Stewards of Our Relationship with One Another
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and
your neighbor as yourself. – Luke 10:27
We belong to God; we belong to one another. In his book,
Reaching Out, Henri Nouwen tells of a reunion with a former
student, an experience that revealed to him the meaning of
community: “It is the Christ in you, who recognizes the Christ in
me… From now on, wherever you go, or wherever I go, all the
ground between us will be holy ground.”
During February, let us walk on holy ground, practicing the radical
hospitality Jesus modeled. Starting with our most personal and
intimate relationships and moving through expanding circles – of
friends, relations, church family, co-workers, and others with
whom we come in contact – we tend to the quality of our
interaction in these relationships using spiritual practices of
forgiveness, reconciliation, justice, openness, honesty, hospitality,
shaping communities. We widen our circle, reaching out to
unknown neighbors through local and ecumenical service
organizations and UCC programs and networks. We participate in
the One Great Hour of Sharing special mission offering, typically
promoted in churches during February and received the first
Sunday in March. As centers of hope and transformation, local
churches guide people onto holy ground.
A message from Stewards in the Household of God: a Resource for Holistic Year-round Stewardship available from United Church of Christ Resources.
February 2012 God is still speaking,
This resource is a free service and is made possible by your gifts to Our Church's Wider Mission.