This phenomenal servant of God, I believe a tremendous leader. Please stand on your feet and go crazy with me as we welcome the sitting vice president of the United States of America. Help me celebrate Kamala Harris.
Good afternoon church! Good afternoon! Oh please have a seat, please have a seat. Bishop O'Neill, I thank you so very much.
We've had some time to visit before we came out into the sanctuary and I just thank you for the leadership that you have provided for so long. You know, in times of crisis, and we're looking at the images of the aftermath of the hurricane, but it is easy in these moments of crisis to question our faith. to sometimes lose our faith for a moment.
Because what we see is so hard to see that we lose faith or a vision of those things we cannot see but must know. And you are such a leader in all of those ways. And I thank you. I'm honored to be with you.
I'm honored to be with you. I'm honored to be with you. Thank you. And KCC family, thank you for welcoming me today.
Thank you. And thank you for the opportunity to allow me to worship with you. It does my heart and soul good. So scripture teaches us, let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
So I first encountered the words of Galatians as a young girl at 23rd Avenue Church of God in Oakland, California, which is where I sang in the children's choir, and first learned the teachings of the Bible. My earliest memories of those teachings are about a loving God, a God who asks us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. to defend the rights of the poor and the needy. And so at an early age, I learned that faith is a verb.
It is something we show in action. and in service. And we show it by heeding the words of my pastor, who Bishop spoke with yesterday, Reverend Dr. Amos C. Brown, who often invokes the words that we all know.
One must do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. That truth is important at all times, and especially in moments of difficulty and disaster. It's...
especially in moments like this. As we navigate storms that have inflicted so much harm across our country, and to all those who have loved ones who have been affected by Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene, Doug and I, my husband, are holding all of you close in our hearts and in our prayers. And we are thinking of everyone who has been affected by these storms.
Now, I know Helene's impact was further west, but I also know that the people of Greenville, like all... All Americans have been inspired by the way communities are coming together, Bishop, in the wake of these storms. Amid ruined homes, downed power lines, swollen rivers that have been choked with debris, we have seen children rescued by neighbors in a kayak. We have seen those who have lost everything gathering donations for others. You know, it's been my experience to see that in a moment of crisis.
crisis, isn't it something when you know that often it is the people who have the least give the most? Right? Thank Moments of crisis, I believe, do have a way of revealing the heroes among us, the angels among us, and of showing us all the best of who we are. And these hurricanes have revealed heroes around all of us. Heroes who do not ask the injured or stranded whether they are a Republican or a Democrat.
But you simply ask, are you okay? Who asks, what can I do to help? Heroes, who as I like to say, See in the face of a stranger a neighbor Yet church there are some who are not acting in the spirit of community and I am speaking of those who have been literally not telling the truth lying About people who are working hard to help spreading disinformation, when the truth and facts are required.
And the problem with this beyond the obvious is it's making it harder then to get people life-saving information. If they're led to believe that they're not the truth, then they're not the truth. they cannot trust. And that's the pain of it all, which is the idea that those who are in need have somehow been convinced that the forces are working against them in a way that they would not seek aid. And let's let that sink in for a moment.
Right now, fellow Americans are experiencing some of the most difficult moments in their lives. Yet instead of offering hope, there are those who are channeling people's tragedies and sorrows into grievance. and hatred.
And one may ask why, and I think sadly, frankly, the motives are quite transparent. To gain some advantage for themselves. To play politics with other people's heartbreak, and it is unconscionable. Now is not a time to incite fear. It is not right to make people feel alone.
That is not what, and this is a church full of people, but it is not a time of leaders, that is not what leaders as we know do in crisis. Now is the time to bring folks together, to come together, to be there for one another and follow the example of all of the heroes all around us. And now is the time to live up to the fundamental values that reflect our nation at its best. The values of compassion and community and honesty and and decency, the values that define the people of Greenville, the people of North Carolina, and the people like a fellow who I met recently. His name is Eddie Hunnell, and I'm going to tell you a quick story about Eddie Hunnell.
So I met him in Charlotte the other week. He was visiting Grassy Creek for his son's wedding when he saw a woman in the raging floodwaters. First, he tried to rescue her by canoe.
didn't work. This man, perfect stranger, he's watching. He jumped in the river and pulled her ashore.
And when I talked with Eddie about his act of courage, here's what he said to me. He said, well, I didn't feel I had a choice. But of course he had a choice.
Of course he had a choice. But his choice was to take a risk for the sake of another. Didn't even reflect on the risk he might have been taking.
Right? His choice was to follow his conscience. His choice was, in the words of Isaiah, to be a refuge for the needy in their distress. He chose to remember that we are all in this together.
And if that is true during a terrible storm, it is also true when the storm passes. It is true in our everyday lives, when Paul wrote his letter to the church in Galatia, he knew folks might feel the weight of the burden of doing good, that they may feel a temptation to turn away from others in their time of need, to believe. What does it matter?
But Paul reminded them and us that God calls us not to become weary of doing good. Because we each have the power, God tells us this, the power, each one of us, to make a difference. And that tells us that the measure of our strength will be clear when we see what we can do to lift other people up. Just as Eddie did, and as the heroes and the angels in this church and all over.
are doing after these storms across North Carolina, Florida, and impacted communities. We are witnessing faith in action. So I close with this.
Let us continue to look in the face of a stranger and see a neighbor. Let us recognize that when we shine the light in moments of darkness, it will guide our feet onto the path of peace. And let us always remember that while weeping may endure for a night, Joy cometh in the morning. Thank you, may God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
Thank you, church. Can we give it up one more time for Vice President? My God, I don't know if she win they might have to bring a Hammond B3 on her acceptance speech. My God, you may be seated in the presence of the Lord.
Listen, it is time for us to worship the Lord in our giving. Amen. Listen, if you need an offering envelope, if you would raise your hand.
Our ushers are trying to make their way to you. They're trying to locate you. And they're going to bring an offering envelope to you. To all of our envelope givers, cash givers, check givers. There'll be a blue bucket.
pass down your role in just a moment. We ask you to please deposit your givings into that blue bucket. The other way in which we give is electronically.
That information is there on the screen. There's three ways that you can do that. The first way you can give electronically is through the website at kccfamily.com.
The next way in which you can give electronically is you can text to give. Text the word e-giving, e-giving, all one word to the number 54244. And the third way in which we give, this This is a shameless plug for the app because not only can you give on the app, but you can also download every message that is preached from this platform. And right now we're in the middle of the Beatitude series. And so I want to encourage you, download the app and catch up in Jesus name.
Amen. But we know that the first way in which we give, the way in which we give is our tithe. That's the first tenth of our income and increase that belongs to God. And we return it to God through the local church. The second way in which we give is our offering.
That is where we go above our... our tithe to communicate our hearts to God to let them know how much we appreciate it. And the third way in which we give, we sow into the life of our pastor.
And there may be some of you who are watching right now who say, hey, I want to get in on what Koinonia is doing on the hurricane relief. You can go to kccfamily.com and click on donate to hurricane relief, hurricane Helene relief, and you can partner with us as we go to make a difference in Western North Carolina. E-Church, we thank God for this opportunity.
You can worship with us. in giving, the information is right there on the screen. In all the different ways in which we're giving here, you can give right where you are. Listen, I want to whisper a prayer before we give. And after I pray, the blue buckets will be passed down your road.
Amen? Will you join me in a word of prayer? Our Father and our God, we thank you for this opportunity that you have given us to give.
Lord, we don't do it grudgingly nor out of necessity. For your word said that you love a cheerful giver. So with that, With an attitude of gratitude and with the heart of thanksgiving, we return our tithe. We give our offering. We sow into the life of our pastor.
And Lord, we thank you for the expectation of the seed that leaves our hand. It never leaves our life, but it enters into our future and it prepares for our arrival. We ask you now to receive this as an act of worship from our heart to yours.
In Jesus'name, amen. You may give. What a friend in Jesus