It looks like we’ll have a nice day for our annual Cathedral Cup Croquet tournament tomorrow starting at noon on the North lawn. This year’s theme is “A Wicket Wonderland” and will be great fun as we come together for some friendly competition and fellowship. If you didn’t sign up to play yet, there are still a couple of spaces left in the bracket. Or feel free to come and enjoy the day as a spectator. All are welcome to cheer the teams on and join in the fun. We’ll see if last year’s champions can hold on to the Cathedral Cup, or if another team will take the crown.

On a different note, yesterday marked the 24th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. A day that all of us who were alive when it happened will likely never forget. From New York City to Washington, DC, to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in acts of terrorism against the United States. Thousands more were wounded. The nation seemed to come together after those events as differences were put aside and Americans helped other Americans to cope with what had happened. Today, we’re witnessing a nation deeply divided and polarized, mostly across the political divide. The tragic events of two days ago with the killing of Charlie Kirk at a political event in Utah and the death of the perpetrator of a school shooting in Colorado show that we are, once again, having to deal with senseless acts of gun violence. I echo what many are saying, that we should not stand for violence of any kind, be it political or otherwise, and especially violence in which there is loss of life. These recent events join a long list of violent acts resulting in death over the last several months such as on a train in North Carolina, a home in Minnesota, or even here on the streets of Kansas City. We do not have to be so divided. We need to remember that we are all children of God. As Christians we are called to love one another, even when we disagree, and work for the good of all people no matter who they are or what they believe. These acts of violence must stop.

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 823)

Please continue to pray for one another, for our Cathedral family, our nation, and the world.