Rector's Note: Healing & Reconciliation

Dear Saints,

This last week, many of us have watched the events in Afghanistan unfold with heavy hearts. As we see history repeat itself, it’s hard to have hope for a better future. As we imagine the horror of what people are going through, we may feel powerless to help.

This Sunday we are going to hear from someone whose work is about responding to concerns such as these, namely what we as ordinary citizens can do to repair and reconcile harm. Taylor Stewart from the Oregon Remembrance Project (ORP) is going to be speaking at all three of our services. He will talk about ORP’s recent work in Coos Bay helping a community seek healing and reconciliation for the lynching of a black man named Alonzo Tucker. He will share insights into ways we all can respond to injustice and rewrite the ending to history’s stories.

Taylor has been sharing his message in faith communities, and it will be an honor to have him at All Saints. In light of the powerlessness many of us are feeling, I hope it will empower us with a greater sense of what we can do to bring about healing and reconciliation.

This Sunday we will also have our Backpack Blessing and pray for our students and educators. They will each get a special gift to put on their backpacks to remind them that our prayers are with them as they head into the new academic year.

I look forward to worshipping with you and finding inspiration and hope for healing in our time together.

In peace,