Weekly Greeting - July 17, 2026
Have you ever seen Man of La Mancha?
It’s a musical with quite a history, based on Miguel de Cervantes’ novel titled Don Quixote. I’ve never seen the musical, but I did watch the movie version from 1972 starring Sophia Loren and Peter O’Toole in preparation for this Sunday’s worship service.
I must confess that I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but found myself both touched and amused by the eccentric Alonso Quijano who refuses to see things as they are in favor of seeing things as they should be.
In our July 26th worship service we’ll talk about holy imagination, but this week we’ll be talking about holy courage — the courage to pursue God’s dream for the world despite the hardships and the obstacles and the people who want to keep the world just as it is right now. Don Quixote not only sees the world as it should be, but he puts himself on the line to make it as it should be.
His story reminded me a lot of Nehemiah, an exile living in the Persian empire who heard God’s call to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls. Nehemiah’s journey wasn’t easy. He faced hardships and setbacks, and people who wanted him to fail. But he, too, persevered.
I hope that you will take some time before Sunday morning to read the book of Nehemiah. If you can’t read the whole thing, try the first two chapters while you’re taking a load off after Fish Fry.
I can’t wait to be with you this weekend!
Mary Beth
