Pastor Jean in Cortez

  It's hard to imagine the scope of the loss our country and community are suffering through due to the coronavirus/COVID-19.  Montezuma County has recorded 18 COVID-related deaths, and in a community of our size these deaths are not abstractions--we know who they are, we know their names, and we grieve for the families.  On the Navajo Nation, there have been at least 9,229 deaths due to COVID as of January 19th.  Too many of these people have died alone and far from home after being transferred to hospitals off the Nation.   The total number of reported COVID-related deaths in the United States is 399,500 (reported by Johns Hopkins COVID tracking as of 11am on January 19).  That number will likely be over 400,000 by this evening.  Approximately 3,000-4,000 people are dying from COVID every single day.  Every single day.   Visualizing the extent of these losses is a difficult thing--it's such an enormous number of human lives. ...

  Tuesday, January 19th at 3:30pm in Church Parking Lot A memorial and lighting of the Reflecting Pool will take place on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on Tuesday. Churches across the country are invited to ring their church bells and spend time in prayer and remembrance of the 400,000 Americans who have lost their lives to COVID-19.  Our gathering will take place at the same time as the remembrance in Washington D.C.  If you're unable to join us in the Parking Lot, please take a few moments at home to pray for all the families who are grieving in our nation. Walter Brueggeman, a well-known Christian theologian and writer, says this about who we are called to be as the Church in this time:      " The prophetic tasks of the church are to tell the truth  in a society that lives in illusion, grieve  in a society that practices denial, and express hope  in a society that lives in despair." All of these spiritual tasks are incredibly i...

  "Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."  (Matthew 5:9) I have a pit in my stomach this morning, and a heaviness in my heart.   After witnessing the frightening events from our nation's capitol yesterday, I've received several requests for me to comment and reflect on the situation.  Like you, I was shocked and horrified to see the Capitol building broken into, vandalized and disrespected.  Unfortunately, these events grew out of multiple years of increasing division and disrespect in our government leaders and in our local communities.  Taken to its extreme form, it beca me OK for deluded citizens to attempt to take over our legally elected leaders.   So how do we, as Christians, respond?  We are certainly not the first Christian people to be confronted by dysfunctional government or violent events.  I believe it is important for us to take some deep breaths, turn off the TV, and center o...