A New Beginning: Freedom, Vows, and Walking in the Light
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost | June 21, 2026 Opening Thought Thursday in Chicago, the Obama Presidential Center held its grand opening ceremony, purposefully aligned with Friday's national celebration of Juneteenth. During the dedication, Michelle Obama issued a striking challenge that gets to the heart of what divides us today: she told the crowd to "put down your phones." She called us to challenge ourselves to engage deeply with our neighbors, our friends, and even strangers, so that we might foster genuine hope, empathy, and community connection. Her words offer a compelling vision of unity, perfectly echoing the very charge Jesus gave His followers—to be fully present, to love actively, and to remember that we are all, ultimately, children of God. Friday, we commemorated Juneteenth, remembering that day in 1865 when Union soldiers finally arrived in Galveston, Texas, bringing the long-delayed news of emancipation to the last enslaved African Americans. It is a d...