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Pastor Karen Burkley

March 2025 Newsletter from Pastor Karen

Small packages . . . have you ever heard it said that “good things come in small packages?” It may be that long awaited engagement ring; or perhaps tickets to your favorite pro-team’s sporting event; or how about a very low utility bill - okay, that may be a stretch, but I think you get my point.
 
A “small package” that holds less appeal is the small package of self. This package occurs when one can hardly see beyond his/her own wants, needs, abilities, etc. This focus on self can barely find its way outside of these wrappings and bows that hold one’s selfish desires together.  Oftentimes one fails to see the good in others and their world is filled with misconceptions because the wrappings and bows are so self-confining.
 
Wednesday, March 5 is Ash Wednesday - the beginning of our forty day trek to Easter. During this time of spiritual renewal, let’s vow to embrace humility - seeking to listen to and understand the needs of others so that we can become more responsive to those needs and less wrapped up in our own selfish agenda. Let us cast aside the wrappings and bows that keep us self-contained and reach into the lives of others in ways that are life changing.
 
I am inviting each of you to my office on March 5th between 1:00 and 3:00 for a time of prayer and ashes. Perhaps our time together will free you of the “small package” burden that you may find yourself all tied up in.
 
Let’s do ministry together!
 
You are loved,
Pastor Karen

February 2025

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When you think of the month of February, what comes to mind? Hearts and flowers? Chocolates and diamond rings? Shoveling snow & frigid temperatures? Wherever your mind wanders, let’s talk here about “love” - the 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love.
 
God’s Word calls us to “love each other as I have loved you” . . . John 15:12. This is often most difficult when we are unaware of what is going on in the lives of those around us. One’s poor eyesight may keep him from acknowledging a friend. Knowing this about that friend will provide insight into those interactions that may otherwise cause us to feel snubbed when we are not noticed or acknowledged.
 
What may appear as one being cool and aloof may in fact be that that person is concerned about their health, the health of a loved one, or a deteriorating relationship. Life’s distractions tend to make what is not, appear to be that which is. The list of scenarios that may cause us to jump to negative conclusions can go on and on. It is critical therefore to monitor our reactions which will determine the quality of our relationships.
 
All too often we find ourselves caught up in life events that may distract us from our normal sense of compassion - a knee jerk reaction that takes us to a place we find later that we truly didn’t want to go. It seems that “judging” is a natural default. Oftentimes it is much easier to “judge” than to consider alternative reasons for the “whys” of someone else’s actions and reactions.
 
Let me challenge you to thoughtfully pause to process the next interaction that may lead you to make a negative judgment call. In order to love our neighbor, this is always the best option that we have available to us.
 
As we walk forward in love for our neighbor, let us do so with a more creative approach. Let us consider alternative reasons that someone may be making the choices that they are making - or lovingly ask them if there is something that we can do for them. Let us pray that whatever is creating a wedge between them and us be revealed and that our eyes would be opened. In short, let us seek first to understand and after that to be understood.
 
Let’s do ministry together!
 
You are loved,
Pastor Karen

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