As reported by WROC, faithful people across the country came together in spirit yesterday for the National Day of Prayer.

In Rochester, hundreds of people gathered on the steps of City Hall to commemorate the day, including pastors and representatives from local churches and groups like His Branches, City and County government, the Fire and Police Departments, and The Finney School. Many more filled churches in the surrounding area.

For many, it was a day to pray for the future of their city and country. Bishop David Singleton told us Rochester’s event attracts more than just locals.

“In fact, we have some folk from Texas, from Florida, from New York City and Niagara Falls,” he said. “They’ve come from different places to join in this time of prayer because they recognize the value of prayer that much, and they want to be a part of it here in Rochester.”

Several other local pastors spoke with grace and conviction at the gathering as well as Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo, Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, and others in leadership.

Prayer was initiated by the sounding of a chorus of shofars. After a time of guided group prayer (click here for a copy of the prayer sheet that was provided) the entire group entered into free form prayer for our community and nation.

The event was closed with the sounding of the shofar again, followed by a time of gospel music in front of City Hall. The National Day of Prayer was originally set aside by President Harry Truman in 1952 during the Korean War.

In the days of Moses

And God spoke all these words, saying,

1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before1 me.
2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
6. “You shall not murder.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.
8. “You shall not steal.
9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
    Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were 1afraid and trembled, and they stood far off…

Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?

And then Jesus rose from the dead

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have…”

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you…

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

He is Risen!

or Pesach, will begin this Friday, April 19, as Jewish communities worldwide commemorate the liberation of the Israelites from slavery, in one of the important festivities in the Jewish calendar.

According to the Book of Exodus in the Torah, Moses called for the Pharaoh to free the Israelites, warning that if he failed to do so, Egypt would be struck by terrible plagues – the last one of which would be the death of every Egyptian first-born male.

The Pharaoh refused to do so, despite the onslaught of plagues of frogs, flies, the death of livestock and total darkness. To avoid the killing of all Egyptian first-born males, Moses urged Jews to mark their doors with lamb’s blood to spare the men – after which the Pharaoh relented, allowing the Israelites to flee Egypt. The word “pesach” comes from the Hebrew root Pei-Samekh-Cheit, meaning to pass over or to spare.

When is Passover Celebrated?

Passover begins on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, which typically falls in March or April of the Gregorian calendar. This year, Passover will start at the sunset of Friday April 22 and end on the evening of Saturday April 30.

What is the Seder?

It is traditional for Jewish families to gather on the first night of Passover – the first two nights in communities outside of Israel – for a dinner called a seder, derived from the word for “order” in Hebrew.

During the meal, the story of the exodus from Egypt is retold using a special text called the Haggadah and four cups of wine are drunk at various stages during the narrative. An extra cup is left for the prophet Elijah, who is believed to reappear and announce the coming of the Messiah.

On the table, there are three unleavened breads on top of each other. At the start of the Seder, the middle matzah is broken and the largest piece is hidden for the children to find – whoever finds it receives a small prize.

Did Jesus Celebrate the Seder?

As an observant Hebrew man raised in the full teaching and traditions of his faith, it is recorded that Jesus celebrated all of the Biblical feasts with his family of origin and disciples and lived according to the Word of God as delivered through Moses and the Prophets.

Reading the New Testament scriptures carefully with this in mind it becomes clear that what is referred to now as The Last Supper was, in actuality, a full observance of the traditional Passover Seder, complete with cups of wine, matzah, hand washings, shared meal, etc. In it, Jesus took one of the cups and the middle matzah and put these forward as representations of his body and blood.

Jesus was arrested later that evening, crucified the next day, and placed quickly in a tomb before sunset heralded the start of the Sabbath. That Sabbath was not the usual Friday dusk to Saturday dusk weekly Sabbath, however, but “a special Sabbath” (the first day of Passover). Was Jesus’ celebration coincidental or divinely timed? Click here to go deeper into the mystery.

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day — a day adopted in 2005 by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7. Among other things, it established January 27th as a day for nations to:

Reaffirm that the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice.

We pause today to remember and vow to continue working vigilantly on behalf of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide.

The first event will be on January 19, 2017 from 12-1 pm at Arnett Library, kicking off with a tribute to King with guest speaker Monroe County Legislator LaShay Harris, the 19th Ward Youth Choir, poetry by Eric Hines, and spoken word drama by the MIBG group coordinated by Robert Ricks. The program promises to be an inspiring event!

U of R Medical Center

On Monday, January 21 at 11:30am to 12:30pm the 38th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Poetry, Dance, and Song will be held at the U of R School of Medicine and Dentistry, Whipple Auditorium (2-6424), 415 Elmwood Ave, Rochester, NY 14642. The event is sponsored by 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and Medical Center administration.Jonathan Jamel Reynolds, pastor of Aenon Baptist Church, will present the keynote address.

19th Ward Community Association

For many years the 19th Ward has celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday in a public, community-building manner and will be doing so again this year. The 14th Annual Luminary Evening begins at 6:00 pm on Monday, January 21 when residents of the 19th Ward will begin setting out luminaries on the sidewalks in front of their homes to celebrate community, friendship and the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream.

The luminaries themselves are small paper bags weighted down with sand or kitty litter and containing a votive candle. Neighbors make a number of luminaries and set them at the sidewalk edge of their tree lawn from sunset until 9 pm, making a beautiful sight. We will have a limited supply of Luminary kits available for pick up January 19 at the MLK celebration at Arnett Library and from the 19th Ward Association office 216 Thurston 1-3 pm the prior week. Click here to see how to make your own Luminaries in a YouTube video by a 19th Ward resident, Moiet.

Some people host warming fires and a hot chocolate stands, called Hot Spots. Open your door in 2019 sign up as a Hot Spot; this is a social gathering serving a hot beverage and maybe cookies to your neighbors and sharing your thoughts on legacy of King. We are looking for more homes willing to be Hot Spots. This simply means that you provide hot chocolate and/or hot cider and/or a bonfire, anything warm, and of course a friendly smile on a cold winter night. Send questions or a commitment to info@luminaryevening.com.

Contact or info@luminaryevening.com. or MLK Committee Chair Zola Brown at 585-210-9370 if you have any questions,  Celebrating MLK Day serves as an opportunity to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to social activism and the legacy that has inspired us to continue his movement.

This year’s community Christmas tree in our Garden Park on Arnett Boulevard has been a great success! From its arrival from Naples and set up by an enthusiastic group of neighborhood volunteers and local Firemen on December 1, to its decorating from top to bottom the following Monday by classrooms of local elementary school students, its been lighting up the neighborhood with the Christmas spirit of unity and harmony.

Look for scenes from our community caroling around the tree event on December 11, in the slideshow posted below. We had a bright bonfire going to roast marshmallows on, warm refreshments to share, and a time of celebrating all that’s good in our neighborhood. Click here to read a full report.

Come on by and visit while it’s up!

And contact us to volunteer in community park events in the future.

A few weeks ago, I went into my son Chase’s class for tutoring. I’d e-mailed Chase’s teacher one evening and said, “Chase keeps telling me that this stuff you’re sending home is math—but I’m not sure I believe him. Help, please.” She e-mailed right back and said, “No problem! I can tutor Chase after school anytime.” And I said, “No, not him. Me. He gets it. Help me.”

And that’s how I ended up standing at a chalkboard in an empty fifth-grade classroom while Chase’s teacher sat behind me, using a soothing voice to try to help me understand the “new way we teach long division.” Luckily for me, I didn’t have to unlearn much because I’d never really understood the “old way we taught long division.” It took me a solid hour to complete one problem, but I could tell that Chase’s teacher liked me anyway. She used to work with NASA, so obviously we have a whole lot in common.

Afterward, we sat for a few minutes and talked about teaching children and what a sacred trust and responsibility it is. We agreed that subjects like math and reading are not the most important things that are learned in a classroom. We talked about shaping little hearts to become contributors to a larger community—and we discussed our mutual dream that those communities might be made up of individuals who are kind and brave above all.

And then she told me this…

Click here to read the whole story.

or “Days of Awe” and Rosh Hashanah have just concluded this past week with the solemn fast and deep contemplations of Yom Kippur, and we are about to embark this week (click here for a calendar and brief explanation of this fall’s events) on one of our faith’s most lasting celebrations, Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles.

Every biblical holiday given to the Jewish people has these three aspects: Israel was commanded to observe the holiday in the present in order to remember something God had done in the past, and because of some future prophetic purpose hidden within each festival.

Thus Jewish people begin Shabbat each week by lighting of two candles, which stand for “Keep” and “Remember”. In so doing, they remember how God rested on the seventh day of Creation while also looking forward to the Millennial rest promised for the whole earth.

Likewise, Passover and Pentecost look back on the great Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the law at Sinai, while Christians believe that their hidden prophetic purposes were fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus and the birth of the Church fifty days later.

The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is the third great annual pilgrimage festival when the Jewish people gather together in Jerusalem not only to remember God’s provision in the Wilderness but also to look ahead to that promised Messianic age when all nations will flow to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah 14:16-19

Click here for information about the ICEJ Feast of Tabernacles celebrations in Jerusalem.

By: Malcolm Hedding, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 27 Aug 2018

The yearly celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles [also known as Succot] is one of the three great annual and biblically-required festivals; the other two being Passover and Pentecost. These biblical Feasts have great significance in that they all speak of the glorious redemptive plan of God.

Passover teaches us about the Door to the Kingdom of God – the salvation from our sins by the spilled blood of a lamb. This serves as a glorious picture of the death of Christ. Pentecost reminds us of the Power of the Kingdom of God. That is, the giving of the Word of God and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon blood-washed believers on the Day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:1-4)

The Feast of Tabernacles is a picture of the Triumph of the Kingdom of God since it reminds us that all of life is to be lived under the protection and sovereignty of God. The Israelites coming out of Egypt were required to build leafy booths and to live in them for eight days. These were very fragile and could not protect one from the harsh desert conditions. The lesson was clear; God would protect and care for them. We have to learn this lesson so often since, as Jesus pointed out, we are consumed with anxiety and worry about so many of life’s issues. Our Father in Heaven cares for us and watches over us every day because we are part of His Kingdom! How easily we forget this. (Matthew 6:25-34)

Jesus underlined this when on the Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, as He watched the water libation service in the temple, He cried out that if we believe in and follow Him a river of God’s love, empowered by the Holy Spirit, will flow out of our lives bringing joy and blessing to our lives. This is the triumph of the Kingdom of God in our personal lives and we should be living in it! (John 7:37-39)

The Feast of Tabernacles also points us to the future when, by the second coming of Jesus, the world will finally be subjected to the Kingdom of God. That is, Jesus will reign over the nations from Jerusalem and peace will for the first time envelop the world. War will be a thing of the past and for a thousand years the nations will live in the very light of the glory of God. What a day that will be and to celebrate it the nations will ascend every year to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16-19)

We await then a glorious fulfillment of this great Feast and our annual celebration of it is a prophetic picture pointing to the coming Triumph of the Kingdom of God.

The Feast of Tabernacles is a joyful celebration and those living in the Kingdom of God are actually commanded to be joyful. All this remind us that serving Jesus bring much joy to our lives and this Joy is supernatural and powerful. Paul noted this when he wrote:

“For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

Those celebrating the Kingdom of God at the Feast of Tabernacles carry a Lulav, which amounts to four species of plants. These tell us that we are all at different spiritual growth levels in that some are weak, others are strong, some are complacent and yet others are discouraged. God loves us all and desires that we should all celebrate His love with much joy at the Feast of Tabernacles!

This year’s celebration is from September 23-30 and is celebrated by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem September 23-28.

Memorial Day honors the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Observed the last Monday of May, it is also known as Decoration Day. It originated in the years following the Civil War.

Below is a speech given by Mr. Frederick Douglass at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, on Decoration Day, May 30, 1871.

Friends and Fellow Citizens:

Tarry here for a moment. My words shall be few and simple. The solemn rites of this hour and place call for no lengthened speech. There is, in the very air of this resting-ground of the unknown dead a silent, subtle and all-pervading eloquence, far more touching, impressive, and thrilling than living lips have ever uttered. Into the measureless depths of every loyal soul it is now whispering lessons of all that is precious, priceless, holiest, and most enduring in human existence.

Dark and sad will be the hour to this nation when it forgets to pay grateful homage to its greatest benefactors. The offering we bring to-day is due alike to the patriot soldiers dead and their noble comrades who still live; for, whether living or dead, whether in time or eternity, the loyal soldiers who imperiled all for country and freedom are one and inseparable.

Those unknown heroes whose whitened bones have been piously gathered here, and whose green graves we now strew with sweet and beautiful flowers, choice emblems alike of pure hearts and brave spirits, reached, in their glorious career that last highest point of nobleness beyond which human power cannot go. They died for their country.

No loftier tribute can be paid to the most illustrious of all the benefactors of mankind than we pay to these unrecognized soldiers when we write above their graves this shining epitaph.

When the dark and vengeful spirit of slavery, always ambitious, preferring to rule in hell than to serve in heaven, fired the Southern heart and stirred all the malign elements of discord, when our great Republic, the hope of freedom and self-government throughout the world, had reached the point of supreme peril, when the Union of these states was torn and rent asunder at the center, and the armies of a gigantic rebellion came forth with broad blades and bloody hands to destroy the very foundations of American society, the unknown braves who flung themselves into the yawning chasm, where cannon roared and bullets whistled, fought and fell. They died for their country.

We are sometimes asked, in the name of patriotism, to forget the merits of this fearful struggle, and to remember with equal admiration those who struck at the nation’s life and those who struck to save it, those who fought for slavery and those who fought for liberty and justice.

I am no minister of malice. I would not strike the fallen. I would not repel the repentant; but may my “right hand forget her cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,” if I forget the difference between the parties to that terrible, protracted, and bloody conflict.

If we ought to forget a war which has filled our land with widows and orphans; which has made stumps of men of the very flower of our youth; which has sent them on the journey of life armless, legless, maimed and mutilated; which has piled up a debt heavier than a mountain of gold, swept uncounted thousands of men into bloody graves and planted agony at a million hearthstones — I say, if this war is to be forgotten, I ask, in the name of all things sacred, what shall men remember?

The essence and significance of our devotions here to-day are not to be found in the fact that the men whose remains fill these graves were brave in battle. If we met simply to show our sense of bravery, we should find enough on both sides to kindle admiration. In the raging storm of fire and blood, in the fierce torrent of shot and shell, of sword and bayonet, whether on foot or on horse, unflinching courage marked the rebel not less than the loyal soldier.

But we are not here to applaud manly courage, save as it has been displayed in a noble cause. We must never forget that victory to the rebellion meant death to the republic. We must never forget that the loyal soldiers who rest beneath this sod flung themselves between the nation and the nation’s destroyers. If today we have a country not boiling in an agony of blood, like France, if now we have a united country, no longer cursed by the hell-black system of human bondage, if the American name is no longer a by-word and a hissing to a mocking earth, if the star-spangled banner floats only over free American citizens in every quarter of the land, and our country has before it a long and glorious career of justice, liberty, and civilization, we are indebted to the unselfish devotion of the noble army who rest in these honored graves all around us.