A few months ago, we were all grief-stricken with the shooting of Jewish worshipers in a Pittsburgh synagogue. We all wondered how one person could brim with so much hate that he felt it expedient to walk into a synagogue where innocent worshipers had gathered for prayer and solace, and unleash his fury in the form of bullets, cutting short the beautiful lives of people he did not know, but only hated. I often wonder, "What if something similar happens here, at Christ Church?" That sentiment which fueled the killing in Pittsburgh isn’t any different from the one which gave rise to the recent carnage in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is a sentiment built solely on the rejection of the other, hatred of the other, hatred of the self - if you ask me - and hatred of everything decent, ethical, and honorable. I think that sometimes the word "hate" is not even a strong enough a word to describe an act so despicable, one that offends every sense of human decency. What surprises me most is that others not only find great comfort in such atrocities directed at the other, but they look to justify them - just like an Australian Member of Parliament who suggested that the violence was a likely result of the growing emergence of Muslims in Australia and New Zealand. He may be right about the upsurge but the question is, should we even try to explain why someone would be so compelled to walk into a mosque to shoot and kill Muslims? Or should we justify any act of violence perpetrated against the other, simply because there’s some quaint reason for doing so? There are times when some people assume that killing of another - the object of our hate - inevitably solves whatever problem we may have had with them. But it really doesn’t. Think about the story of Cain and Abel, in Genesis 4:1-16. That is the first recorded murder in Scripture. These men were brothers, biological children of Adam and Eve. This is such a somber story of hatred, death, and punishment. Both men offered a sacrifice based on their line of work. God accepted Abel’s offering, but did not accept Cain’s. He was so upset over the rejection of his sacrifice that he rose up and murdered his brother, Abel. But the killing of Abel didn’t solve Cain’s problem, nor would the killing of forty-nine (49) Muslims solve the problem of White supremacists. Some have said that real hatred is only possible because of our desire to see ourselves in the object of our hate. The point is, our own moral failings make it impossible to see ourselves in the people that we hate. We want to be like the people we hate because we find in them something attractive, something meaningful, something powerful - a kind of weapon more potent than a nuclear bomb. We find, in the people we hate, something that we, ourselves, do lack. Here are some thoughts about the Christchurch tragedy: We cannot understand why they have just about nothing, yet they appear to exude incredible joy. We cannot understand why they came from far away, but seem to value what we have more than we do. We cannot understand why they desire to gather for worship when they do not even have a space to worship. We cannot understand why they enjoy the company of each other, when we don’t even know our neighbors. I could go on and on, but I am sure you get my point. The basis of Cain’s murder of Abel was simply because Cain saw in Abel what he was capable of doing, but could not do. Cain saw in Abel the person he desired to be. What are you capable of doing? We are capable of many things, both good and evil. During this season of Lent, I'd like to remind you that one more thing we are capable of doing is not to seek for love, but to seek and find the barriers within ourselves that we have built against love, and work towards dismantling those barriers. Maybe, if the perpetrator of this heinous crime had sought and found within himself vestiges of self-hatred which have become barriers against love, we would be telling a different story. There’s carnage in the streets of Christchurch. The blood of innocent strangers who have become neighbors cry out - not for revenge, but for a wise populace. And if only we would be wise enough to change ourselves, we could wipe the blood on all our streets with the towel of brotherhood and love. Manny.

The first Sunday Morning that I walked through the doors of Christ Church New Brick, it was with my newly widowed Mother and her nurse, Adeline. My Dad had died just months earlier from a sudden heart attack. My Mother struggled with deep grief, shock, and a cruelly-progressing vascular dementia. My Mother was a Canadian cradle Anglican and she and my Dad raised me, their only child, in the Episcopal Church in New York City. In my adulthood I had grown into something of a lapsed Episcopalian but after my Dad's death I determined that my Mother needed her church and that landed us in front row, New Brick, for our first Sunday service at Christ Church. Richard Ginnever was Rector. My Mother loved him immediately and my Mother loved her God and throughout all the Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m., for the final three years of her life, she found peace and hope and love at Christ Church. After my Mother's passing I took her home to New York City and Trinity Church Wall Street, which was my Mother and Dad's home church. Father Richard served as celebrant at my Mother's Requiem Eucharist, and I knew it was as all as it was meant to be. I could never have imagined at the time that less than a decade later Father Richard would preside over my husband, Vince's, funeral at Christ Church. I will never be able to begin to adequately express the true depth of my gratefulness for his presence. I have no idea on this earth how my family and I would have survived those days without him. It was Mother's Day weekend at the time of my husband's heart attack and Richard stood by us and with us and prayed for us and with us throughout the toughest decisions of my life. Father Richard was in the middle of a deeply difficult time of his own but he never faltered in his care for us. He didn't leave our side. Love, God's unfailing constant love for is, in us, through us, is His light and always available to us in this world to hold, to share, to give away. When you give someone a place in front of you in the Giant checkout line just because that person looks like they need to be there more than you do; when you step up and take the hand of someone who looks like they need a little steadying; when you rejoice in your children's and your grandchildren's little successes and big successes, and when you are willing to just quietly be there by their side when life's moments aren't so easy for them; stop for a moment and know, most certainly, that you are the messenger. Your caring and your love in those simple moments, and in the most crushingly difficult moments, or in the greatest and most joyful moments, your caring and your love and your stepping-up is, very much, your allowing yourself to be God's messenger in another person's life, if only for that moment in time. "Love One Another As I Have Loved You." A love so unfailing, so pure and so selfless and so total that Christ died an unthinkable, tortured death on a cross for me in my place. It's pretty hard to go through the days of Lent and not re-imagine love! It's impossible to go through the days of lent and not remember and be thankful for the times in our own lives when we have personally experienced God's love, when you have most needed to, through the caring and faith and love of another person. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for being Love in this world! Love, Re-imagined! May we each be willing to be God's hands, God's feet, God's heart, God's eyes, and God's ears in this life. ~D

Christ Church is having our first Food Drive of 2019 tomorrow, March 23rd, from 2:00-6:00 p.m. Our last one was incredibly successful, and we are aiming for even better results this time! We'll be located outside the entrance of the Giant Food Store on Cradlerock Way in Columbia, so please stop by, say "hi", and donate what you can. All food donations and assistance are needed and welcome, and will go to support FISH of Howard County. If you would like to help out, please call the Church Office today. Thank you, and see you there!

God said, “Love one another.” That does not Mean Just giving presents At Christmastime Or on Birthdays But Giving Oneself Anytime It would be So much easier Not to. ~P. Pruitt Oct. 16, 2018

Questions regarding ideas and perspectives on LOVING & GIVING: *What do you recall are the different types of love? *What is your earliest recollection of love? *When do you feel God’s love most prominently? *Is love blind or critical? *How do you express love? *How do you know love when you experience it? *Does receiving love make you feel guilty or uncomfortable? *Does acting as a loving, caring person make you feel vulnerable? *Does it make you feel like you will be perceived and misinterpreted as overly sensitive? *Is being a loving person just too much effort? *Do you see it as a sign of weakness or of strength? *Can you ever love another person as much as yourself? *Does love fill the empty spaces in our lives and in our hearts? *Who has inspired you to be a loving and giving person? *Can you name some famous individuals or important role models in your life (a teacher, a family member, a neighbor, a coach, a friend, a leader in your community, a minister, a counselor, or co-worker)? *Can love be taught by words, or only by actions? *Can love be a guiding principle in our desperately struggling world? *How can we incorporate more love in words and actions into our lives?

Totally unselfish, sacrificial Love from a grieving family to a total stranger is a gift that I never expected to receive. I was one of thousands of qualified people in line waiting for a lung transplant. I was totally surprised, delighted, grateful and awestruck that such a life-changing gift was mine. It was an exact match for me from a young person in an auto accident in North Carolina. I was notified at 6am and in surgery by 4pm. My amazement on awakening and breathing unassisted was beyond my expectations. God’s love and that of a stranger were full of wonder and joy. I have experienced God’s grace on many occasions, but two really stand out in my mind. One involved my Mother’s acute renal failure, severe acidosis, cardiac and respiratory arrest at the age of 88 and her complete recovery following anointing and prayers by our past Rector in the Howard County ICU. An earlier miracle occurred on a road-trip during an ice storm, with 4 young children in the car, about 30 years ago in Upstate New York, when I lost control of the car at night and spun into 4 lanes of upcoming traffic facing in the wrong direction. Out of nowhere a man appeared turned my vehicle around in the middle of the thoroughfare, while all other cars avoided a collision with us. He then left abruptly. To this day, I cannot understand how we were rescued. Our Lord enters our lives frequently, but I feel that we often miss his presence. I want to seek opportunities to give and serve, and to re-imagine a true community of love.

God Made Adam Bit Noah Arked Abraham Split Jacob Fooled Joseph Ruled Bush Talked Moses Balked Pharoah Plagued People Walked Sea Divided Tablets Guided Promise Landed Saul Freaked David Peaked Prophets Warned Jesus Born God Walked Love Talked Anger Crucified Hope Died Love Rose Spirit Flamed Word Spread God Remained

This is the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany. The Collect of the Day: O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Readings for this Sunday are: Jeremiah 17:5-10 Psalm 1 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26 You can read Father Manny's Sermon for Epiphany VI by clicking here.

This is the Second Sunday in Lent. The Collect of the Day: O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Readings for this Sunday are: Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 Psalm 27 Philippians 3:17-4:1 Luke 13:31-35 Be sure to check our website each day, as we post the Daily Lenten Meditation each morning.

This is the Last Sunday of the Epiphany. The Collect of the Day: O God, who before the passion of your only ­begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Readings for this Sunday are: Exodus 34:29-35 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a] Psalm 99

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy; O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek To be consoled as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.