Public affections

"We begin our public affections in our families."
Edmund Burke, 18th century writer, statesman

Sunday, May 12 many churches will present mothers with carnations, and each of us will do at least a little remembering, a little contemplating about what constitutes "family."

Now grown, most of us still see our mothers -- on this plane or the next -- bathed in a kind of sweet light. From them we learned to "play nice," to share and to be kind. It is, most usually, from them that we first learned to love.

Out of the rich soil of family, in all its various forms, we draw the spiritual energy to give something back to the families and communities that nurtured us. And today our communities extend globally. Our family boundaries stretch ever more broadly.

In this combined May/June issue you'll see evidence of our public affections as followers of Christ, from the story of little Union Chapel Church, to news of our world-wide faith community. We United Methodists are in the process of giving daily and in an endless variety of forms: The Brite Ideas page spotlights creative new ways local churches are finding to serve Christ in the neighborhood, and five individual members talk about how parents can enhance a child's spiritual education in "Sharing the Faith."

Our public affections are, now more than ever, focusing well beyond familiar church walls. Read about some of the ways in this edition's stories: an upcoming youth convocation in Ireland, news of one of our Hispanic congregations, El Mesias UMC, a thoughtful examination of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, a commentary about the importance of listening to those who despise us, and news of our connection to the people of West Africa.

Our church connection gives us a mirror to the world, a world on which we continue to focus our public affections.

Last updated on 01/14/2004

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