Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I write with the same heaviness of heart that we all seem to feel as we see war played out in front of us. This is a difficult time for our world and for our nation. Pain, sorrow and fear are widely shared, yet at the same time opinions about the war often prove divisive. Even among us within the church, this experience threatens at times to divide brothers and sisters in Christ whose faith and good intentions are evident, though their opinions differ. We are diverse in our outlooks. We are united in our commitment to show Christ's love to our neighbors.

We remain one in the Spirit; and in times like this, one thing that unites us as Covenanters is our compassion for victims of oppression and war and our readiness to reach out to them in the name and love of Christ. In this particular situation, many Christians are eager to let this predominantly Muslim country experience the compassion of Christ, which we represent.

It has quickly become clear how great are the immediate humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people, and the world has begun responding to those needs. As servants of Christ, we in the Covenant Church are called and moved to do all we can. Covenant World Relief has been in contact with international partners and is prepared to direct funds immediately into relief efforts in Iraq.

I invite and encourage all Covenanters to respond as God leads you. Contributions may be sent to Covenant World Relief, 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625, with a notation on the check designating Iraqi Relief. If you would like to read more about how we are becoming involved through Covenant World Relief, you can turn to our website, www.covchurch.org, for more information.

Jesus used the story of the Good Samaritan to illustrate the central commandments to love God with heart, soul, strength and mind and to love our neighbors as ourselves. He calls all who follow him to step out of our daily paths to reach out to those who are in urgent need. May God bless you as you respond according to his provision and call to you.