A long time a go I came to understand the difference between sympathy and empathy: while sympathy has a more romantic tinge to it, empathy has a sense of standing in solidarity with each other.
What I experience at First Presby. Church is empathy.
And it is at funerals and amid the news of sudden death we are often our best.
We empathize with each other, stand or sit in solidarity with each other.
And that is a gift of grace, to be with each other in joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health (to use a line from a wedding).
Thank you, First Presbyterian Church for this gift.
Peace, Pastor Brett
p.s., I will be off on vacation for a week. Thank you!
