Putting our Faith into Action

Dear Friends,

In the Letter of James, we are encouraged to put our faith into action. In our reading for Sunday, we hear this.

If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James has often been critiqued as a being too focused on “works righteousness”, that is trying to win salvation through our own efforts. But James has a lot to offer us today. He reminds us that our faith has to have “outflow”. When we love God and follow Jesus’ Way, we are called to demonstrate that love by living with integrity and responding to the needs of the world around us.

Faith and action are both important. Coming together for worship and formation gets us in touch with the vision God has for the human family and then we go forth to work to make that vision a reality.

This fall, we will have new opportunities for faith formation for children, youth and adults. Starting Sept 19th, Sunday school and adult forum will begin again. This will be in addition to our many on-line small group offerings at various times during the week.

As we grow in faith, we grow in our ability to be change agents in the world.

Yours in Christ,

Shearon+