Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer was facing some adversity as he was starting his new life at the North Pole. He was a bit different than “all of the other reindeer”, in that he had a blinking red nose. He quickly became the point of many jokes and nasty name-calling. Furthermore, he was ostracized from the rest of the community – he wasn’t included in the usual reindeer games. You know how the story goes . . .

How do you deal with conflict and adversity? The world can be tough, and society has developed some unhealthy ways of dealing with conflict. Are you familiar with the term “Karen?” (no offense to any real Karen’s reading this.) That term is in reference to a person that is triggered easily and responds to conflict in a disproportionate manner. The other option is to retreat from conflict and be content with relationships that are superficial at best. No one desires to fall into either one of those places but so many people do. Jesus offers an alternative – be a peacemaker.  Join us this Sunday as we consider Peacemaking in An Age of Outrage.