08 Nov The World Needs More Compassion

Dear Westwood Community,

The world needs more compassion!

That’s part of what God’s “abundant life” looks like – not hostility, indifference, or patronizing pity, but genuine compassion, the kind of mutual care evoked by Jesus’ call to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Compassion means seeing things from someone else’s point of view, experiencing their struggles. The word’s roots literally mean “suffering with” (com, “with,” and passio, “suffering”) – and then taking actions that benefit each other and the community as a whole.

At Westwood UMC, this kind of compassion is at the heart of everything we seek to do. When our children’s ministry gathers toys to give to refugee children arriving in Southern California – that’s compassion in action. When young people in the Grapple Group go on a Sierra Service Project – that’s compassion in action. When our contributions to disaster relief help create hope for our neighbors on Maui – that’s compassion in action.

And when we gather, get to know each other, and take care of each other when we need it most – that’s compassion in action, too. The simple, beautiful work of empathy, reaching halfway around the world or halfway down the block.

Now more than ever, in an age awash in suspicion, supposed scarcity, and disconnection, the world needs more places like Westwood United Methodist Church, communities dedicated to bringing more compassion into the world, more beauty, more abundant life.

I encourage you to reflect on the ways that you have experienced and offered compassion, and where you find encouragement to continue this joyous practice. Join us to celebrate the compassion Westwood UMC has for the world – and most of all, the compassion God has for us all!

grace and peace,
Pastor Molly