In Communion...
Dear friends,
Like so many of you, the staff and trustees of The Outreach Foundation have been directed to Shelter-at-Home, to wash our hands carefully, to maintain social distance and observe other precautions – all for the purpose of preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Rich and poor, meek and mighty, people of all positions and persuasions are observing the same disciplines. Some observers are suggesting that already in the response to this disease people are rediscovering their common humanity, being brought together in the face of a common threat.
For Outreach’s part, we are in communion with our global partners, and they are reminding us of the church’s uncommon purpose. They are reaching out to care for others in the face of this pandemic. Much of the global church is set in places of poverty, pressure, and persecution, and their commitment to serve others in Jesus’ name at all times, not just when convenient, helps us to see what it looks like to follow Jesus in our own context. As Bonhoeffer wrote: “The church is the church only when it exists for others...The church must share in the problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving." At the bottom of our homepage, you can view the timely updates we are receiving from global partners: www.theoutreachfoundation.org
We have been deeply moved by the outpouring of concern from our global partners as they watch the news of the worsening situation here in the U.S., as you will read here from Rev. Salam Hanna, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Latakia, Syria: As the number of infected people in the USA increases every day, we stand with you in solidarity, compassion & prayer. We keep you in our prayers, trusting Almighty God to stop the infection and bring healing to all patients.
During these restriction-filled days, let us, too, be generous in prayer. As Paul reminded the believers in Europe to remember the suffering of the saints in Jerusalem, let us be lavish in giving that can strengthen the hands of our global partners for God’s work, let us reclaim the proper purpose of our church buildings as outposts of the kingdom when we can return to them, and let us accept with fresh resolve Jesus’ invitation to live for the glory of God and the sake of others.
In the face of so many questions about human suffering that are not easily answered, we turn to Jesus’ promises that are clear – that there is mission because God loves people, that he will never leave us or forsake us, that nothing can separate us from God’s love, that he desires that none should perish.
Grateful for you and for your partnership, with us, in Christ’s mission,
The Outreach Foundation