July 2007 Archives

Who Is My Neighbor?

Luke 10:25-37

July 15, 2007

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

This past week while visiting someone in the hospital two physicians came into the room. Both were dark skinned women -probably from India or a Middle Eastern country- who spoke with an accent. As they talked with both the patient and his family- I found myself wondering if life had gotten even more difficult for these women and other foreign born physicians since the events in England and Scotland and the revelation that at least one of the terrorists was a physician from a prominent Iraqi family who had been living and working in England. Who is my neighbor?

As most of you know, I fly frequently these days and I'm sad to confess to you that on several occasions when I have been waiting to board my plane and a fellow passenger arrives wearing the traditional head covering of the more orthodox and observant Muslims- I have to engage in a "mind over heart" internal dialogue not to allow my fear that this person might be a terrorist to take hold of me and send me running to the ticket counter to change my flight plans. Who is my neighbor?

Seeds of Love, Harvest of Joy!

Galatians 6:1-10 (MSG)

July 8, 2007

Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf

Do you ever get depressed with the state of the world? I know I do. I get so depressed that my way of coping is simply to tune out the news, ignore the statistics and focus on just getting on with my day to day living. In fact, I suspect that sometimes I fall into a form of what has been called "psychic numbing," -a deep loss of hope for the future which arises in part from a sense of powerlessness to change anything. What I can do seems so small and the problems seem so enormous, can anything I do possibly make any real difference? Until, thankfully, someone comes along to reorient my thinking, reaffirm my most cherished beliefs and call me to action. Marian Wright Edelman is one of those some ones and her keynote address at the UCC General Synod in Hartford was one of those times.

Peace with Justice
The UCC at 50 Series - Part 5
Micah 6:8
July 1, 2007
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
Journey with me, if you will, to a road somewhere in the world on which you find yourself
one among many travelers -all of you part of a long line of desperate people, all moving in the
same direction. You are thirsty and hungry. The sun is high in the sky and burning, but you
have nothing to cover your head. You can only carry some of your belongings, the rest you had
to leave behind. You know that the walk will be a long one. You do not know where, or how, it
will end, nor do you know what may happen along the way. The people around you are
generally silent - all moving with a sense of urgency, but resigned to this trip. All of you know
you may never again see the family members and friends who began this trek with you or those
who could not or would not join you.
You are walking this long road with people forced to flee their homes because of war,
threat of injury or unrest in their community that would more than likely result in their deaths.
You are walking away from extreme poverty toward a dream of work in another land. You are
trying to find a safe place to live but you do not know where that may be. You could be among
refugees and displaced people of Sudan, the Balkans, East Timor, Iraq, Columbia, Mexico, or
many other places in the world.