Beyond the Pulpit 4.13.25

Good Morning!

I hope you’ve all had a good week and are ready to join me as we walk together through Holy Week to Easter. Today we will celebrate and shout Hosanna, and then on Maundy Thursday (7pm) we will remember how Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet, and on Good Friday (7pm) we will hear the story of the last hours of Christ’s life, through an incredible musical presentation. These are some of the most meaningful worship experiences of the year, and I look forward to sharing them with you.

This past week, one of the highlights beyond the pulpit for me was attending my first Nehemiah Action Assembly as part of CUMC’s Justice Ministry which partners with IMPACT Charlottesville. This event is where people of faith present our local elected officials with requests which we believe address injustices in our community. This year, IMPACT Charlottesville shared research that shows that unless $10MM is designated for more housing across the county, the housing crisis will continue to worsen. We are glad the county officials who were present committed to push for more funding, though they could not commit to the full $10MM. Additionally, while the city officials agreed with IMPACT’s request to hire 82 bus drivers (currently there are 67) which would reduce wait times for current routes to 15 minutes, they indicated that it likely would not be possible in this year’s budget and they would have to would wait to use any surplus money at the end of the year. I appreciated the manner in which the requests were made (elected officials knew of the requests ahead of time and were not blindsided). Real community concerns were explained with supporting research, and the elected officials responded with what they believed would be realistic. I also appreciate the interfaith nature of this organization and the way in which we can all come together to make a positive impact in our community. Over 1100 people from across Albemarle County and Charlottesville City were present, including Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson, pictured below with me.  I hope you will consider joining me next year!