For the living of these days

God grant me the Serenity

To accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And the Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time.

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as he did, this sinful world as it is,

Not as I would like it.

Trusting that he will make all things right,

If I surrender to his will.

That I may be reasonably happy in this world

And supremely happy in the next.

Reinhold Niebuhr, Theologian

Dear siblings in Christ,

The words of Reinhold Niebuhr’s prayer feel particularly potent as many of us continue with the decisive results of Tuesday’s elections. With you, I am struggling to make peace with what is, struggling to accept that which I cannot change. You are not alone.

Alongside that, I am mindful of our call to partnership with God. When the intense emotions subside, when our amygdalae take a back seat and we can think clearly again, you and I are, in fact, called to change that which we can.

I have written to you before about Bishop Peter Storey, Methodist bishop in South Africa when the Church led the work against Apartheid. These are Bishop Storey’s personal rules for living with integrity as he and many, many others addressed injustice, inequality, and corporate sin in his land:

1. Tell the truth without fear or favor – We live in a world full of lies. Jesus came to bring truth. Expose the lies told by both your allies and your opponents and counter them with truth.

2. Bind up the brokenhearted without fear or favor – protest the ill treatment of both good and bad people. Pray by name for all who suffer.

3. Live the alternative – We are meant to be God’s future now. Live as if that future is here. Incarnate it.

4. Find and fashion strategies of change that are in line with the mind of Christ – When you revolt, do so in a way that Jesus would not be ashamed of.

I’ve printed these out and hung them on my wall. I think I might even print off a picture I have of Bishop Storey and me – a reminder of those who have lived faithfully in difficult circumstances and, having done so, changed the things they could.

God grant us serenity, courage, and wisdom for the living of these days.

With love and in faith,

Pastor Jenny