 You just wanted to check the news. Maybe glance at your feed. See what’s happening out there. But five minutes later, your jaw is tight. Your heart’s racing. You’re angry. Again. And not just abstractly angry, but specific-person-in-your-head, real-words-you-want-to-say angry.
Why does this keep happening? Because it works. Because rage pays off.
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 Joseph Sittler, the brilliant American Lutheran theologian, tells the story of a woman in his parish who told him that she worked at a hospital in Chicago and prayed everyday for a favorable parking spot when she arrived at that busy place. She testified that God always delivered on her desire. Sittler was sure this was not an example of faithful prayer and bordered on blasphemy. He said that it was “wrong to use prayer as a lubricant for the satisfaction of our desires.”
 If you have used the north entrance to the church recently, you may have noticed an addition to the perennial garden there. A Peace Pole has been added. In eight languages – English, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, Swahili, Meskwaki, Swedish, and Gaelic – the pole offers a prayer: May peace prevail on earth. The pole is a gift from members of the congregation accepted by the Congregation Council.
 The week after July 4th always carries a strange kind of energy.
The fireworks are over. The grill has cooled off. The flags are still hanging on porches and in front yards, but they don’t catch your eye the way they did a few days ago. The big celebration is past, and most of us are easing back into the usual rhythm of life. It’s the kind of moment that invites a little reflection. What exactly are we celebrating when we talk about freedom? What kind of freedom do we actually want?  Last week 26 kids and more than 30 teen and adult volunteers gathered each evening from 5:00-7:30 pm for “Operation Restoration-Mending God’s World." Each day centered around a theme, a way that we can mend God’s world; Feed, Heal, Forgive, Pray, and Rest.
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