Newsletter

Share the Wealth

04-27-2021NewsletterJeff Looker

Brothers and Sisters:

I am re-reading a book I read about two years ago called “The Benedict Option” by Rod Dreher. Many of you reading this letter are familiar with the book, which has gained great popularity in Catholic circles over the last several years. One quote from the book summarizes his thesis:

“Americans cannot stand to contemplate defeat or to accept limits of any kind. But American Christians are going to have to come to terms with the brute fact that we live in a culture, one in which our beliefs make increasingly little sense. We speak a language that the world more and more either cannot hear or finds offensive to its ears. Could it be that the best way to fight the flood is to...stop fighting the flood? That is, to quit piling up sandbags and to build an ark in which to shelter until the water recedes and we can put our feet on dry land again? Rather than wasting energy and resources fighting unwinnable political battles, we should instead work on building communities, institutions, and networks of resistance that can outwit, outlast, and eventually overcome the occupation. Fear not! We have been in a place like this before. In the first centuries of Christianity, the early church survived and grew under Roman persecution and later after the collapse of the empire in the West. We latter-day Christians must learn from their example—and particularly from the example of Saint Benedict.”

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“He is Risen! – It’s Gotta Matter!”

04-09-2021NewsletterTom Pivonka, Provisional Coordinator

I think the biggest thing that I have missed due to my being forced to work from home due to COVID has been listening to Air 1 or K-Love radio my drive to and from work. My commute from my bedroom to my office is much shorter and really doesn’t offer much time to get in my Christian Music fix.

A couple of months ago I splurged on an Alexa Dot, and this has allowed me to get back into my daily music. Depending on my what I am working on, I either listen to contemporary Christian music, or classical music.

Any time that I am working on a talk, preparing to lead a gathering, or now, a letter to the body, my antennae go up when I listen to Christian music. The Holy Spirit frequently speaks to me through lyrics. In the past month I was really touched by two specific songs: My Testimony by Elevation Worship; and God of this City by Chris Tomlin. Although these are two different songs, the parts that really jumped out at me are very similar:

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