My six year old niece has been listening to the adults in her life talk about George Floyd, systemic racism, and the events in our neighborhood.  She’s listening and she’s finding her own ways to process the information.  

On Sunday she said to her mom, “a very important man died.”  As she said this you could tell she was looking to her mom to confirm that she had the correct information.

My sister said something profound, “no, actually George Floyd died because people did not see him as important, his life didn’t matter to the people who killed him. Now, people are paying attention and speaking up for him and he has become a very important man.”

That made sense to the six year old, “Oh, now he is important.”

The truth is, he always was important,
but now we are realizing
how very little we cared about that
before his death.

At Roseville Lutheran we are getting ready to confirm the faith of 35 students. On Sunday June 14, we will remember that at their baptism they were named a child of God, they were surrounded by people who love them and want to share the gift of faith with them, people who are gracious and forgiving no matter what. These 35 students are precious children of God.

This is our faith, that we are the beloved children of God, that we are created in the image of God, that we are gifted by God to share this good news with a hurting world.

My prayer for these students on this coming Sunday is that they would continue to know deeply that they are loved unconditionally by God. My prayer is also that these students might see their neighbor – black, brown or white, gay or straight, rich or poor – as an equally important and beloved child of God. 

– Pastor Sara Spohr

For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things
he planned for us long ago. 

– Ephesians 2:10

Prayer

Gracious God, thank you for calling me your child.  Help me to claim that name for myself but also for my neighbor.  Amen.