Struggling with real faith in a less-than-perfect world

 The NY Times carried a story today of a United Methodist Church struggling with how to maintain its stand against the death penalty, while mourning the murder of three of its members — a mother and her two teenage daughters. 

Members expressed concern that their previously unquestioned opposition to the death penalty might be hurtful to the surviving husband and father of the murder victims.  This church is dealing with the reality of an abstract issue that tragically has become concretely personal.