God’s Work. Our Hands. This is the tagline of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
It is the denomination of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, where I serve as pastor.
God’s Work Our Hands is also a day of service that occurs in ELCA congregations on the Sunday after Labor Day. On September 8, Mt. Olive will put our hands to work at the Westside Food Bank, with whom we partner to stock our Little Pantry on the corner of Maple and 14th Streets. We are excited to give back to this organization that helps us feed our neighbors.
But, God’s Work Our Hands goes beyond just that tagline and day of intentional service. It is a way of life we live each day in the ministry of Mt. Olive and in our daily lives. It is God’s Work Our Hands as we teach kids how to write their names in our preschool, feed seniors at our monthly Senior Celebration lunches, and pass the peace in worship to people who think differently from us. It is God’s Work Our Hands that cooks food for our families and accomplishes our professional work. It is God’s Work Our Hands that plants a garden, waves at a friend, carefully guides a steering wheel, or marks a vote.
First Corinthians 12:27 reminds us: “You are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” Teresa of Avila says, “Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which He looks with compassion on this world.”
I know you may come from a different tradition than I do. You might not believe in the same God that I do, and that is ok. Whatever your tradition or beliefs or values, your hands are the ways that love, those values, and that higher power gets lived out in the world.
May your hands be blessed to share love, kindness, peace, joy, and hope.
By Pastor Christie Webb
Pastor, Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Santa Monica
“A church for the whole community” Mtolivelutheranchurch.org
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