Alka's Angle

United Methodists and faith partners from across the country will gather in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, for Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness for Immigrant Justice  to offer a peaceful public witness grounded in prayerful worship, moral courage, and solidarity with immigrant communities. “We originally anticipated approximately 120 people to attend in-person, but to see us at ten-fold is so encouraging; a sign of what with God’s help we can do together as we stand for immigrant justice.” says Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, Convenor of the United Methodist Immigration Task Force.

As I shared before, this week we enter into the Lenten season. This year, we will use the series, “Tell me something good: Grounding ourselves in the good news this Lent,” prepared by “A Sanctified Art,” and focus on the ‘foundational concepts of Jesus’ life and ministry.

• What makes good news good?
• Can we trust that the good news is truly good, even when it challenges us?

Last week I shared with you an article by Bishop Forrest Stith, a United Methodist Bishop, titled, “Why We Need a Black History Month- A Perspective” as we celebrate the story of our Black and African American siblings. Beloveds, whatever our heritage, culture, or racial background, the story of our Black siblings is also our story, and therefore it is important that we know, learn and celebrate the story.

Anyone who knows me knew how uptight and worked up I was about last Sunday, so I am extremely grateful to everyone who was participating in worship. You all made the day amazing by your presence and contribution!

It was indeed a full morning of celebrations for us! We had the mayor and our alderperson visit us! We had two people join the church. We had more than average attendance in worship! We had several volunteers who participated in leading worship! My heart was full!

I don’t know if I express enough how grateful I am to be part of this amazing community! I am blessed to call you my church family. Yesterday, (Thursday, Jan 22nd), within a matter of an hour, we decided that we needed to open our building as a warming center!