gpbc@ginterparkbc.org • 804-359-2475 • 6100 Chamberlayne Rd Richmond VA

 Third Sunday after Pentecost
10:30 AM • ZOOM Meeting

Study Leader: Mark Biddle
Scripture: Matthew 10:24-39
Theme: “Measuring Worth”
https://zoom.us/j/834854376

If you’d rather join by phone, call: (301) 715-8592
Meeting ID: 834 854 376

In this time of social distancing, we stay connected to one another by gathering virtually in worship  to join our voices together in prayer, to fellowship and share with one another, and to explore scripture in an interactive format.  Contact Sheryl or the church office if you need help getting ZOOM onto your device.

Artwork: Statue of Phillis Wheatley, The Boston Women’s Memorial (2003) by Meredith Bergmann,1955- .

“Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant; save the child of your serving girl.” — Psalm 86:16

In the lectionary texts for today, both from Genesis and from Psalms, the need for God’s intervention is powerful in the lives of servants/slaves. This sculpture of the country’s first African-American poet reminds us that Hagar’s journey is one that has been repeated through millenia.

Phillis Wheatley was born in Gambia in 1753. She came to the United States as a slave and was purchased by a Boston family who generously educated her. She became an accomplished writer and published a book of poetry, the success of which won her acclaim and soon after, her freedom. She married and had three children, none of whom survived infancy.

“Against thy Zion though her foes may rage,
And all their cunning, all their strength engage,
Yet she serenely on thy bosom lies,
Smiles at their arts, and all their force defies.”
— from the poem, Isaiah LXIII

Digital Image from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved June 2, 2020]
.