FLC Weekly Enews | 2026.08.26

FLC Weekly Reflection & E-News | 2026.08.26

This Week’s Reflection
On Sun Aug 23, we held a School Backpack Blessing to kick-off the new school year.  Students of all ages were invited to put their backpacks by the altar at the beginning of the worship service.  Following the Prayer of the Day, all schoolteachers and school personnel (past and present) were asked to stand and be recognized.  Next, students came forward to share in the following prayer before they returned to their seats with their backpacks --

Gracious God, bless our students, teachers, and school staff
as they begin a new year.  Give students curiosity, patience, and a desire to learn.
Give teachers wisdom, joy, and strength. Help us all to grow in knowledge, kindness, and faith, and remind us that you are with us wherever we go.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.  Amen.
 In our Gospel (Matthew 14:13-21) for Sun Aug 23, we read what happened when Jesus heard about John the Baptizer’s death.  He wanted to be alone, to withdraw “to a deserted place” (v. 13). But both the crowds and the disciples followed him, and it seemed everyone wanted something from him. Jesus’ response was compassionate, and he met their needs, healing those who were sick. Then evening fell, and the disciples came to him with a request: “You’ve healed everyone. Now send them home. They can buy food in the villages for themselves.”
Jesus took the meager food he was given — five loaves and two fish -- and multiplied it so everyone had something to eat, and there were twelve baskets left over.  In a deserted, barren place, Jesus's miracle brought an abundance of food where there was none.  He showed compassion, mercy and love for those who were hungry, as he still does today.
Have you experienced a "wilderness, desert" time in your life?  I know I have.  And there are many times when God has entered into the midst of the barrenness by sending his abundant grace and compassion.  He has done this through the care and concern of others, filling even the darkest moments with his light and love.  Jesus fed over 5000 people with just five loaves and two fish at a time when the disciples believed that food was scarce. This is the true message of Matthew 14:13-21: Even in the bleakest of times God gives us what we need, we share what we have with others, and in the end, we are given more than we could ever imagine.
Pastor Heather Brown