Pineridge Blog

More and more signs are going up each week with words

from people of all ages about why the author says,

A common theme in many of them is feeling welcome, included and accepted in addition to experiencing God’s loving presence.

One of the reasons I have had lately to love our church is the partnership with Park Hill School District, Tri-County Mental Health, Synergy Services and Pine Ridge, which has resulted in excellent presentations and discussions on some very important mental health topics. About 60 people came to the Suicide Prevention discussion. Over 90 people came to the second one on Digital Safety and almost half of the attendees were teens. The vast majority of the group was from outside the church. Two who came to the Digital Safety event and spoke impromptu had lost children to suicide. At least one of the parents indicated her child’s secret life on the Internet was no small contributor.

These meetings were sometimes hard. Difficult questions were asked. Some raw emotions were expressed. Jaw-dropping information was offered by the presenters from Synergy who described smart phone apps that kids are using which enable bullying, secrecy and meanness online. But I love that these things happened in the church in a setting of welcome, inclusion and acceptance.

Because of the size of the groups attending the meetings had to be held in the sanctuary. I’m no doubt not the only one who noticed the stained glass cross stood silently illuminated behind the speakers. Here as we faced together the most difficult and painful issues children, parents and a community can confront, we did so in the light of the very symbol of cruelty and exploitation of innocence, which is overcome by God’s undying love.

I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ words as they hung him up on the cross to die, “Forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” 

Forgive those who are contemplating ending their lives, because they don’t know what they are doing.

Forgive those who are getting lost in the dark alleys on the information highway, because they don’t know what they are doing.

Forgive those whose lives are destroyed by drugs, because they don’t know what they are doing.

Jesus words from the cross are neither condemnation nor condoning,

but an honest prayer straight from the heart of God.