Rev. Zach

So, did anyone out there see Kanye West rip on the President on live TV? What do you think? Is it a racial issue that help has been slow? Was Kanye anywhere near reality? Before you answer, be sure to look at this link too: http://www.wonkette.com/politics/ap/index.php

Clint Mitchel, mentioned in the previous article, is an Associate Pastor in Baton Rouge. They have set up a shelter for expectant and new mothers and are involved in providing assistance reuniting displaced families. I'll post an email here from a list serve that several of my friends from seminary are on. I'll post a few more as comments. Feel free to add your own comments about how your congregation or group is responding. Presently the congregation I serve is taking up a special offering. Some members are also taking in students who have been relocated to VA. Here's what Clint needs/is doing: Martha, Our church has set up a shelter for expectant and new mothers and infants. We are working with people from all over on supplies. Right now, monetary donations are most helpful, partially because the needs are changing from day to day. Our church has set up a fund for Hurricane Relief efforts. To send a donation, please make a check out to University Presbyterian Ch...

OK, given the title of this blog and earlier posts there is no way not to be talking about Katrina, the worst natural disaster in my life time in the U.S. Posted below are the efforts of a good friend of mine, Clint Mitchel, as well as many others. 05458 Sept. 2, 2005 Expecting the worst Hurricane-relief workers struggle to meet special needs of pregnant women by Alexa Smith LOUISVILLE — In a Sunday school room down the hall from the sanctuary at University Presbyterian Church in Baton Rogue, LA, a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy is resting on an air mattress. She showed up last night wearing bedroom slippers and a shift, carrying a small shopping bag filled with everything she has left from her flooded New Orleans home. When the city was evacuated, she got separated from the rest of her family and she isn’t sure how to find them. Her baby is due any day. In the room next door are two teenagers, a grandmother and a mother with a newborn, all sprawled on air mat...

So far I know at least two people have viewed this blog. I was thinking about a comment one of you made and wondering if the name of this blog should be changed. In the title "When have I seen you?" I was considering that to be the question God might ask of me (and of everyone) in light of Matthew 25:30-42. My concern is that others may think I am talking about myself as the person asking the question of others. So, what's your reaction to the title? Please comment. Maybe a better title is "When did we see you?" meaning, when did we see God in the face of the untouchables or the unloved. And how have we been recipients of grace while seeking to respond to the "others" in our world? I guess I could also add a "preamble" like the one found on the recovering Christians blog, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. If there are any random souls who see this, I'd love some input. Grace and Peace, Zach

This was imported along with posts from a previous blog titled "When Did I See You?" The title expresses a fundamental view of mine. The proclamation that we serve God through serving others trumps doctrine and dogma. It reminds me that I don't serve others because it wins me points, but rather because they in their weakness and poverty have more blessing to offer me than I in my abundance have for them. So, social justice trumps political correctness and affiliation. Common bonds of human experience trump allegiances of all other kind. And in this space I hope to build some conversation about how these ideas translate into a "new" way of being in the world that has actually been around for about two thousand years or more. Obviously by the slant of the above argument I am of the class of the "haves" rather than one of the "have nots." Even though I'm not wealthy by US standards, I am filthy rich by global standards. There are cer...

This is my daughter, Zoe. Aint she cool?

“The Feet of a Disciple” The Rev. Zachary S. Sasser Chester Presbyterian Church March 24, 2005 Maundy Thursday Text: John 13:1-20; 34-35 Theological Thrust: Jesus blesses even those feet that will betray. We must do likewise if we are to share in Christ’s reign. As a new parent there are new revelations every day. One of the unexpected places they have come from is Zoe’s feet. I remember one day when Treva called me at work excitedly telling me that Zoe had found her feet. I didn’t quite know what that meant but that evening I discovered that she had learned to grab on to her toes and feet and was enjoying the new reality of a thing she had not been able to access previously. And so the joys continued with the first wobbly steps and now she is already running. Of course this translates directly into getting into things. Sometimes this is good and offers the opportunity to explore the unknown wonders of the bookshelf and the kitty cat. Sometimes it is downright dangerous, given...