Our liturgy starts with a powerful phrase: “Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.” The Kingdom of God is here and now. We are here to be a light in the darkness, “now and forever,” in our world that is filled with hatred, division, jealousy, loneliness, and greed. We are here to show God’s love and mercy to everyone around us. How can we help others experience God’s Kingdom?
Live out our prayers. We pray for peace, mercy, and forgiveness for ourselves and each other. Strive to bring that peace, mercy, and forgiveness to others in your life. Let Christ work through you.
Connect with your neighbors. Show hospitality to everyone you meet. Ask intentional questions to people in your life. Get to know them on a deeper level. Take this same intentionality to your wider community. Find out how people are serving your city and neighbors.
Meet a need. Think about what saddens you most about our world. Is it child hunger? Homelessness? Human trafficking? Meeting needs can feel overwhelming because so many people are suffering, but you do not need to reinvent the wheel to serve. A ministry probably already exists that is helping this issue you identified. Google search or ask around to discover who is helping in that area. Then, email or give them a call to find out how you can help! If you are short on time, most ministries are in need of items to be donated.
Come together as the Body of Christ. Gather a group of friends to address a need! You don’t have to have every detail of your plan worked out in order to serve others. You just need a heart for others and a desire to help. God will provide the rest. Making changes, big or small, can be done! For example, there is a ministry in Phoenix, Arizona that was started by a group of camp friends. They noticed that many students in this area were not going to college because they lacked the resources or guidance, and this group of friends wanted to change this. They started Camp Catanese (https://www.campcatanese.com/) in 2016 and have since been able to help hundreds of students, many who are first-generation, set and reach their educational goals.
Our liturgy closes with another meaningful phrase: “Let us depart in peace.” As we leave liturgy, let’s strive to bring this peace to the world. A Francsican Blessing includes the lines: “May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.” May God give us this “foolishness” as we go out to bring his Kingdom to others. Let us depart in peace, love, and hope.
Anna Spencer
Anna is a YES leader who just graduated from Kansas State University, is applying to Physician Assistant school, and is passionate about public health.
