In the Sure and Certain Hope of the Resurrection…

​For those of you who read through the bulletin every week, you will notice that there have been more than a few families who are grieving the loss of loved ones. As a congregation during the service, we also pray for the individuals who have died, and we pray for the families who grieve.

​As a church, we are grieving at the death of loved ones of all ages. We are grieving the death of those we knew as grandparents. We are grieving the death of those we knew as mothers and fathers, and husbands and wives. We are grieving the death of children.  

Each death comes as a shock. No matter the circumstances.  

Sometimes we have no words when we are grieving. We don’t know what to pray. We don’t know what to say. We don’t know how to feel. We don’t even know what the day will bring.  

It is in times like this that we can lean on our siblings in Christ. We pray when those around us may no longer know what to pray. We sing when those around us cannot sing. We sit in silence with our friends and siblings in Christ when there are no words to say.  

It is through these simple acts that we bear each other's burdens and grieve with the grieving.  

Easter reminds us that we are people of the resurrection. We know that someday we will be reunited with our loved ones. Because if we have been united with Christ in a death like his, through baptism we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.  

In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, we grieve, and we pray.  

Merciful God,  
You heal the broken in heart and bind up the wounds of the afflicted. 
Strengthen us in our weakness, calm our troubled spirits, and dispel our doubts and fears. 
In Christ’s rising from the dead, you conquered death and opened the gates to everlasting life. 
Renew our trust in you that by the power of your love we shall one day be brought together again with our loved ones. 
Grant this, we pray, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.

Peace, 
Travis Segar, Pastor for Care and Community