Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Today is the Feast Day of St. Patrick in those traditions that keep such feasts.  For the rest of us, it is a day to either honor our Irish heritage or pretend to have one as we watch a parade and eat corned beef.  

The real St. Patrick (387-461) was taken by Irish pirates from his home in Roman Britain to Ireland as a slave to tend sheep.  At the time, the Irish were largely druids.  Patrick escaped captivity after 20 years and returned to Britain.  He received a vision from God, studied to be a priest, and went back to Ireland in 433 to bring the Gospel to the island.  There, he set about sharing the love of God with the people of Ireland, even using three leaf clovers to explain the trinity.

Imagine returning to where you’d been enslaved because you wanted to tell those folks how much God loved them.  So, while you’re enjoying the luck O’the Irish today, remember those who have gone before us to hard places to share that love in any way they could.  

If you don't already have a church home, consider this my invitation to join Brightwood Christian Church on the journey to becoming the beloved community of God.  We worship on Sundays at 11.