♦ IT HAS BEEN A "PSALM 46" TWO WEEKS. . . "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea...." I have heard these lines repeated again and again since the shaking change of the earth in Haiti. First, in a conversation with a friend as we sought to console each other after the news of the deaths of Sam Dixon and Clint Rabb, leaders of our United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), who had walked into the lobby of the Hotel Montana in Port-Au-Prince five minutes before the earthquake struck. They were there for a consultation on the serious problems with health care in Haiti, which UMCOR was trying to address....before most of the world was paying any attention to Haiti. God is our refuge....

Then Saturday morning, Jan. 16th, Linda and I participated in the Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast in Springfield, Mass. Dr. David Carter, Chancellor of the Connecticut State University System, spoke of the unity with the Haitian people and how his own faith in God had seen him through in life. He reminded us of Ghandi's warning about "worship without sacrifice." The high school senior, who received the M.L.K., Jr. Scholarship, was honored as a scholar/athlete, and for his "spiritual commitment"...he wrote, "God is the answer to all problems." God is .....a very present help in trouble.....

The following day, Jan. 17th, I preached at the United Parish of Upton (UCC and UMC). Among the many fine things they are doing is the reclaiming of a time in the service, once a month, when a person shares his or her "testimony." It was a deeply moving time when a woman from the congregation shared her faith journey, from an important spiritually formative time in youth group through the twists and turns of life, with a deep sense of God's presence. The congregation was already signing up on the prayer calendar for Haiti, which I had suggested in the last Partners in Ministry. God is....therefore, we will not fear....

Then, Linda and I left that congregation and drove directly (and quickly, no tickets) to our Boston United Methodist Haitian congregation as they worshipped early in the afternoon. The Bethany First congregation, which shares the same building, also had stayed for worship. Psalm 46 was read....in English and French. Greetings were shared in Creole. Tears came to my eyes as the pastor, Michelle Pierre, who had three relatives killed in the earthquake, proclaimed, "God is good all the time. "All the time God is good," came the response. Our resurrection hope in Christ was shared again and again. At the end of the service, we formed a large circle around the sanctuary for prayers. So many lifted names of loved ones who had been killed....or not yet heard from. There were tears...there were prayers....there was singing. God is!

Monday morning, Jan. 18th, we went to the Boston Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast at the Hynes Convention Center. After an opening prayer connecting our hearts to our sisters and brothers in Haiti, a thousand voices reverently sang James Weldon Johnson's words, "God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way; Thou who hast by thy might led us into the light, Keep us forever in the path we pray." Dr. Teresa Fry Brown, who teaches at our Candler School of Theology at Emory University, called us all to be, in Dr. King's words, "transformative nonconformists" in our faith, in our witness, and in our actions. I thought of Jesus, and Sam, and Clint, and Dr. King, and sisters and brothers in Haiti...and around the world... who have sacrificed so much in their faith, witness and actions. And I thought of us, partners in this continuing ministry for Christ. Do we truly believe and trust that "the Lord of hosts is with us".....no matter what? Let's live it...sacrifice for it...share it.

♦ THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROUS RESPONSE TO UMCOR. . . As you know from our Conference Website, over two million dollars from across the U.S. have come just through the UMCOR website contributions alone....not counting offerings received in our churches. At the King breakfast in Springfield, referred to above, the Springfield Children's Choir sang a Haitian folk song in Creole...prepared on short notice. The English translation is:

Let's come together.

The work is beginning.

We are waiting for you!

Haiti is waiting for us to more and more come together for the work of Christ....for the long road ahead. Thank you for your prayers, making health kits, contributions, study groups, and planning for mission teams later in the year when Haiti is ready to receive them. Thank you for being the Body of Christ.

♦ THREADS IN THE STORIES ABOVE. . . In writing above about the past "Psalm 46" weeks, I did not want to interrupt the flow to point to the threads of theology, worship, and mission that have implications for every local church. You will forgive me for naming the obvious....make sure they are a part of your church life in some way.

1. Our world and individuals experience "Psalm 46" "earthquakes" in their lives all the time...go deep theologically...why do bad things happen to good people...where is God in the midst of this....take on Pat Robertson's horrendous "deal with the devil" view....how is God good all the time...what about life after death?
2. Even if you only have two or three youth, meet weekly with them and pour all the love and teaching and formative spirituality you can (along with some fun) into those times.
3. Reclaim times for testimony in your worship. Also, if your space allows, make a circle around the sanctuary...look into each other's faces...and share your burdens, joys, and aches for the world.
4. "And behold, a lawyer stood up...saying, "Teacher....who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:25, 29) Never stop asking that question of Jesus....He's waiting for you....and me.
5. Both the Springfield and Boston M. L. King, Jr. gatherings were organized years ago by United Methodist congregations to bring their community.everyone. together around critical issues of racism and this important observance. What are the issues in your community that your church could bring everyone together to address? How would you do that? Pray about it, plan for it, and put it into action.

♦ SAM DIXON'S MEMORIAL SERVICE was held in Raleigh, NC on Friday. As a friend and Director of the General Board of Global Ministries, I went to celebrate his life that has been, and now is with our risen Savior. We read Psalm 46. Jim Gulley, one of our missionaries who had also been trapped in the rubble of the Montana Hotel with Sam and four others, spoke in halting, emotional tones of the fifty-five hours they had endured, not knowing whether life or death was ahead of them. Sam and Clint's legs, pinned under immovable concrete, had been broken. Some were bleeding. All were without sufficient food or water. Night and day, and night and day came again.

Through it all, Jim said, they prayed...naming their loved ones, one by one. They told stories, and laughed. They remembered scripture. And they sang. One of the songs they sang the most was sung by us following Jim's witness:

I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river,

I've got peace like a river in my soul....

I've got love like an ocean, I've got love like an ocean,

I've got love like an ocean in my soul.....

I've got joy like a fountain, I've got joy like a fountain,

I've got joy like a fountain in my soul.....

What's at the heart of your soul? May it be, by God's Grace through Jesus Christ, peace, love, and joy even "though the earth should change, though the mountains shake." Share that Good News with your neighbors, Haiti, and the world.

Grace and Peace,

Pete