Who Is My Neighbor?

May 1, 2024
By Rev. Kevin Lester, Sanctuary Campus Pastor

“And, who is my neighbor?”

This simple, and profound question found in the Gospel of Luke sparks one of Jesus’s most famous teachings (the parable of the “Good Samaritan”). At the time, Jesus was challenging his listeners to reconsider “who” they accepted as their neighbors – who, among all the people they knew, should they give their time, care, and attention to? It then presents a radical idea from the heart of God as an answer: “Everybody”

Fast forward to us, 2,000 years later, and Jesus’s teaching has become a virtue and a value for our church – we want everyone to “experience the love of God” – it’s in our mission statement! It’s why we exist!

But now, a we face a new challenge: Do we know who our neighbors are? It’s easy to love “everybody” when “everybody” is just an idea in our heads. Do we really know the people we want to serve, and the people we want to welcome to join us in a life of faith at St. Mark’s?

Come to Soul Station this month, and we are going to work on answering this question! We are going to get some good tools and information that will teach us not just what kinds of people actually live in our neighborhood, but what they believe, what they are concerned about, and what they need from a church. This will help us Gather, Connect, and Serve them like Good Samaritans (StMarkitans?). If you weren’t able to attend the Reaching New People Training – I hope this will be a good substitute!

I look forward to seeing you Wednesdays at 5:30!

-Pastor Kevin

 

If you are interested in the latest news of General Conference, including a recap of yesterday’s session, check out this link: UMNews article