February 17, 2015

Dear Lakeshore,
I trust that you will find time to participate in one of our Ash Wednesday Vigils tomorrow if for no other reason than to slow down for a moment a let your soul catch up with your body. The Sanctuary will be open, and one of the pastors present, in the morning between seven and eight,  from noon to one, and in the evening from five to six.
I also trust that you will be with us on Sunday for worship and for our annual Soul Food Dinner. The website www.americanfood.about.com tells us that  “The term ‘soul food’ didn’t become common until the 1960’s. With the rise of the civil rights and Black Nationalism movements during the 1960’s, many African Americans sought to re-claim their part of the American cultural legacy. As terms like ‘soul brother,’ ‘soul sister,’ and ‘soul music’ were taking hold, it was only natural that the term ‘soul food’ would be used to describe the recipes that African Americans had been cooking for generations.” In my sermon, “Jesus At the Soul Food Dinner,” I will lift up the story of Jesus eating dinner with the sinners and tax collectors and note that Jesus understood that human beings have always needed food for the body and food for the soul.
Peace,
jh

Prayers of the Congregation

• Jesus Portillo for our Aspire and Achieve students and for his family
• Teresa Hopkins for her mom, Karen Gill, who will have heart surgery on Monday
• Sandra Dunn for her family
• Sandra’s friend Debbie in the face of a demanding week
• Alean Saunders-Coffey for the Reddick and Pantoja families
• Al Johnson and Roy Browner
• Kristen Fry and the Dwelling Places ministry in Uganda
• All who face religious persecution
• Thanksgiving with Virginia Damretsky for successful  cataract surgery
• George Lee for his neighbors, the Na family
• Phil, Gloria and Cindy for June, Billy, Deanna, Jean and Jon
• Kay Baxter for her family
• The Evans, Edwards and Leche families
• Zondra Martin for her family
• Ann Fields for her family
• Linda Earl in a season of remembering
• The ministry of the American Baptist Homes of the West
• The ministry of the American Baptist Seminary of the West
• The ministry of the Evergreen Baptist Association
• Pastor Tanner for her sister Jenny
• Georgia Upshaw for her brother and sister in law
• The people of Haiti as they mourn the deaths of twenty at a Carnival celebration
• President Obama and our elected leaders