Dear Friends,

As we respond to one more act of violence in our nation we wonder what we can do. We pray.  We write to our legislators. We talk among our friends.

In the midst of those activities, there can be a temptation to see our efforts in an “either/or” manner. Some suggest that the time for offering “thoughts and prayers” is over. Action is required. For the Christian, however, to consider our prayer life and our practice of life is never an either/or proposition.

Just as the circumstances of our lives may affect what we pray for, so should our prayer life affect what choices we make and how we respond to the circumstances that affect us. When one considers the effectiveness of the civil rights movement, what is abundantly evident is how much of that movement grew out of communities of faithful people who prayed even as they protested. Their faith led them to protest unjust laws, even as their protests led them back again and again to worship and prayer, whence they found their strength.

Prayer and practice. Each are essential. Each inform the other. And each is needed in these times of trouble.

Faithfully,

Tom