Messiah Lutheran Church, Staten Island

Good Shepherd Sunday April 25,2021 10 am https://youtu.be/3twrZbq1LT8

Text Description automatically generated with low confidence ... A pastoral word on the verdict of George Floyd's murder trial The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minnesota police officer charged with the killing of George Floyd, has riveted our national attention these past weeks, and now a verdict has been reached. Together with people around the world, we have anticipated the jury’s decision with troubled hearts. As members of the community of Jesus, we affirm that if one member suffers, all suffer together with it (1 Corinthians 12:26, NRSV). No jury verdict can erase the pain of the Floyd family, and we share our condolences and pray for ongoing comfort in their suffering and for all whose lives have been touched by this tragedy. As people of the cross, we believe in the hope of the resurrection. Yet we cannot rush to Easter Sunday without reflecting on the oppression of Good Friday. The murder of George Floyd is one of the many examples of the ongoing abuse of police authority. The extrajudicial killings of Brown and Black bodies must stop. We recommit ourselves as a church to continue to fight against the sin of racism and to hold accountable unjust systems and structures that perpetuate injustices, including our own. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. The work of confronting these injustices is long overdue. Let us together in our congregations and communities discern how we are being called in this moment to live out our baptismal promise to serve all people and strive for justice and peace. For further discussion, you can read the following sections from ELCA social statements and policy: The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries, elca.org//Faith-and-Soc/Social-Statements/Criminal-Justice (pages 9 and 13). Freed in Christ: Race, Ethnicity, and Culture, elca.org//Fai/Social-Statements/Race-Ethnicity-and-Culture (pages 4 and 5). Declaration of the ELCA to People of African Descent, Slavery_Apology_Explanation.pdf (elca.org) (page 2). In Christ, The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Here is the link for the Lent 2 Livestream Worship at 10 am. https://youtu.be/b9wEU77dt_U

Midweek Lenten Night Prayer offered Wednesday evenings at 7 pm. In Person and Live Streamed Worship offered. Livestream Worship viewed on our YouTube Channel ... www.youtube.com/channel/UC5EnTauzWOzQKHif53wmaHw See more

I am aware that Staten Island is under a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY until 10 AM this morning. The roads appear to be safe and drivable. The sidewalks are clear. Doors on Drumgoole Road East and the Church Basement Door by the lift are open. We will have a in person worship event for Transfiguration Sunday at 10 am. I urge you to follow your common sense and ... As of right now we will provide either a Morning Prayer Service recorded yesterday or the livestream of the 10 am in person worship on our YouTube Channel. Please use common sense as you decide to come to worship in person or not. We have the best of both worlds available to use today. Stay safe. Pastor Page Corner logo

Create in me a clean heart O Lord ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP 7 pm Messiah Lutheran SICreate in me a clean heart O Lord ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP 7 pm Messiah Lutheran SI