On Forgiveness

Following an interesting conversation at our Caring and Sharing Book Club on Wednesday night, I wanted to share this link to a story about forgiveness and a Muslim family who will not be defined by the hatred and violence inflicted upon them. 

The beautiful and justifiably famous Niebuhr quotation illustrates the interfaith nature of the story, and reminds us that this story of forgiveness is our story, the story of followers of Jesus, as well. We have so much to learn from one another, if only we dare open our minds and hearts to God's activity already alive in the world around us. My church is known as a leader in interfaith and ecumenical relationships; it's about time I caught up.

I tend to think I do alright with ecumenical relationships among my Christian brothers and sisters; besides our annual VBS adventure, at LCS we partner with Richland area churches on youth events, and tonight I plan to attend a potluck with Methodists, Catholic Workers, and other faithful Kalamazoo folk. Yesterday I had a long, exciting conversation with the new organizer at ISAAC, an interfaith organization working in Kalamazoo, so maybe that could become a way for me - and for LCS - to expand interfaith relationships. We have so many shared core values - forgiveness, love, respect, justice - that we owe it to ourselves to listen for God's call to mutuality, relationship, partnership, and joint action on God's behalf in the world that needs all of us to stand on the side of love.


If you want to learn more about Islam and continue to make sense of its relationship to Christianity, look for more information soon from Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministries of Western Michigan University about a lecture series in the coming school year. I plan to be there, because I support this effort and because I have much to learn.