… as my grandmother used to say there is always a BUT …
Those words serve as a pivotal moment in a powerful sermon of hope preached by the Rev. Laetitia Wells at Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church in New York on Sunday. Using Jesus’ familiar story of the prodigal son as her text, the Rev. Wells explored the role of hope in our lives.
Supply pastor of St. Paul Presbyterian Church in High Point, NC and works as a mental health counselor at the Hughes Center for Exceptional Children, the Rev. Wells is in New York as part of the Presbyterian delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women.
Participants in the Commission have faced a number of issues of violence against women and girls: horrific issues such as human trafficking, FGM – female genital mutilation and femicide. The Commission also looks at structural, economic violence that affects women. The Commission is working to make recommendations for ways that governments, intergovernmental agencies, and others can work to end the violence.
Acknowledging the horror, the Rev. Wells also proclaims the Good News and hope that is ours in Christ.
My prayer is that God will turn tragedy into triumph when stomachs are empty.
My prayer is that God will turn tragedy into triumph when people are being subjected to abuse and misuse.
My prayer is that God will turn our prodigal mistakes into miraculous miracles.
May it be so.
The photo shows the Rev. Laetitia Wells singing at the Ecumenical Women Orientation. Andrew Nam Chul Osborne is the photographer.