One of the shortest verses in the Bible is “Jesus wept.” Tears are part of our experience as human beings and if we bring all of ourselves to worship, then there will be times when we bring our tears.
Last night was our annual Romero service. With the Salvadoran community in Ottawa, Emmanuel United remembered and gave thanks for the life of Oscar Romero.
In the middle of the service, one of the worship leaders turned to me and said, “Sorry I could not speak there for a moment. I was thinking about my sister.”
Romero was not the only martyr to die in the war in El Salvador. Other innocent people were murdered because of their faith in God and God’s dream of peace and justice. Those are good reasons to bring our tears to our worship.
This morning there were more tears as we dedicated a plaque to recognize the McLeish family’s gift of a grand piano to our congregation. We have enjoyed this instrument for some years now but with the passing of Margaret McLeish in January, this gave us an opportunity to say thank you again. Remembering the ones who offered this generous gift, brought a number of us to tears.
Jesus wept at the loss of a friend and so do we. Which shows that we care.
Peter
About Me
- Reverend Peter Lougheed
- Peter Lougheed is married to Jan, a Diaconal Minister, serving at Woodroffe United Church in Ottawa. They have three children, Tonja, Dan and Deb and a granddaughter Mackenzie. Growing up in a traveling family has led Peter to sojourns in Saskatchewan, India, Kirkland Lake, Shawinigan and Oshawa. Peter obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Victoria College and a Master of Divinity degree from Emmanuel College in Toronto in 1979. The Lougheeds served congregations in Gaspe, East Labrador; Kanata and Eganville, Ontario. Currently Peter sits on the Ottawa Presbytery Stewardship Committee.
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