Mid-week News 3-27-13

Dear Family of faith, I hope that you staying warm on these chilly days. Who would know this is Florida?! I have lost count of how many times we have dragged in our orchid from the lanai this year! Last night Ed Lewis and I went down to Tampa to represent our church at a rally in support of ending the discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in our judicial system—the very thing the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing this week. About 200 people braved the cold to show support for people of all gender identities, and the stories of some were heart-breaking—lack of legal standing creating all kinds of problems ranging from deportation to inheritance nightmares. Following the rally, we combed the streets of downtown Tampa to distribute blankets and caps to the homeless. We gave out 8 blankets and as many stocking caps and even two pair of wool socks. We found people sleeping in doorways—including one mother and her son. We also found people huddled in bushes around parking lots. One man was barricaded behind trash containers as a windbreak, and a woman was sleeping on the steps of the Catholic Church, of which she claimed to be a member. I am astounded how these homeless people try to take of each other, too. One man, after receiving a blanket, said, “My buddy over there could use one, too.” Often we hear “Thank you!” and “God bless you!” Isn’t that amazing—that people who have so little are grateful for what we would consider part of every household? I am blessed by them—the ones Jesus called “the least of these.” I probably won’t need any more blankets or caps this season to give out (hopefully), but I want to thank you who have provided this opportunity to help these who seem so hidden to the world at large. Already some “snow birds” are flying back north to get in on the tail end of winter. Hug them all a little tighter in the next weeks as their time with us is short. I just read today where the co-workers of the Keller Williams Realty in Plantation, Florida, who won the Powerball jackpot two weeks ago, decided to share their winnings with the one person in the office who didn’t kick in for the tickets. Jennifer Maldonado had just started working at the agency two weeks before and didn’t have the extra cash to chip in for tickets. Apparently, it didn’t matter to the winning office pool. She will be included in the wealth. It reminds me so much of the parable that Jesus told about the workers in the vineyard and how those who worked 1 hour got the same reward as those who worked 11 hours. That’s what so amazing about God’s grace! We don’t deserve it, but it comes to us anyway. May your life be filled with the underserved grace of God, and may you show that same undeserved goodness and generosity to others by the way you treat them and live your lives! With affection, Pastor Carlan