World Quaker Day Sunday – Winchester Friends Church

Reflection for Sunday October 5, 2025 Worship Sharing

Zoom Link to Recording from October 5, 2025

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:3-7

Those who wait upon and hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Isaiah 40:31

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…. Titus 2:11-13

World Quaker Day 2025 — Steps Toward Renewed Spiritual Strength

The Religious Society of Friends was formed in around 1650 AD in England. At some point after that, individual Quaker worship groups (Monthly Meetings) were asked each year to prepare a report on the spiritual condition of their Meeting and share it with the movement’s leaders. The Meetings were scattered around England, and there were no electronic means of communication back then, only written messages and personal visits (on foot or horseback!). The Society’s leaders needed to know what successes and struggles the Meetings were experiencing so they could visit in a timely manner to learn, encourage, teach, and coordinate as needed. Though not required to do so, Winchester Friends’ Ministry & Oversight prepares a State of Society Report each June at the end of the church year.

The M&O’s report this year was prepared at a time of significant upheaval and uncertainty in the world, in our nation, in the global Church, and in many Quaker organizations and Meetings. That reality brought to mind the promise God made through the prophet in Isaiah 40:31 to the exiled, discouraged Israelites who were weary of captivity and wanted to return to Jerusalem. As M&O members discussed the current situation, they spoke of several steps of waiting upon the Lord which Friends could take to put ourselves in a position to receive that promised renewal of spiritual strength for facing these days, both individually and as a group. They are offered here for your consideration and contemplation.

Worship as Listening First Waiting upon the Lord means learning to “still all creaturely activity,” engaging in contemplative prayer and worship by first listening for God’s leading. An example is Jehoshaphat’s prayer in II Chronicles 20:3,4,12 — “we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

God’s Strength, Not Ours Waiting on the Lord teaches us the importance of doing the Lord’s work in the Lord’s power, not our own, as expressed in the priest Jahaziel’s response (II Chronicles 20:15) to King Jehoshaphat’s prayer: “Do not be afraid or discouraged…., for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

Holy Patience and Holy Persistence In doing the Lord’s work, we honor the creative tension between both being patient to wait for the Lord’s timing and leading, and being persistent in never quitting or giving up.

Living in True Community Waiting upon the Lord includes nurturing a strong, loving faith community, heeding the early Quaker advice of “knowing one another in the things that are eternal” and “watching over one another for good.”

Living With Realistic Hope Waiting on the Lord means honoring the creative tension between realism and hope; it means being honest about the challenges we face in being Christ’s disciples in the 21 st century, but also being relentlessly hopeful in the Lord’s assurance that he is with us, is greater than any and all of those obstacles, and will help us bear fruit for his Kingdom.

Committed to Ministry Like a waiter in a restaurant serves diners, waiting upon the Lord means serving him by providing what he requests, and by being his hands and feet in ministry wherever he places us, no matter how we earn a living. It means serving him and fulfilling his law by carrying one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).

Seeing and Loving That of God in Others Waiting upon the Lord means fulfilling what Jesus said were the Law’s greatest commands — loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and loving our neighbors as ourselves (Galatians 5:14, the World Quaker Day theme), without exceptions, as the Lord helps us to “see that of God” in all others.

Wars, domestic violence, destructive climate disruption, economic upheaval and stress, potentially dangerous technologies, a culture of harmful self-focus, and other serious problems confront us daily in this hyper-connected world. I suspect it gives us at least a taste of how the exiled Israelites must have felt — distraught over the state of the world around them, and powerless to make it right. Into their discouragement and hopelessness, God spoke words of comfort and hope through Isaiah to tell them he had not abandoned them. He assured them that they were not powerless and that he would renew their strength, if only they would wait upon him in genuine faith. The Lord intended them to return to Judea to prepare the way for the Messiah who would bring the possibility of salvation to the whole world. I am convinced that God still speaks that promise to Christ’s followers today who are discouraged and feeling hopeless about the state of the world. If we will wait upon the Lord, he will renew our spiritual strength to serve him obediently, share his Good News faithfully, and prepare the way for his entry into people’s hearts, despite his enemy’s strong opposition. He desires to use each of us in that effort. It begins with our commitment to wait upon the Lord in the ways described by M&O members above. Let’s all do that. Let’s be Friends.

–Ron Ferguson 5 October 2025

Queries for Worship-Sharing and Reflection

1) Why is pausing periodically to consider a faith community’s (and our personal) spiritual condition a wise practice?

2) What other ways of “waiting upon the Lord” do you know and/or practice, besides the seven listed above?

3) What aspects of Quakers’ somewhat unique Christian message and practice are most meaningful or helpful to you?

4) What makes it possible for Jesus’ followers to live with both unvarnished realism and life-giving hope?

Winchester Friends Ministry & Oversight
State of Society Report – Annual Report for 2024-2025
June 2025

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who wait upon and hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

As the Ministry & Oversight began discussing the state of Winchester Friends’ society at the close of the 2024-2025 church year, members were asked to offer their sense of the Meeting’s condition. One Friend’s comment seemed to summarize all the others which were expressed – that “Winchester Friends is in a state of flux, with the way forward not yet clear.” That brought to mind King Jehoshaphat’s prayer in II Chronicles 20 when Judah was threatened with a massive attack by an army of neighboring nations. The king confessed to the Lord that Judah was powerless to confront the impending attack, saying “we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” After he finished his prayer, a man named Jahaziel was moved by the Spirit to say in response, “This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged…., for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’” The M&O agreed the same is true for Winchester Friends at this time.

Another observation expressed was that the Meeting is in a place of patient persistence. We realize that numerical growth cannot be drummed up overnight, so impatience for that would be wasted energy. At the same time, in the spirit of Isaiah 40 (above), we recognize the importance of not giving up but waiting and persisting in listening for the Lord’s direction and obeying it regarding the Meeting’s ministries and outreach – no hurry, and no quitting.

The M&O recognizes and affirms our Friends’ efforts to continue the longstanding Quaker testimony of “watching over one another for good.” The Meeting is a “faith family,” and our members truly do care for one another in ways that are both a blessing and a witness to the wider community. One member spoke of concern that we not “cling to” Zoom attenders who find opportunities to participate in in-person fellowships where they live, but rather express care by encouraging them to obey God’s leading.

We sense in this unique moment that we are called to be a Meeting of realistic hope. Like King Jehoshaphat in II Chronicles 20, we must be honestly realistic about the challenges and limitations we face as a faith community. At the same time, we must also be honestly hopeful about the Lord’s ability to empower and equip us to accomplish far more than we have imagined, if we will trust him and obey. We understand the consistency and gradual increase in attendance at our meetings for worship, and the new people joining us over the past year, to be a confirmation of God’s call upon us and help to us for being the church he desires us to be. The FUM Flourishing Friends consultation in which the M&O has participated this year has given us all practice in thinking about Winchester Friends’ future with both realism and the hope which comes from the Lord’s presence and promise.

We are grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the Lord in these and new ways, and we look forward to seeing how the Spirit will lead us in the 2025-2026 church year.

Winchester Friends Ministry & Oversight, June 2025: Cleo McFarland, clerk; Linda Groth; Sharon Reynard; Marsha Kritsch; Kathy Simmons; Dave Longnecker; Doug Baker; Ellen Craig; Brian Lilly, ex officio; Pam Ferguson, ex officio; Ron Ferguson, ex officio

Reflection for Sunday October 6 , 2024 Worship Sharing

World Quaker Day and 2024 State of Society Report

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8

Jesus asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:15-18

How Have You Seen the Lord Lately?
Winchester Friends’ State of Society / Annual Report for 2023-2024

Today is World Quaker Day, an annual occasion sponsored by Friends World Committee for Consultation to remember and pray for members of the Religious Society of Friends who will gather for worship, fellowship, and spiritual equipping in most of the time zones on earth. We are joined together by our dedication to Christ as our Savior, teacher, Lord, and friend, and by commitment to live and proclaim his eternal Truth. FWCC’s emphasis for this year’s observance is drawn from their 2024 World Plenary gathering’s closing epistle in which the phrase “We are still here – God is with us” is repeated multiple times. Winchester Friends’ Ministry & Oversight sees significant agreement between that emphasis and our own State of Society report for the ’23-’24 church year. We offer it here for your reflection and response during worship-sharing on this World Quaker Day.
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When the Ministry & Oversight met for their April 2024 meeting, one of the items on the agenda was to begin thinking about the overall spiritual condition of Winchester Friends as we approached the end of the church year and prepared for a new one. The story of Easter was still fresh in our minds. Mary’s joyful declaration about having seen the risen Lord in the aftermath of the crucifixion seemed like a good challenge to M&O members to identify the ways we have seen God at work in our midst over the past year. Time was spent reflecting upon and sharing insights to that question in the group’s April and May meetings. The following are their observations and offerings.

The Lord is my strength and my shield….. (Psalm 28:7) As that conversation got underway, the first witness of God’s presence and help that was noted was his protection of the members of our Meeting and community through the trauma of the March 14 tornado that severely damaged parts of Winchester and the surrounding area. At least 48 houses were totally destroyed, another 50 or more sustained major damage, and another 100 had damage requiring repair. At least ten of our Friends’ residences were damaged. Despite all that destruction, miraculously no one died here that night from injuries caused by the tornado. One M&O member noted that responding to this disaster together has provided a positive opportunity for our community to cooperate, be more aware of ministry opportunities, and grow closer together. The Lord surely has watched over us.

Consider it pure joy…. that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. (James 1:2,3) With the widespread use of COVID-19 vaccines, the past church year was one of slow, careful emergence from the previous three years’ restrictions of the pandemic. It was a year of gradually more fellowship meals, in-person gatherings, and increasing choir activity. It has also meant some streamlining of the church’s committee structure for efficiency’s sake, given the reality of fewer people, programs, and activities than we had before the pandemic. There has not been a rush — as seen in many organizations in the past year — to return to doing everything that was being done before 2020. The sense of the Meeting has been to wait for leading, and to do fewer things well than to do many things exhaustingly or haphazardly. That process continues as we ponder how to add programs for Christian education for more people. Friends also have been faithful in financial support of the Meeting’s ministries, despite the challenges of the times. God has helped us persevere.

From Christ the whole Body…grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Ephesians 4:16) The importance of every Friend doing their part to help the Meeting accomplish its work grows more obvious as we all grow older. The past year has posed significant health challenges to several in the Meeting, at times limiting their ability to do what they have previously done for the church. We thankfully have seen the Lord help many Friends regain good health in those situations, and we also have seen him work through others in the fellowship to make certain that needed ministries get carried out. God’s faithfulness through this time gives us hope and confidence that he will provide the people, energy, and leadership needed for our future.

Be very careful how you live….making the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:15,16) One M&O member spoke of seeing God’s hand in new opportunities for fellowship and ministry with people who had not previously indicated much spiritual interest. It is a reminder to us all to live with keen awareness that God is always at work in lives around us.

We always thank God for all of you…. (I Thessalonians 1:2) The M&O members concur that the consistent, active participation of distant Friends and friends who have worshiped with us by Zoom in the past four years has been a clear and encouraging sign of God’s presence and work in our midst. They have enriched our lives and our meetings by sharing what the Lord has taught, or is teaching, them. Whatever we might have sacrificed from the “former way” to incorporate online participation in our meetings, God’s gift of their input into our meetings has been worth far more.

God’s presence and work in these ways also has nudged us all back towards Friends’ understanding of worship as listening first, before we speak or do anything else. We give thanks for all this evidence that God is indeed at work in us.

Winchester Friends Ministry & Oversight, June 2024: Cleo McFarland, clerk; Linda Groth; Sharon Reynard; Marsha Kritsch; Kathy Simmons; Dave Longnecker; Doug Baker; Ellen Craig; Brian Lilly; Pam Ferguson, ex officio; Ron Ferguson, ex officio
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Working on the State of Society report reminded me frequently of the article published several years ago by our friend and Friend Colin Saxton, the former general secretary of Friends United Meeting. In that piece, he encouraged Friends to prepare for discipleship and ministry in a rapidly-changing world by regularly asking and answering the questions journalists use to get accurate information for a story – but from a spiritual perspective.

Who are we? It is my prayer that we are people who believe Jesus’ Gospel message of forgiveness and reconciliation with God, and have experienced true relationship and cooperative friendship with Christ’s Spirit who “has come to teach his people himself.” We must acknowledge that we are mostly an aging fellowship who long to share his love with others but find it increasingly challenging to reach young people and young families. We seek the Lord’s help with that.

What are we (called to do)? We are called, just as the earliest Friends were, to “walk cheerfully over the earth, answering that of God in every person.” Jesus calls us to proclaim eternal Truth as he did, and to demonstrate that Truth’s life-giving impact on us through lives of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and service. We are called to let Christ live through us his life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-discipline.

When are we? We are in a unique moment in history, one of widespread self-focus, growing secularization, and resistance to the Gospel. It is a moment of widely-shared belief that technology, science, and wealth will solve all human problems, eliminating our need for God. It is a moment crying out for authentic witness of inward spiritual transformation that results in power over sinful, destructive selfishness, in lives of meaning and purpose, and in spiritually obedient, loving use of all of God’s gifts.

Where are we? We are in the wealthiest, most advanced nation in the world’s history. We are in a conservative region of that nation, a region historically called the Bible Belt. Some researchers suggest that that “adjacent familiarity” has led to a kind of immunity to Jesus’ call to deep discipleship. Perhaps because of that, the Christianity around us sometimes seems to be the inherited, social type rather than the “inner life, friendship with the Living Christ” type.

Why are we? We are who and what we are because Christ’s life and love within us compels us to share his Good News with any and all who will listen. He helps us to see that just as he told his first disciples, “the harvest” is as great or greater than it ever has been, but “the workers” are as few or fewer than they ever have been. People of every generation are called to be bearers and reflectors of his spiritual Light to those who walk in the darkness of not knowing him. It is my prayer that we disciples at Winchester Friends truly mean the words we sing in the hymn “To Be God’s People”:

Almighty Father, give us a vision of a dying world that needs Your love and care.
We see the need, the yearning for a Savior; in Jesus’ name grant this our prayer.

To be God’s people in this place, live His goodness, share His grace
Proclaim God’s mercy through His Son, share His love with everyone.

And when we falter, be Thou our comfort, guide us as Your children that our lives may be
A beacon in this darkness that surrounds us, a Light that others then may see.

Lord, let this be true in our lives and faith community, and in all the Friends everywhere who worship you this day. Amen!

–Ron Ferguson, 6 October 2024

Queries for Worship-Sharing and Reflection

1) How have you sensed God’s presence and seen the Lord at work in your life, in our midst, and/or in the world lately?

2) In Matthew 5:8, what do you think is the connection between having a pure heart and spiritual vision for seeing God?

3) How has the fellowship and ministry of your Quaker Meeting and Friends been a help and blessing to you this year?

4) In your experience, how has Zoom participation enhanced and enriched our worship and life together for us all?

Winchester Friends Church
World Quaker Day October 6, 2019 9:15 AM

Let all nations hear the word by sound or writing. Spare no place, spare not tongue nor pen, but be obedient to the Lord God and go through the world and be valiant for the Truth upon earth; tread and trample all that is contrary under…. Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one.

Sing and rejoice, ye Children of the Day and of the Light, for the Lord is at work in this thick night of darkness that may be felt: and Truth doth flourish as the rose, and the lilies do grow among the thorns…. And never heed the tempests nor the storms, floods nor rains, for the Seed Christ is over all and doth reign. And so, be of good faith and valiant for the Truth.
–Friends’ founder George Fox, 1656 and 1663

World Quaker Day

Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) invites every Quaker meeting and church from around the world to celebrate World Quaker Day on the first Sunday of October. As the sun rises in each area of the world, we want to remember that Quakers are worshiping through every time zone, celebrating our deep connections across cultures and Quaker traditions. We are united in love and can accompany each other on this special day that draws us together. As we worship, let us hold each other in prayer and thanksgiving, and let our hymns of praise resound across the world. The theme “Sustainability: Planting Seeds of Renewal for the World We Love” draws us into our shared experience of earth care and the spiritual imperative to sustain life on earth.

PHOTOS BELOW……

Meeting for Worship

Prelude Deborah Lilly

Welcome, Introductions, Announcements                                                                        Ron Ferguson
October Birthdays & Anniversaries (offering to Whites Res. & Family Services)
Call to Worship
Prayer

Hymn #560 For the Beauty of the Earth Kathy Simmons

Hymnbook Choir How Great Thou Art Brian Lilly, Deborah Lilly

Offertory Prayer Ron Ferguson

Offertory Deborah Lilly
The Stewardship & Finance Committee designates each Monthly Meeting Sunday as Stewardship Sunday. Please study last month’s treasurer’s

report (available from ushers) and prayerfully consider your part in the ministries to which God has called our church.

Hymn #379 Take My Life and Let It Be Kathy Simmons

State of Society Report 2018-2019 Ministry & Oversight
Friends Faith & Practice advises the M&O to prepare a report on the Meeting’s spiritual life at the close of each church year. This report was presented to those who attended July’s Monthly Meeting for Business. As in the past two years, M&O sensed God’s leading to offer it — along with the members’ personal insights — during worship on World Quaker Day for broader hearing and reflection.

See State of Society Report below.

Unprogrammed Worship is time allowed for Friends’ practice of non-symbolic holy communion. In focused reverence, we experience God’s perfect expression of reconciling love in Jesus’ sacrificial living, dying, and resurrection. Through the Holy Spirit, the written Word, and Christ’s Body the Church, we acknowledge Jesus’ presence with us as the Bread of Life for our souls’ nourishment, growth, and vitality. If God leads you to speak out of the silence, please request a microphone so all can hear your ministry.

Testimonies of Praise, Concerns for Prayer

Closing Prayer

Postlude Deborah Lilly

following a brief time of fellowship, please join us for

Sunday School 10:30 AM
There is a class waiting to welcome you for study of the scriptures!

Monthly Meeting for Business 11:20 AM
All Friends are urged to attend to hear reports on the church’s ministries and to help discern God’s leading for any resource decisions that need to be made.

Informal Potluck Lunch approx. 12:30 PM
Everyone is welcome to enjoy a simple lunch together in the dining hall downstairs.

2018-2019 State of Society Report

from Winchester Friends Ministry and Oversight

The 2018 State of Society report for Winchester Friends asked the Ministry and Oversight Committee to “envision the future God desires for Winchester Friends.” As we think about the State of Society for 2019, we realize that the vision articulated for the future God desires for us has not changed. What has changed is the growing sense that this vision will not happen without the committed effort of each one of us, starting with the Ministry and Oversight members. As a committee, we are seeking how to make visible the future God desires for this faith community, and we are asking ourselves what it means to be a faithful church in this time and place.

We remain committed to the understanding of what the church should be as drawn from scripture: We desire our church to be “devoted to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread together, and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). We intend our fellowship to be one that “lifts up Christ” (John 12:32) – not in crucifixion, but in adoration, faithful devotion and humility – trusting that through that effort the Spirit of Christ will draw others to himself. We seek to be a faith community that heeds Micah’s call “to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8), much as our Quaker predecessors have done for nearly four centuries. We want to be followers of Jesus and a church intent upon seeking the good of others rather than only ourselves (I Corinthians 10:24).

We desire to be a faithful people dedicated to the vison given to us in the New Testament of caring for others; waiting upon/hoping in the Lord; feeding the hungry, giving water those who thirst, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, caring for the sick, visiting the imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-40); being the good news we are called to proclaim; overcoming evil with good; fixing our eyes on Jesus; living at peace with everyone and being holy (Romans 12:3-21); looking after orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:27); and gathering in Christ’s presence with increasing, not decreasing frequency(Hebrews 10:25). We desire, seek and pray to be a healthy church focused on strong discipleship, community-changing outreach, deep relationships, and passionate, authentic worship.

The committee continues to seek tangible ways to live out these aspects of the spiritual life listed in last year’s State of Society report:

Being intentional about lifting up Christ through verbal and authentic lived witness
Welcoming new Christians, being examples and teachers, and growing in Christlikeness
Carrying a deep concern for the ministry of our church to youth and families with young children
Being a church concerned about being like Jesus, and daily living out the Friends’ testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, stewardship, and service.
Being a faith community careful of our choices and behavior so as not to harm the witness or ministry of other Christians
Remaining open to the spirit’s leading regarding redemptive connection to the wider family of Friends

The Ministry and Oversight takes personally this vision of God’s desires for our church. This vision requires purposeful living, purposeful searching, planning and prayer for it to be a reality. We again commit to being God’s people who will not grow weary in doing good, who will seek the graces of patience, persistence and faithfulness from Paul’s promise in Galatians 6:9 so that “at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Lord, keep us faithful.

Winchester Friends Church
World Quaker Day October 7, 2018

I told them I knew whence all wars arose, even from the lusts (according to James 4:1-3), and that I lived in the virtue of that life and

power that took away the occasion of all wars….
–Friends founder George Fox, 1651, declining English Commonwealth recruiters’ offer of favorable treatment if he would join their army as an officer

The Spirit of Christ by which we are guided is not changeable, so as once to command us [away] from a thing as evil, but then move us unto it; and we certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the Spirit of Christ which leads us into all Truth will never move us to fight and war against any person with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of the world.
–Society of Friends’ declaration to King Charles II, 1660

State of Society Report 2017-2018 Ministry & Oversight
Our Faith & Practice instructs the M&O to prepare a report on the Meeting’s spiritual life at the close of each church year. This report was presented to those present at July’s Monthly Meeting for Business. As was done on World Quaker Day 2017, the M&O sensed God’s leading to offer it during worship for broader hearing and reflection.

Peace Prayer Balloon Release

Photos below

World Quaker Day 2018-

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

–Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, printed on the cards borne by the balloons launched today “in hope and longing for a world made new by Christ’s love”