Dear Friends,
Martin Luther King, in an
unusual public moment, told his congregation about two
men whose girlfriends leave them. With a broken heart,
one man sits down at his desk, writes a suicide note,
and jumps off the high-level bridge. With a broken
heart, the second man sits down at the piano, writes
"Good Night Irene" and makes a million dollars.
This is not about positive thinking or pulling
oneself up by one's bootstraps. It
is about facing life and realizing that with faith in
God, community, and ourselves, and recognizing that we
are made to overcome any difficulty and meet any
challenge. To do anything less does not give glory to
the way we are created and fitted together as people of
God. Lent is a time for fine-tuning. Lent and the 100K
Run are for everyone who believes or wants to believe we
can. Are you running with
me?
We need "runners" of all abilities and in every
way to join us for the 100K Run in the hopes that we
will fine tune and not only make up for any potential
shortfall in our Conference's mission spending plan, but
actually build up in this time . . . because we are
the NCNC and WE CAN. Are you running with
me?
John Norris, pastor of the Loomis Basin UCC
and an Associate Conference Minister, sent a
brilliant email to us as soon as he heard about the run.
"I am willing to actually run 100+ miles during Lent
(treadmill miles - people will have to trust my record
keeping). I am thinking of challenging my church
members to pledge $1 for every mile I run during
Lent. Perhaps the first 100 miles for UCC
share and second 100 (or more) for local church projects
or perhaps 50% for UCC share and 50% for special church
projects beyond regular budget items, a kind of second
mile giving." John is literally running with me.
What's your idea? Are you running with
me?
I received this amazing email
message from Melanie Click of the Santa Clara
Association, "The executive committee of the Santa
Clara Association would like to issue a challenge grant
to our local churches and members. We will match
contributions to the 100K Run from Santa Clara
Association contributors up to $1000."
Santa Clara Association members and churches,
Are you running with Melanie and the executive committee
of your association?
John and Melanie prove that, No matter who you are, or where you are on
life's journey, there's a place for you in this
Run. Let us all fine tune spiritually and
financially by: 1. Reading the daily devotional messages
from the Rev. Mary Susan Gast; 2. Joining in fasting and
prayer (Yes, I did say fasting); 3. Signing up for the
100K Run- a virtual experience in many ways.
