Louder Than Words | Peacemaker
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What’s your favorite way to greet someone? (hey, how you doing?, shalom)
Have you heard the word shalom? What does it make you think of?
When you think of God’s peace, what comes to mind?
Which of the 3 types of shalom is easiest for you to receive? which is easiest or hardest of the 3 as you consider being a peacemaker?
Give an example of reconciliation you’ve seen that has really moved you.
What specific steps will you take to speak and act with peace this week during the election? (ex: maybe it’s simply removing yourself from the online chaos!)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Worship services: an update
In November, each yard can determine if they'd like to meet based on weather and health.
Beginning in November, besides the outdoor yard options, Shanté will be hosting a weekly Zoom gathering at 11:00 a.m. Anyone is welcome to join and connect with others, take communion together, and discuss the morning message topic.
Our goal would be to try and meet as a full church on November 22 for a Thanksgiving service. We are planning the parameters for a service in our building. But with current infection rates, this may not be safe to attempt. Stay tuned & we will keep you updated.Please pray for our wisdom as leaders and share any thoughts or ideas you have to stay connected during this season. Again, we are so thankful for your care for one another. All of us being on the same page is a huge blessing to Echo.
Thanksgiving Food Drive
We will partner again this year with City Gospel Mission to donate cans of peaches for their Thanksgiving Exchange. Referred by local churches and community organizers, participants pay $10 to shop for their Thanksgiving groceries. The Exchange empowers shoppers to celebrate Thanksgiving without destroying their tight budgets. City Gospel expects 500 shoppers this year.
Our goal is to donate 100 cans of peaches as church. Thanks for your generosity in past years—let's do it again. Here are options for dropping off your donation:Bring cans to the trunk or treat on October 30Bring cans to your backyard worship gatheringBring cans to the church on November 11 from 6:30 to 7pm or to women's small group that night
Giving
Thanks for continuing to support ministry to our city and to the world. You can Give Online anytime. If you prefer to write checks, mail to: Echo Church, PO Box 6067, Cincinnati OH 45206
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ECHO KIDS
Parents,
It’s been a turbulent year for kids and adults alike. We want to feel peace within us and around us, but that has seemed to elude us. So what might peace look like in 2020 as we engage with our children?
To suggest I know the depth of that answer from experience would be entirely hypocritical of me, as I’ve fallen short of living out peace with my own daughter this year. Between the two of us butting heads while being trapped together at our house for two months; she having to listen to both myself and my husband poorly exchange words with family members over matters of injustice this summer; and the adjustment of becoming a family of four in the middle of all this madness, it would be easy for me to conclude that peace is not possible in this season.
But I believe as the world clangs on like a deafening cymbal around us, we can cling to the truth that Christ is reigning even when our thoughts swirl like a violent storm; our emotions are overwhelming waves; and God’s still, small voice seems like a distant memory. In those moments, we are still invited as daughters and sons of the King to live out peace by actively choosing it. Choosing to seek the fullness of God’s good will for ourselves and between our relationships with those around us.
Because as much as it might seem to be an oxymoron, peace requires action. It is no more a feeling than is love. And if peace isn’t a feeling, we can walk in it even when our lives are anything but a zen garden filled with Bonsai trees. What’s more, we are invited by Jesus as children of God to create peace.
And so, this morning, I repent of the times I’ve chosen to act in chaos with my child as chaos swirls around me.. And I hope to do better. I hope to show her that God’s peace is present in the zen gardens and the minefields alike.
Idea for Application:
Have your child lay flat on their back with their arms relaxed out to the side and their legs flat on the ground. Instruct them to close their eyes and breathe deep, trying to remain in this position no matter what happens.
Next, find things to do around the room to distract them. Maybe you could run the vacuum near their head, jump back and forth over their legs, or whisper silly things in their ears.
At the end of this exercise, ask your child if it was hard to stay still and quiet with all of that craziness going on around them. Remind them that Jesus offers them the power to be peaceful even when the world around them feels crazy. Remind them that living peacefully is an action, not a feeling.