Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

Watching the scenes of fire and devastation in Los Angeles has been heartbreaking. The apocalyptic images and stories of loss are reminders of the harshness that life throws at us.

This week, I had a visit with the Chief of the Tucson Police Department, Chief Kasmar. The visit was to discuss immigration issues and what the police department’s role in potential enforcement of new immigration laws and regulations might be.

I was heartened to hear a nuanced, thoughtful take on the role of police in community—and to hear that undocumented folks are thought of as being part of our community, too, by the police department. He said there was little desire to start pulling apart our communities even as he also acknowledged that there are real challenges at the border, especially with regard to illegal drug seizures.

All that is to say that as I watched natural disaster destroy one community I could not help but think of all the human-made ways we destroy our own communities sometimes. Whether it’s out of fear, disregard, or outright loathing, too often we let the extremes of our common life set fire to the carefully built lives and carefully tended loves that form community.

In all of this though—whether the disasters facing our communities are man-made or natural—the Church’s role remains the same: to protect those we can, to serve those in need, and to work to prevent harm in the future.

The Church is not a passive bystander to the suffering of the world. We are in the world but not of it. We can afford avoiding the too easy binaries that make us enemies so that we can seek and serve Christ.

Our interest is in loving God and loving our neighbor. We do both through acts of service and loving care. Whenever disaster threatens our neighbors we are called to act. The Church stands alongside victims of disasters of all kinds. We stand ready to proclaim the love of Christ even—especially—when hope seems lost.

Whatever the nature of the challenge, the Church’s mission remains the same: to tend the sick, clothe those in need, feed the hungry, bind up the broken-hearted, comfort the lonely, and to be the hands of Christ holding close those who fear they are forgotten.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert