A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord. Hear my prayer, O Lord! And let my cry for help come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress; incline Your ear to me; in the day when I call answer me quickly.
Lament can be an uncomfortable place to allow ourselves to journey through. The reality of systemic racism and injustice suffered by our Black brothers and sisters should prompt a litany of responses from believers in Jesus. Racially motivated prejudice, hatred and violence have no place in our world, and especially not in the Kingdom of God. As we have been discussing ways to be a good neighbor over these past weeks, I believe that humbly listening and responding to our neighbors is central to living out the gospel in the here and now. Just as David cried out with a heavy heart of lament, our Black neighbors are crying out in the day of distress. Will the Church incline their ear? Will the Church respond quickly? Will the Church join in lamenting?
“Lament in the Bible is a liturgical response to the reality of suffering and engages God in the context of pain and trouble. The hope of lament is that God would respond to human suffering that is wholeheartedly communicated through lament. Lament recognizes the struggles of life and cries out for justice against existing injustices.”
-Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Prophetic Lament
Scripture is full of stories of lament and God’s nearness to the oppressed, broken-hearted and down-trodden. We are to be a people who mourn with those who mourn. Who see the beauty and the Imago Dei in each and every person regardless of race, sexuality, creed or status. Who diligently and humbly pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
Please hear me say this, to those who are hurting: Your church family is hurting with and for you. To those who are mourning and lamenting: Your church family is mourning and lamenting with and for you. To those who are fearful: Your church family is standing with and for you in faith.
~Mike Defrees
Midtown Parish Pastor
Good Neighbor Cohorts
In partnership with Mission City Renewal we are excited to bring you Good Neighbor. Good Neighbor is designed to be a resource for those who want to take a deeper dive into their neighborhoods and communities — to know the people and faces and actively engage the challenges and opportunities. Take the framework and make it your own. Bring your own context to life as you adapt and use these Guided Conversations, Immersion Experiences and Action Project Roadmap to explore how to be a Good Neighbor. We are rolling this out in two phases: 1) A Good Neighbor Preaching Series beginning June 7 where we will explore Jesus teaching on neighboring, sacrifice, reconciliation, and kindness. 2) We are launching learning cohorts with the good neighbor curriculum. These cohorts will take about 4-6 weeks to complete and about 2-3 hours of your week. You can meet online or in person, whatever feels right for you. A cohort can be your family, a group of neighbors, a discipleship core, missional community, or any group you want to gather. For more information, or to sign up to participate you can click here.
Covid-19 Needs and Assistance
The Park is still gathering the needs of our community. We have created a way for you to request assistance. If you have a need you can click here.
If you are able to offer assistance to others you can click here.
Stay in Contact
If we can pray for you, please contact your parish pastor directly or send us an email at prayer@theparksa.org.
If you are experiencing any hardships during this time, we want to be there to support you. If you have questions or needs we can help with, email us at info@theparksa.org