“Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” Psalm 122:7

Dear Friends:

Let’s build a wall! We’ve been building walls for twelve thousand years. The Great Wall of China has had many starts but is officially known to have been built in the later part of the third century B.C. to ward off invaders. Ancient Rome built walls to protect the empire from enemy invasion. The Berlin wall was built to keep people in and under a politically oppressive regime. Walls are built to keep people in and to keep people out. One interesting part about building a wall is the amount of time it takes to build a wall. Entire communities are formed along the wall as folks relocated to find work building and maintaining lengthy walls. Joshua fought the battle of Jericho in the Old Testament and the wall collapsed after the Israelites encircled the wall blowing their trumpets with all their might. The great wall of Jericho was built to hold back flood waters and mud slides. Today we build walls around our homes and communities to make sure we can exclusively shut out everything else. I remember especially travelling on mission to San Pedro Sula, Honduras years ago to build Our Little Roses home for girls. Before a single brick was laid to build the dormitories or classrooms, we built the wall. The young girls needed to know they were safe inside. But, was our country established with the idea of keeping folks out or with the idea of inviting folks in? Either way, we build walls.

Last night our President used fear tactics to invite us into building a wall to keep out danger and destruction. Evil thoughts and actions don’t come from building walls to alienate and discriminate. Evil comes from within. God created us good and somewhere along the line we tell ourselves it’s okay to do evil. So we build a wall. Okay, let’s build a wall. But, what if, instead, we build a wall of love, grace and mercy. Try putting a price tag on that one! How do we build a wall of love, grace and mercy for all? We’ll start on Sunday.

Sunday, The Rt. Rev. Susan Goff, Bishop of The Diocese of Virginia will be with us to preach and preside over Confirmations, Receptions, Reaffirmations and Baptisms. Confirmation is our mature commitment to our baptismal vows and living the faith as an Episcopalian. Reaffirmation is affirming once again the vows we take at Confirmation. Reception is being welcomed into the Episcopal Church from another denomination. Baptism is the gift of the Holy Spirit washed over us in the waters of baptism made holy filling us with God’s grace, God’s love, and God’s mercy to live active lives as faithful followers of Christ. Because we’re usually baptized as babies, Godparents and parents, adults in the faith, say promises for us to raise us up as followers of Christ. Imagine, my friends, if in our Baptism, our Confirmation, our Reception, our Reaffirmation, we were to embrace the promise of Christ’s love, grace and mercy. What kind of wall would a wall of God in Christ look like? We can do this. God invites us all to have courage, be bold and stand tall as walls of saving love. God embraces us as we, united in our solidarity as a wall of God’s grace, go about breaking down hurt and hate. God holds us in healing strength as a tower of compassion and mercy enclosing all that suffer. Let’s build a wall!

Come Sunday…even in the snow…we’re always here to worship! Come to 8:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist Rite I with musical accompaniment. Come Sunday for 9:45 a.m. Sunday School. Come to 10:00 a.m. worship to witness Bishop Goff’s ministry. Come Sunday and pack food for hungry Fairfax County school kids following worship. They’re grateful for an extra meal to sustain them, especially if their parents are suffering from the government shut down. Youth: come Sunday and spend Sunday Circle with Bishop Goff. Get your questions ready! Come Sunday as we give thanks to God for building in each of us open walls of love, grace and mercy.

Blessed Epiphany,

Hillary