On January 12, 2010, United Methodist pastor Jamalyn Peigh Williamson was walking up the side of a mountain in Fondwa, Haiti, where she had taken a mission team of Indiana Methodists. The ground began to violently shake, as the country was hit with an earthquake that measured 7.0 on the Richter Scale. Homes and infrastructure were destroyed in an instant. Chantal Fowler, a member of Jamalyn’s congregation in Indiana who travelled there with her, said, “I remember thinking I should have died. I just held on to the necklace my daughter gave me and prayed out loud, ‘Thank you, God!’”
Later in the evening, with continuing aftershocks, they agreed that it sounded like the mountains were falling. The team eventually made it back to the United States on US Air Force cargo planes. Jamalyn and her husband, David, have continued their work with the people of Haiti, and in 2018, established Zanmi Fondwa, an organization committed to building houses in that area. Their faith, their love for the people of Fondwa, and their experience with this earthquake have come together to form the foundation of this piece of their ministry.
Have you ever had a time when something you considered deeply reliable, personally or more globally, was shaken, leaving you shaken as well? An illness, a broken friendship or family relationship, a job loss or a faith crisis are just of few of the things that can leave us rattled. And there are times when an encounter with God, whatever that looks like for you, can move us to new places, because the old ways just don’t work anymore. These times of deconstruction put us on the search for more solid footing, and a move to new ground.
Jesus once told the disciples that someone who listens deeply to the Word, and acts on that Word, is like one who built a house on solid rock, enabling it to withstand natural disaster. Any of Jesus’ prophetic words can be unsettling, leading us to what theologian Paul Tillich called “The Shaking of the Foundations”. But in the irony of faith, this shaking can take us to the place where we find the trustworthy, reliable Word is a platform for this dynamic faith we are called to embrace.
We’ll talk about this on Sunday, as the sermon is titled, “The Invisible, Loving Foundation of Life and Faith,” arising from Luke 6: 39-49. Laura Baich will read the Biblical text. The Sanctuary Singers, accompanied by Matthew Wachtman, will present an arrangement of “It is Well With My Soul.” We will have a moment for children, prayers and hymns.
If you have been part of the St. Mark’s community for decades, or will be joining us for the first time, we look forward to connecting with those of you here in-person or joining on the live stream. Visit www.smumc.church at 10:30 AM and click on the Live Stream banner.