blessed are the peacemakers

Because of the block party on Saturday and working at a church meaning that Sundays are part of my work week, today was my weekend.
I slept in, I got more unpacking done, I started decorating my side of the bedroom that I share with my roommate, I explored a bit of the Riverwest neighborhood, called Kyle and heard about his interview, started reading a new book,
and,
I went to a funeral.

This afternoon there was a funeral for Dennis D. Smith, Jr., a 27-year-old member of the All Peoples Church community, and a victim of gun violence. This was the third funeral of a young person at All Peoples in the past 10-ish weeks, as I've been told, and the second of which was due to gun violence.

Having grown up in a sheltered suburb, gun violence has never impacted me.

I never met Dennis, and I hadn't even started working at All Peoples when he was killed, but I wanted to go even on my day off as a way to show my solidarity to my new church community, to better understand what they're going through.  I must confess it felt a little awkward at first, since I don't know much of the congregation yet, and I was one of the few white people in attendance.  Even so, I'm really glad I went.  I think in the long run it will help me acclimate to my job and what it's like to work in an urban church, besides just getting another glimpse at the humanity and frailty of life.

Pastor Steve's eulogy eloquently addressed the shock, the heartache, and the hope we have through Jesus' experiences on earth and God's love. One of the biggest things I got out of it was the reminder that we have an amazing God who intimately understands what we go through everyday--pain, sorrow, anguish, fear, sweat, laughter, friendship, tears, even death. There's so much more, but I'll let Pastor Steve do the talking, and you can figure out what it means to you.  Check out Pastor Steve's podcast of the eulogy entitled "Blessed are the Peacemakers" here.

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with us.

Tenth Avenue North - "Losing"