Hello family! So, this past Sunday we heard some of Christ’s words from Matthew’s gospel. Jesus is giving advice as he describes the life of discipleship: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). For me, Christ promises us some sort of relief in this passage. I think, in part, it has to do with the relief from wrongful priorities.

We know that we live in a competitive world. If we slow down, chances are we will be last in the line for promotion, for accolades or in becoming the ‘employee of the month’ award.  We have created this culture of busyness around us because it not only is thrilling and temporarily fulfilling, but it also is a way for us avoid asking other deeper questions, says Carl Honore, in his ted talk on ‘In praise of Slowness.’ Guy Winch, talks about "The Importance of Self-care"  remind us how much we ignore caring for our own emotional, psychological and mental well-being.

So, this past Sunday we had a powerful service where we expressed our grief, our anger, and maybe even some hope. By now most of us probably know that last week the General Conference of our broader United Methodist denomination decided to try and restrict LGBTQ inclusion even further. I fully admit that in my own personal opinion, this was a terrible and morally bankrupt decision. I find the position of the General Conference theologically untenable and deeply cruel. Of course, not everyone may agree with me, and certainly all Christians have the right to their own study and theological interpretation. But I wanted to offer my own take on some scripture concerning human sexuality.