May 9th at 10:45 AM

Join us for our 10:45 weekly worship service. We have been studying the beatitudes. This week

May 9, 2021

“The Attitude of Compassion”

Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

 

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

This Sunday is a special day in the life of our faith community.  First, we are re-opening for in-person worship!  We will continue livestreaming via zoom from the sanctuary.  Second, this Sunday is Mother’s Day.  We will have a special video presentation to honor our mothers during worship.  We will also have a reception after our worship service to honor all the women of our church.  Third, we continue in our Beatitude sermon series.  This week we will seek to cultivate the “Attitude of Compassion” by hearing and responding to Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”  We have an opportunity to “be merciful” this Sunday by giving money to Baby Manna.   This PBA offering provides infant formula and baby supplies for mothers in the greater Philadelphia area.  If you want to give, you can drop your donation in the container as you exit the church building.  If you are not attending in person, you may send your donation to the church and designate the funds to Baby Manna.

While we seek to extend mercy to those in need through Baby Manna, we live in a world, which often can be unmerciful.  If you doubt that is the case, I invite you to listen to this portion of the Ted Radio Hour, where Jon Ronson, author of the book “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed,” describes the experience of two women who had to go into hiding because of a tweet they sent.  Living in an unmerciful world affects us.  We want to be merciful, but the surrounding milieu moves us towards being less than gracious towards others, less forgiving, less merciful.  But Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

This Sunday, we will explore what Jesus meant when he said, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.”  We will also consider steps we can take to become more merciful in our daily lives by practicing the “Attitude of Compassion.”

Pastor David