Over the last week, I’ve read about the tragic events in Haiti and in Afghanistan. In 2016, when I was serving as the Senior Pastor at a United Methodist Church in Westchester, I had the opportunity to travel to Haiti with a small group. After landing in Port-au-Prince, we ventured up into the mountains in a village called Furcy. For many years the New York Conference of the United Methodist Church has been going to Haiti under the name “Mountains of Hope for Haiti.” Our group brought over `100 water filtration buckets up into the village to provide clean water for the residents. As I look back at my time in Haiti and now look at the new devastation there, I recognize that Mountains of Hope has been more than a mission. It has been and continues to be a heart-felt and heart-warmed relationship with a community, with people, with friends, and through the years, we have all been blessed. Over the years I have stayed connected with people I have met in Haiti. I have been blessed through WhatsApp and social media to watch the children grow and watch the community of Furcy change. We have celebrated weddings and baptisms and shared in the loss of friends and the struggles of the community. It has been a great privilege in my ministry to be have been alongside people during hurricanes, droughts, and the earthquake with the Mountains of Hope For Haiti group.
Now there is another devastating setback for the people of Haiti. It is devastating to learn of the nearly 1,300 dead in the latest massive earthquake. I know that you will join me in prayer and action not only for the people of Haiti, but those suffering all around the world in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and others. May our prayers for Afghanistan and others be met with a willingness to welcome, protect, and fight for refugees from Afghanistan. May we work to fight against oppressive, colonial policies which make countries like Afghanistan—the stage upon which American exceptionalism gets played out.
On weekday mornings as part of our Morning Prayer group liturgy, we often pray “May they know the deep peace of Christ.” We need the deep peace of Christ and we need each other. To this end, I offer this song “I Need You To Survive” from Hezekiah Walker as a prayer:
“I need you, you need me.
We’re all a part of God’s body.
Stand with me, agree with me .
We’re all a part of God’s body.
It is God’s will that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
I pray for you, you pray for me.
I love you. I need you to survive.”
“I pray for you... You pray for me.” These are powerful words! We are ALL God’s family. We need each other. Let us keep close to Christ and one another in prayer and action. You are invited to join the Morning Prayer Zoom Monday-Friday at 8 am by going to trcnyc.org/morningprayer
Grace and peace,
Rev. Bruce Lamb
Minister of Faith Formation
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