October 2019

Dear church members and friends,
Recently the head of UPenn’s Department of Mental Health, Dr. Gregory Eells, committed suicide. A few days later, Pastor Jarrid Wilson of a Mega church in California committed suicide. We all know someone who has lost his/her loved one through suicide.
Some Christians say that those who commit suicide will burn in hell because suicide is murder. I don’t believe that’s true. (Moses was a murderer. However, the Bible does not say, “Moses would burn in hell.”)
Christian faith has to be a healing balm, not salt on the wounds of people who are suffering from depression or people who are suffering from the loss of their loved ones by suicide. I believe that God understands that we are only human beings with our sins, mistakes and weaknesses. I believe that God forgives and loves us as we are with warts and all.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in his poem,
“The Rainy Day”: “Be still, sad heart! and cease repining;
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.”
We all have “dark and dreary” days in our lives. Let us believe that behind the clouds is the sun still shining. As the saying goes, it shall pass, whatever it is. Good times do not last. Neither do bad times. Let us not make permanent decisions about our temporary problems.
Helen Keller was blind, deaf and mute. But she overcame her handicap and became an inspiration to us. She said, “The struggle of life is one of our greatest blessings. It makes us patient, sensitive, and Godlike. It teaches us that although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
We are weak but God is strong. With God on our side, we can rise above the storms of life.
Blessings to you and your loved ones!
​Pastor Jerry