Church Year Kick Off

“Make just and faithful decisions: show kindness and compassion to each other!”
~Zechariah 7:9 (CEB)

Show kindness and compassion to each other. Have you ever set an intention for the day to be kind and/or to show compassion, maybe even before making a call to a customer service department? I have always found my experience is 100% better when I am in a compassionate or kind mindset.

I wonder why then I fall out of this mindset? Why am I not kind or compassionate all the time? And imagine if we all strived to be so, then our interactions with the world would be more like God’s kin-dom (even if we slipped, we could count on the other person having grace!).

We need more kindness and compassion in our lives. Again, this past school year, bullying made the news. It is not surprising given the way many of our adults act online, in politics or while driving in traffic.  I can only imagine God’s heart is breaking. And we are not the first generation that needs the reminder to “Make just and faithful decisions: show kindness and compassion to each other!” (Zechariah 7:9).

The book of Zechariah is the second-to-last book in the Old Testament. Chapter seven emerges from a question from the people about religious ritual. The people are asking whether the community should continue fasting to remember Jerusalem’s destruction and the loss of the temple now that the temple is being rebuilt. The people are concerned if they are doing the correct ritual, but instead

God turns their focus to how they treat each other.

As we begin a new church year in September, this scripture from Zechariah will be our guiding theme. We will focus on coming together and practicing kindness and compassion. To help us begin this journey, I invite you after worship in the Gates Room on August 16, 23 or 30, to dip your hand in paint and place it on our banner(s). These banners will then be hung in the sanctuary beginning September 6 as we kick off our new year.  

Lastly, our theme song for this new year is “Nothing More” by the Alternate Routes. You can listen to the song by clicking here. And as always listen to the music we play in church anytime via our Spotify or Youtube playlist!