November 25, 2014

Dear Friends:

As I move from store to post office to lunch counter I pause periodically to greet my neighbors, friends, and parishioners. This is a joy of living in our small town. It seems a universe away from the unrest in downtown Ferguson.

Like many of you — and the prophet Habakkuk — I have complained to God about the violence unfolding on our televisions and social media streams.

Lord, how long will I call for help and you not listen
I cry out to you, “Violence!”
but you don’t deliver us.

Why do you show me injustice and look at anguish
so that devastation and violence are before me?
There is strife, and conflict abounds.Habakkuk 1:2-3 CEB

Despite the friendly faces of our law enforcement, our children as they safely ride their bicycles to local businesses to buy after school snacks, and the beauty…