Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my poweris made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10
Guest preacher the Reverend Dr. Jessica McArdle explored how weakness can become a source of power in her meditation on Sunday, July 7, 2024. She spoke about the need to make amends and invited congregants to consider the first two verses of Katharine Lee Bates’s poem, “America the Beautiful,” particularly the following line:
America! America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law.
Deacon Ted Palés assisted with the service, and Marian Reynolds joined him to serve communion.
After worship, Ms. Reynolds led a session of laughter yoga in the Great Hall.