Prayer and Ankle Socks

I am wearing a pair of short socks on this sunny Thursday afternoon that a friend gave me that say “Soul Saving Ankle Sock” and “Looking good for Jesus.” I have to admit that they are one of my favorite things because they are so funny. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all it took to be assured that you were “saved” was to wear the right pair of socks? More disturbing is the stitched image of Jesus on my feet with an attractive blond on his arm. I can’t help wondering what the person who made these socks was thinking.

I need this bit of levity as I prepare my sermon for Sunday about unanswered prayers. I think that this is probably the hardest topic that we have struggled with yet. One of my favorite quotes is from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who wrote “To be a Christian without prayer is like trying to be a human without breathing.” I have found that prayer helps in every situation but I know that many people question the need for prayer or if it does any good. Psalm 22 helps us recognize that these thoughts or feelings are not new. I will try to unpack our relationship with prayer on Sunday recognizing that Jesus himself spent time in prayer. As people who follow Jesus, we recognize that if he felt it necessary then why wouldn’t we? Often prayer is our last resort or just a litany of wants that we have and expect God to provide like a vending machine. Please pray for me as we wrestle with this topic.

One of our sister churches, Southern Hills UMC was recently vandalized. They are currently trying to raise money with a Valentine’s Dance to recover from this tragedy. Jill Hoffman will be at the service station on Sunday with information about the dance and how you can enjoy it. This is the church that we partner with each summer to host Project Transformation. Many of you have been in their building.

Lastly, we have been contacted by a young woman from Tulsa who is a student at Yale University. This is what she wrote:

My name is Anna Hartshorne, and I’m a senior at Yale University studying Sociology and Religion. I am originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I’m looking for church congregations to participate in my senior thesis research project on the social and religious beliefs of Christians in Tulsa. Pastor Heather has kindly approved me to request participation from Faith, and I am hopeful to collect 20-30 survey responses from the congregation. If you are willing to participate, I would greatly appreciate your responses to a ten minute survey and additionally welcome you to complete an optional follow-up interview for a $25 Amazon gift card. If you are interested and/or willing to participate in the project, please complete the survey at this link and indicate your interest regarding the follow-up interview at the end of the survey. If you have any questions or concerns about the project, please feel free to contact me at 918-815-3011, or anna.hartshorne@yale.edu.

I felt like this is a congregation that values education and I have read each of the questions in the survey. Do not feel pressured to participate. It is completely optional. It looks to me that she is studying the intersection between politics and religion. If you would like your voice to be heard for this project, then fill it out.

Embrace the sunshine while it lasts! I love you and God loves you.