatha. After the healing the man begins to walk away toward a new home. It should also be noted that Jesus did this healing on the Sabbath which was against the religious rules of the day. Jesus breaks the rule because the healing of the ill man was more important. Jesus is showing how service to neighbor is important to the followers of Jesus.

Discussion Questions

Jesus gives another title to the Holy Spirit. What does “the Advocate” mean to you? What does an advocate do?
What do you think Jesus means when he says “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you”? How is the peace Jesus gives different than the peace the world gives?
Do you think these words of Jesus were a comfort to the disciples? Are Jesus’ words comforting or encouraging to you and your discipleship?

Activity Suggestions

As a group or as an individual think of a home or a homecoming story in the Bible (or Google it). Read that story thinking about it says about God and Jesus and our relationship to them. Also, think about which character in the story do you identify and why. Share you insights with the group.

Just to get you started, here are a few example: the Prodigal Child (Luke 15:-32); the reunion of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 33); the story of Ruth and Naomi (Ruth chapter 1); the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42 or Luke 11:1-42)

Closing Prayer

Almighty and loving God, we thank you for the gift of your presence in our lives. We thank you for the gift of Jesus and for sending your Holy Spirit upon us. In the waters of baptism you came into our lives and created a home within us. Strengthen us through the Spirit to be committed and dedicated disciples of Jesus. Calm our troubled hearts and our fears as we boldly proclaim the Good News and serve you and our neighbors throughout the world. In your holy and precious name we pray. Amen.

Brian Hiortdahl, Overland Park, KS

Warm-up Question

If you knew you had only a short time to live and were granted one last wish, what would it be?

Last Wishes

Five year old Chen Xiaotian was diagnosed with brain cancer within months of his mother learning that she had uremia. After two years, both conditions worsened. Chen, 7, knowing he would die, was aware that his kidney might save his mother. He pleaded with her to let him save her life. Two hours after Chen’s death, his mother received his kidney. Two other persons benefited from Chen’s gift of life. His other kidney was transplanted to a 21-year old woman and a 26-year old man received Chen’s liver.

For further information: video news story

Discussion Questions

How does this story make you feel?
Would you want to be an organ donor? Why or why not?
Can you think of other examples where something good came out of tragedy?

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 11:1-18

Revelation 21:1-6

John 13:31-35

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Jesus, knowing he will die, shares one final evening with his disciples. He begins by washing their feet (despite initial resistance from Peter) and sharing bread with his betrayer. After doing this, he states his dying wish as a new commandment: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another.

Later that same evening, after repeating this commandment (15:12), Jesus elaborates: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends (15:13). Like Chen, Jesus sees life for others coming from his death. On this night in the other gospels, Jesus institutes his supper of Holy Communion—his life continuing to live inside his disciples’ bodies, giving them new strength.

This is how Jesus is “glorified.” For him, glory does not come from fame or riches or popularity or success or adulation. It comes through death. He does not receive glory in, but radiates it out through the love his disciples show and share, following his lead. His final wish is not anything for himself, but for the ongoing blessing of others.

Discussion Questions

What parallels do you see between Chen and Jesus?
How do you define glory? How does that compare with how the world and Jesus define it?
In what tangible ways do members of your group/family/church “love one another”? Would others recognize that you are Jesus’ disciples by the way that you treat one another?
Who would you be willing to die for?

Activity Suggestions

As a group, wash one another’s feet. Follow with discussion about how it feels. After that, make plans for washing the feet of others you know, perhaps in a homeless shelter, nursing home, or another setting with people who are often overlooked or undervalued. Who would benefit from this form of loving service in your community?
Research the Make-a-Wish Foundation. What stories from their work inspire you?

Closing Prayer

God of glory, graciously continue to fill our hearts, our bloodstreams, and our lives with the love of Jesus. Strengthen us to love one another and teach us how to give life to others. Comfort the dying and give them, like Chen, an opportunity to help others live. Transform all our troubles into glory through Jesus Christ, our crucified and risen Lord. Amen

Chris Heavner, Clemson, SC

Warm-up Question

What do you value about your best friend which makes you consider them as your best friend?

Believing and Belonging

Once a year, usually near the end of the year, we play a game at our mid-week gathering of college students. They call it the “BFF Bowl.” It is sort of a mix between the old Newlywed Game and a college bowl game. Best Friends Forever (BFF’s) answer questions which show how well they know the other. Last year, Alexa refused to answer the final question. Looking back, it was a rather insensitive question, asking whether the other’s BFF had ever had a crush on another student in the group. Alexa immediately shook her head; “There is no way I am going to tell you that about my best friend!” Without a doubt, Jenna and Alexa were crowned “BFF’s.” The integrity of their relationship was more important than winning some silly game.

Perhaps you have a BFF. Maybe you are a BFF for someone else in your small group. Being a best friend means understanding what is of value to them and knowing what it is that they consider to be important. It means knowing the other person and being known by them.

I have a BFF. We don’t get to see each other all that often any more. There are many things happening in his life that we never get around to talking about. There are a lot of things that happen in my life which I don’t bother telling him. When we talk, there are more important things for us to say. Important things like affirming how grateful we are to have each other; and we thank each other for this precious relationship in which we are able to look past all the things happening and see each other as we truly are.

Discussion Questions

Having a “best friend forever” isn’t simple. What are some of the reasons many of us don’t have a BFF?
How would to describe the difference between knowing something about another person and knowing that person?
How do we learn to trust another person enough to let them see us for who we truly are?

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Acts 9:36-43

Revelation 7:9-17

John 10:22-30

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

Jesus has been in Jerusalem for some two and a half months. He has taught in the Temple, intervened to prevent an angry crowd from murdering a woman, and healed a man who was blind from birth. All of this has happened openly and among the very persons who come to Jesus and demand “tell us plainly” whether you are Messiah.

In the eighth chapter, verses 21ff, Jesus tells them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he.” (Note: Some versions omit that final pronoun. Thus, Jesus says “you will realize that I am.” For the significance of that, look back to the call of Moses, when Moses asks “Who shall I say has sent me?” God says “I am.” – Exodus 3:14)

Jesus’ actions were a very clear statement of who he is and what he came to teach. What more could he say?

In considering this passage, make sure not to overlook the possibility that those asking him to speak plainly may not have been looking for an answer. They may have been looking for an opportunity to entrap him. If Jesus were to commit blasphemy by claiming to be God, that would be to their advantage. They may have come to Jesus looking for a way to condemn him, rather than looking for clearly stated information.

Of those who are unable to “hear” what Jesus has said so plainly, the gospel writer says they “do not believe.” Jesus says, “You do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.” They do not believe; they also don’t seem to belong. Believing and belonging are yoked. One seems not to be possible without the other. There are some things about Jesus we can only hear when we listen with believing ears. There are some beliefs we can only hold when we understand ourselves as belonging.

This is a good time for us to pull out our copy of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism and refresh our memory of the explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed. It is not our own understanding or strength which leads to our belonging. We are called, gathered, and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. Flip forward a few pages to the Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer. Here, we are once again reminded that it is “God who strengthens us and keeps us steadfast in his word and in faith until the end of our lives.”

This encounter between Jesus and those who want him to tell them plainly occurs at the time of the Festival of the Dedication. This festival (known more readily among us as Hanukkah) commemorated the re-dedication of the Temple in 164 BC. The Temple stood as a reminder of the relationship God has with God’s people. Unlike too many of our modern-day gathering houses which look more like huge lecture halls where those with deep secrets share their wisdom, the Temple served to remind us that at Mount Sinai a covenant was established between God and God’s people. That covenant meant the people belonged to God. They can hear and learn and understand and even believe because they belong. They belong in God’s heart and their image is in God’s family photo album.

Amid the questions which ask whether Jesus is Messiah, John 10 encourages us to interject in the discussion our belonging to Jesus. There are things about Jesus we may never be able to believe, until after we have realized that we belong to him.

Discussion Questions

One belongs in the symphony if you can play an instrument. One belongs in the chess club if you know the difference between a knight and a pawn. One belongs to Jesus because Jesus says you belong. Have you heard this affirmation from Jesus? Clearly? And powerfully enough that you have come to accept it?
Why are there things which can only be known about Jesus by those who believe in him?
Are there persons who continue to try trap Jesus? Or trap those who speak the words of Jesus?In some faith communities, there is a strong encouragement to “make a decision” for Jesus. What comfort do you receive in the Catechism’s insistence that Jesus is the one who has decided on us?

Activity Suggestions

Plan your own version of a BFF Bowl. Whether or not you actually have a “Bowl,” arrive at the questions you would ask of the players.
Make a list of all the places where you “belong.” With differing colors of highlighters, note those which have requirements (like being on the math team) and those where you belong because someone says you are welcome (like the youth group at church).
Are there ever informal, unspoken conditions for being part of a religious community?
Have a look at a Jewish calendar. Most Christians remember that Hanukkah is in latter December, but do we know when the other festivals occur?

Closing Prayer

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for making it crystal clear that we belong to you. Our inclusion as your children makes it possible for us to trust in your promises and to believe. Send us forth into the world to share with others the good news of your love. Amen.

Bob Chell, St. Dysmas Lutheran, South Dakota State Penitentiary

Warm-up Question

What event changed your life so much that it can never go back to the way it was before?

Life Changing Event

On March 22nd Brussels was shaken by bombing at the airport and train station which killed 31 people and injured 300. This was the latest in a wave of terrorist bombings which have shaken European cities. Described as the worst attack in the country since World War II, it has undercut a sense of safety in Belgium. Hotels and restaurants worry that tourism will be affected. The sizeable Muslim population of the country is braced for a backlash which fails to distinguish terrorists from many who practice Islam. Still, the country is slowly moving back to some semblance of normal. As 27-year-old freelance film-maker Khael V stated,”We have to keep our heads cool and live on. We shouldn’t give them (the terrorists) what they want, which is fear.”

Discussion Questions

The article states: “In the four days since the attacks, life is only slowly inching back to normal.” Is this good? Is this bad? When should things be ‘back to normal.’ If never, what should the new normal be?
Was this event news in your world? Was it talked about in school or church? Should it have been? How much time and focus should events like this receive? What determines this? Relationships? Geography? Religion? What else?
Who was there for you when your life changed, never to be the same? Who wasn’t? Are you angry, sad, happy?
The young woman in this photo is Bethany Hamilton, shown shooting the curl eight years after her arm was bitten off in a shark attack when she was 13. What factors determine if life changing events are good, bad, or a mix of both?

You can learn more about Bethany Hamilton from her book, Soul Surfer, which was also made into a film.

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 9:1-6 [7-20]

Revelation 5:11-14

John 21:1-19

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

When reading scripture one way to figure out its meaning is to pay attention to what catches your eye or your ear. For me it was Peter putting his clothes on to jump into the water to swim to Jesus. A bit of basic research revealed TMI about ancient fishing practices, inner and outer garments, and original meanings of the words translated as ‘naked’ and ‘put on.’ I’ll spare you the entire explanation, but want to let you know he probably tightened the belt on the working clothes necessary to get into the water before swimming to shore. Nothing there for me.

How ‘bout verse 14 though? “This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.” Jesus had appeared to the disciples three times since being RAISED FROM THE DEAD and they had simply gone back to their old jobs, the ones they had before meeting Jesus three years before? How weird is that?

One of the men in prison where I am a pastor told me I nailed the lens by which the Bible should be read when I said in a sermon: “Scripture is the story of God’s relentless pursuit of people who fail to trust his promises.” I wish I could tell you the line is original with me but I don’t remember. Original or not, I know the insight came from someone else.

I find it comforting that the disciples were clueless dolts who didn’t get it the first time, or the second time, and who—even when they got it— often forgot it, only to be reminded again. That’s the way I have experienced God’s Spirit working in my life; coming again and again, giving me multiple chances to catch on, to get it, to make sense of life changing events and to find God’s promise in those events, even when hidden in deep pain and grief.

Discussion Questions

Do you know anyone who has transformed the deep loss or pain in their life into something positive? What do you think enabled them to do this? Ask them and report back next week.
Looking back to when you were a child, some deep losses seem silly now while others still carry deep hurt. How have these events changed and shaped your life for the better or for the worse?
If, or when, your deepest fear becomes reality what will enable or prevent you from getting back to normal, or better yet, to a new and better normal?

Activity Suggestions

Ask the person you thought of in the first discussion question or a parent or grandparent about these experiences in their lives and their impact. Report back next week.
Watch the movie, or read the book, “Soul Surfer.” Discuss what you like and dislike about it.
Do books and movies with super happy endings inspire you by their positive attitude or depress you because they make things look too easy?

Closing Prayer

God, we are so concerned about our own problems and worry about problems that we don’t even have that we are oblivious to the deep pain of others. Open our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to those whose families are splitting, who struggle with depression, addiction, anorexia or other pain not easily seen. When we are that person, give us courage to respond when you reach out to us through others and to recognize your presence in our lives. Amen.

May 8, 2016, “What Unites Us Is Stronger Than What Divides Us”

May 1, 2016, Being Home

April 24, 2016–Last Wishes

April 17, 2016 Believing and Belonging

April 10, 2016, Life Changing Event