Beloved, Today, I am sending you this message from Durham, NC where I am in an intensive week for my Doctor of Ministry program at Duke Divinity School. And, it is intense. Six hours a day of lectures, presentations, and breakout sessions is no joke. I am away from my family and I am away from my normal rhythms and routines of life. I ask for your prayers. When I made the decision to come to Duke, I had one thing in mind, "How is this going to help my ministry, my serv

Beloved, As we are having to continue to grapple with the consequences of this pandemic, Covid-19, I hope and pray that you are not struggling too mightily to stay encouraged in your faith. As we preached about the last two Sundays, when we are struggling, we need to have a valuable conversation with God in the name of Jesus Christ as guided by the Holy Spirit. This valuable conversation is between us and God; but, we need something else. We need each other. My life is

Beloved, I am still full and thankful for being back with you on Sunday morning. How Zion Memorial gladdens my heart every time we come together. There are many church families in the world but there is none not like Zion Memorial. One of the things that I have missed during this period of Covid is our ability to come together and freely fellowship. Typically, some of our most wonderful times of gathering have been around good meals. Sometimes people have prepared meals.

Beloved, I missed being with you on Sunday and I did participate in worship with you virtually. I am thankful for the leadership in presiding provided by Deacon James Grace, Jr. and the word of God preached by Reverend Rhon Hammond. God is always providing what we need in the various times and seasons of life that we go through. And, in that provision of God, I think that two words come to mind that we all desire, grace and peace. We know grace as being the unmerited favor