Letter from Amy: January 28, 2026
- Amy Rowe
- Jan 28
- 5 min read
Dear friends,
The season of Epiphany reminds us again and again that God’s light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it. But the light of God’s inbreaking revelation often seems minuscule — stars, prophecies, babies, candles — compared to the surrounding gloom. Rather than eliminating the darkness, God’s light pierces it and guides our steps through it.
I have heard from so many of you over the past few days about the overwhelming darkness of our present moment. We are all trying to make sense of the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renée Good; the escalating chaos on the streets of Minneapolis; the dehumanizing rhetoric and competing narratives from across the political spectrum.
How do we live as people of light in a time of such darkness?
It is normal to experience outrage, despair, judgment, fear, and apathy in response to such events. I’ve felt them all at some point. Perhaps you have too. But these normal human responses become dangerous to our souls when we feed and nurture them, rather than resisting them.
I believe, with Saint Paul, that “our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). In that struggle, the powers of this present darkness want to keep us in a state of fear, hatred, and despair. We resist them by participating (with our attention, thoughts, words, prayers, and actions) in the authority and power of the kingdom of light.
There are a thousand faithful ways to do this. You’re already doing so many of them, and I first simply want to remind you that it matters. All of your small, unseen, daily acts of faithfulness and love really do matter in the cosmic scheme of things.
But below are a few practices and habits of thought that have been particularly helpful to me lately. I offer them here in hopes that perhaps they will be helpful to you, too:
1. Pray the psalms. The psalms honestly name the darker tendencies of our human nature and the challenge of living faithfully in the light. Many were composed in times of unrest, crisis, and disorientation. Praying the psalms comforts us in our deep distress and reminds us of what is unchangingly true. For example, on Sunday we will pray these timely words from Psalm 37:
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
2. Rejoice. Two weeks ago, our staff spent a day together in prayer and conversation about our church’s priorities in 2026. Our scripture was Philippians 3:20-4:9, in which Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all.” (Joyful gentleness!) To rejoice is more than simply trying to feel happy; it is an intentional act to recognize, cultivate, and participate in the joyful reality of God’s presence. In fact, the French priest and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote that "joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.”
I find myself thinking about his words a lot. I thought of them again during Sunday’s zoom church, when, after praying through our collective anguish, we shared our collective joys — newborn babies, beloved poems, hand-drawn birthday cards, engagements, handknits, favorite mugs, and more. Indeed, our time together felt marked by the infallible sign of the presence of God. May it always be so.
We live in a world of such abundant, gracious, beautiful God-given gifts, and we get to share them with one another. Under such circumstances, “rejoice always” is both a faithful response to God’s goodness and an active resistance to the spiritual forces of evil. How might you choose to rejoice today?
3. Remember your own humanity. We are human beings — made in God’s image, eternally loved, innately limited. We were not made to partake of the knowledge of good and evil; only God is capable of bearing such knowledge. Practically speaking, this means we were not made to repeatedly watch frame-by-frame videos of a person being killed; we were not made to sift through all the competing narratives, distractions, and obfuscations. There is a line between earnestly seeking the truth, and grasping at knowledge that can never fully be ours; the algorithms are designed to blur that line and keep us in a state of grasping obsession. But we humans were created for trust in God, not absolute knowledge. Often the first step to reclaiming our humanity is simply to turn away from screens and toward God in prayer. Lord, help us!
4. Remember others’ humanity too. On the flip side, everyone else is also a human being — made in God’s image, eternally loved, innately limited. No human is beyond the reach of God’s mercy. And those who perpetrate evil are especially in need of mercy, because the act of perpetrating evil does great harm to one’s soul (just as Gollum is harmed by the ring, and Voldemort by his horcruxes). We resist the principalities and powers when we refuse to see, treat, or speak about others as anything less than beloved image-bearers of God.
Jesus taught us clearly how to treat our fellow humans: love our neighbors, love our enemies, pray for those who revile us, forgive 70x7 times, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner, welcome the stranger, and so on. We’ll read some of his challenging instructions in this Sunday’s gospel reading.
5. Help the helpers. Mister Rogers taught us that when the news is scary, “look for the helpers.” This is sound advice (if somewhat clichéd), a practical way of resisting apathy while recognizing the small signs of the kingdom in our midst. There are countless Christians in Minneapolis who are quietly supporting their immigrant neighbors, many of whom came to the U.S. through legal asylum or refugee processes. I was inspired to read about their efforts here (written by a fellow Anglican priest) and in this Christianity Today article.
I reached out to one such Christian, a trusted friend in a Minneapolis church whose work is recognized (though not named, for the protection of all involved) in the articles above. I asked for practical suggestions to help the helpers in Minneapolis, and she offered these:
Rent assistance. This fund is providing rental support to immigrant households whose breadwinners are afraid they will be detained if they go to work. The funds are being collected via GoFundMe (again, for reasons of discretion and protection) but are being managed and distributed by a trusted local church. This is the most urgent need, as rent is due on February 1!
Grocery assistance. SourceMN is working with local churches and volunteers to provide grocery assistance to immigrant families, including children whose parents have been detained. Their work is mentioned in the Christianity Today article linked above.
And finally, I’m here to listen, talk, and pray! Please reach out. We will get through these times together with God's help. May we seek his light and embody a joyful gentleness in our life together as we do.
Much love,
Amy
p.s. I also very much appreciated Bishop Chris’ thoughtful letter on this matter.