Closer To Heaven
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by Melody Tan | 25 November 2025 | A few weeks ago, a friend told me they had decided to stop attending church. It wasn’t that they no longer believed in God—in fact, they still very much identified as Seventh-day Adventist. The problem was the church they had been attending for the past few years […] Source: https://atoday.org/loving-the-backslider/
The Spirit’s baptism is not just an event—it is a transformation. Together we pray and reflect on receiving His power, walking in His guidance, and bearing witness to Christ.
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses." — Acts 1:8 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8bGAgNMJA4
LESSONS OF FAITH FROM JOSHUA
Lesson 9 : Heirs of the Promise, Prisoners of Hope
9.4 The Jubilee
Justice, Grace, and New Beginnings in God’s Rhythm
IntroductionThere are laws that sound like dry pages—and then there are commandments that reveal the very heart of God.
The Year of Jubilee, the Sabbatical Year, the return of the land—all of these were not mechanical systems, but God’s love letter to a people He never wanted to fall into permanent poverty or injustice.
In ancient Israel, every person was meant to have a real chance for a new beginning. No one was to remain forever trapped in debt, fate, or social inequality.
This divine vision is revolutionary even today.
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Bible StudyLeviticus 25 is one of the most radical social chapters in the entire Bible.
Israel is about to enter the Promised Land. Here God defines what a just society should look like, shaped by His character.
God deliberately prevents an economic system in which:
Wealth accumulates among a few,
Poverty becomes hereditary,
People are permanently enslaved by debt,
Land is lost forever.
The land in the Old Testament is never just a number or a piece of property.
It is:
a sign of the covenant,
the foundation of life,
a place of identity,
and a symbol of freedom.
Therefore Israel must not treat it like Egypt—a system of oppression.
What does the text say?
For six years Israel may sow, harvest, and work the land.
In the seventh year, the land must rest.
Neither fields nor vineyards may be cultivated.
Whatever grows by itself is not for profit but for all: the poor, foreigners, and animals.
What does it mean?
The land does not belong to Israel
“For the land is mine” (Lev 25:23).
God remains the true owner; Israel is only a steward.
Built-in limits against exploitation
God sets natural boundaries against greed.
The Creator’s rhythm applies to humans and to the earth
Just as humans need Sabbath, the land needs it too.
God links ecology and spirituality.
Social justice is a duty, not an option
In this year, the rich live from the same field as the poor.
All are equal.
The 50th year is the holiest social event in the Bible.
What happens?
1. Debts are cancelled
People can breathe again and begin anew.
2. Everyone returns to their original family and land
This prevents permanent dispossession.
3. Slaves are set free
Not because of the owners’ kindness,
but because God wills their freedom.
4. The entire economic cycle is reset
Injustice cannot solidify.
These laws reveal:
God does not want classes where some stay “above” and others “below.”
He does not want debt to become a lifelong prison.
He wants hope to remain—even for those who lost everything.
He wants land to serve justice, not greed.
The Year of Jubilee is the gospel in shadow form:
freedom, grace, restoration.
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Answers to the Questions
Question 1: What was the purpose of the Sabbatical Year and the Year of Jubilee? 1. Protection of the weak
Those who fell because of illness, misfortune, or injustice always had a real chance to rise again.
2. Prevention of permanent poverty
God rejects endless cycles of exploitation, debt, and loss.
The Jubilee Year was a divine “safety mechanism.”
3. Limitation of economic power
The wealthy could acquire land—but never permanently.
No family could become an unbreakable elite.
4. Reminder: Everything belongs to God
No Israelite could claim: “My land, my success, my possessions.”
Everything comes from God and belongs to Him.
5. Restoration of the original order
Every cycle resets the nation to equality.
6. Cultivation of compassion
The Sabbatical Year forced people to share, since no one could overproduce.
7. Preparation for Christ
The Jubilee echoes Jesus’ words:
“The Lord has sent me to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
(Luke 4:19)
Jesus is the final and complete Jubilee.
Question 2: How do the principles of land distribution and Sabbath remind us that we are equal in God’s eyes? How does Sabbath protect us from exploitation and destructive consumerism? 1. God defines human value—not possessions
In the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, everyone is a recipient of grace, not merit.
2. Equal access to God’s blessing
In Sabbath:
the rich eat what the poor eat,
the slave rests as the master rests,
the land pauses just like the people.
No one is “worth more.”
3. Sabbath contradicts consumer pressure
Every week Sabbath says:
“You are not what you produce.
You are carried—not driven.”
4. Sabbath protects from exploitation
Rest is not luxury—it is God’s justice.
In a society that burns people out, God sets a holy limit:
“Thus far—and no further.”
5. Sabbath requires trust in God
A day without production is a confession:
“God is my provider—not my job.”
6. Sabbath frees us from endless demands
While the world says:
“Work more, buy more, achieve more,”
God says:
“Rest. I am enough.”
7. Sabbath unmasks unjust systems
It reveals:
who exploits others,
who refuses boundaries,
who values possessions above people.
God values people over profit.
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Spiritual PrinciplesGod builds societies on justice—not success.
His heart beats for the weak, forgotten, and overwhelmed.
Grace is not a feeling but a system.
Israel was to practice grace structurally, not privately.
God opposes permanent inequality.
Every Jubilee was God’s “reset” for a sick system.
Rest is holy.
Sabbath teaches: value does not come from performance.
New beginnings are God’s signature.
No one is permanently defined by their past.
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Application for Daily LifeExamine: Where am I trapped in cycles of consumption or performance?
Ask: Whom can I relieve? Whom can I forgive?
Schedule true rest—real Sabbath, not substitute activity.
Live more generously: money, time, attention belong to God.
Practice an “inner Jubilee”:
release debts—guilt, expectations, old grievances.
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ConclusionThe Year of Jubilee was a divine protest against injustice.
A protective wall against the spiral of poverty.
A call to equality.
A mirror of heaven.
It shows us:
God never abandons anyone to hopelessness.
Everyone may begin again.
Grace is stronger than history.
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Thought of the DaySabbath means: where you let go, God can finally act.
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Illustration Jonas, 44, stood in his Frankfurt office tower, looking down on a city that sparkled like success—and felt like a cage.
He was a project manager, well-paid, well-dressed—and inwardly broken.
The debts of his youth, old loans, a failed investment, the pressure of his parents, the expectations of his firm…
He carried them like concrete slabs.
For years.
And although he did everything to keep functioning, he lived in the mode:
“One more year. One more project. One more push.”
✦ ─────────────── ✦ ─────────────── ✦
One morning he received an email from his cousin Daniel in Israel:
“Jonas, do you know what today would be—if we lived in ancient Israel?
The Year of Jubilee.
The fiftieth morning.
The day when debts cease and people return home.”
Jonas read the words three times.
Something vibrated deep inside him.
A forgotten word: freedom.
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A few days later, they sat together in a small café in Tel Aviv.
Daniel looked at him for a long moment.
“Jonas… when was your last Sabbath?
I don’t mean a weekend.
I mean real rest.
When did you let go? Forgive?
Forgive yourself?”
Jonas turned away.
He knew the answer:
Never.
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They walked through Jerusalem’s winding alleys.
Daniel told him about the Sabbatical Year, the Jubilee, God’s vision of a life without endless captivity.
“God never wanted people to remain stuck forever in their debts, mistakes, or circumstances.
Every 50 years a shofar sounded—and everything began anew.”
Then he stopped.
“Jonas, maybe you need your own Jubilee.”
Tears came—unexpected, unstoppable.
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The next morning, in the early light, Jonas sat alone on the beach of Jaffa.
He opened his notebook and wrote three sentences:
I forgive myself for my failures.
I let go of what enslaves me.
I trust God to create something new.
He tore out the page, crumpled it, and threw it into the sea.
And for the first time in years, he truly breathed.
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Back in Germany, Jonas made courageous decisions:
He changed jobs.
He sold possessions that enslaved him.
He began to keep Sabbath—truly resting, believing, living.
He learned:
Freedom is not an event. Freedom is a rhythm.
And every year, on the same date as the ancient Jubilee, he read Leviticus 25 and said:
“Today is my fiftieth morning.”
Closing WordThe Year of Jubilee is not an old rule.
It is God’s handwriting.
God calls you—today, now—into a life that begins anew.
Where do you need your ‘fiftieth morning’?
26 November 2025
BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
Daily Bible Reading
Judges 13 – A Child of Promise
The Birth of Samson – How God Plants Hope in Hopeless Times
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IntroductionJudges 13 opens in a dark time.
Israel is living under the rule of the Philistines.
There is oppression, spiritual weakness, and deep hopelessness.
And right there, God begins to move—
not through a king,
not through an army,
but through a family no one was paying attention to:
An infertile couple.
Where human possibility ends, God’s beginnings often break forth.
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CommentaryIsrael had once again fallen into the old pattern that shaped their history:
unbelief, turning away from God, and oppression by their enemies.
Forty years under the Philistines—a heavy cloud of helplessness lay over the people.
In these difficult days lived Manoah and his wife in the town of Zorah.
Their life was quiet, simple… and overshadowed by one deep pain:
they had no children.
In their culture, infertility meant not only longing but shame—
a life that felt like a closed future.
And right here, something extraordinary happens.
One day, the angel of the Lord appears to Manoah’s wife.
Not in a temple.
Not to a prophet.
But to a woman who likely felt small, overlooked, and insignificant.
His words fall like sunlight into a locked heart:
“You will conceive and bear a son.”
But this child would not be an ordinary child.
He would be a Nazirite, consecrated to God from the womb—
set apart for divine purpose.
No razor was to touch his head.
He would begin to deliver Israel from the Philistines.
The woman runs to Manoah and tells him everything.
Overwhelmed, Manoah prays:
“Lord, let the man of God come again, so we may learn what to do with the child.”
God listens.
The angel appears again—first to the woman, then to Manoah.
Manoah asks:
“What shall the boy’s rule of life and mission be?”
The answer is striking:
The angel does not repeat the child’s mission.
He repeats the parents’ responsibility:
purity, obedience, preparation.
Samson’s calling begins with his parents’ surrender.
Manoah wants to prepare a meal for the messenger, not knowing he is speaking with the angel of the Lord.
The angel refuses to eat and directs him instead to offer a burnt offering to God.
Then Manoah asks:
“What is your name?”
The angel replies:
“Why do you ask my name? It is wonderful.”
Manoah offers the goat and grain offering.
And then the miraculous happens:
As the flame rises from the rock altar,
the angel of the Lord ascends in the fire.
Manoah and his wife fall on their faces.
Manoah fears death, convinced they have seen God.
But his wife answers with calm, Spirit-given wisdom:
“If the Lord desired to kill us, He would not have accepted our offering.”
The story ends with a simple yet powerful conclusion:
The woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson.
The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.
And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.
Out of darkness rises hope.
Out of an infertile woman comes a deliverer.
With Samson, God’s quiet but unstoppable rescue begins.
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SummaryIsrael suffers under the Philistines for 40 years.
An infertile couple receives a divine visitation.
The angel announces Samson’s birth—a child consecrated to God.
Manoah seeks guidance; God answers.
A miraculous sign follows as the angel ascends in the flame.
Samson is born, blessed, and stirred by the Spirit.
God begins salvation long before anyone sees change.
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Message for us TodayWhatever feels barren or hopeless in your life can become the soil for new beginnings.
No stage, no spotlight—just an unknown couple.
God delights in small beginnings.
Samson’s mission started with the obedience of his parents.
Holiness begins in the heart.
Manoah wanted details.
God said, “My name is wonderful.”
We don’t need full clarity to fully trust.
Samson’s task was known before his birth.
Your life also fits into a divine story—and God sees more than you do.
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Thought PromptWhich “barren place” in your life might be the very place where God is planting the first seeds of new hope?
Perhaps where you expect the least,
the angel of the Lord is already whispering.
Stay open.
Stay obedient.
Stay ready.
God begins rescue stories with people who believe
that He is at work even in the unseen.
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23 – 26 November 2025 BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS Weekly Reading – Spirit of Prophecy
Ellen White | Patriarchs and Prophets – Chapter 43
The Death of Moses | Justice, grace, and hope beyond the grave Read online here
BLOG 4 – The Death That Was Not the End
Moses’ Final Breath – and the Victory Over Death IntroductionAt first glance, the death of Moses seems like a quiet ending.
Yet behind the scenes, a heavenly conflict ignites—
and Moses becomes the first witness of Christ’s resurrection authority.
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CommentaryMoses lies down like a weary traveler.
Death does not come as an enemy, but like a door that closes gently.
God Himself buries him—hidden from every human eye, guarded by angels.
But the silence of the grave does not last long.
Christ comes.
The Prince of Life steps to the place He Himself has watched over.
Satan appears as well—full of suspicion and pride.
He demands what he believes is rightfully his:
“Moses sinned! Death belongs to me!”
A moment of immense tension:
Heaven against hell, life against death.
But Christ does not argue.
He gives only one answer:
“The Lord rebuke you.”
And then something happens that the world has never seen:
A human being rises again.
Not on the last day,
not before all people—
but now, now through Christ Himself.
Moses steps out of the grave—transformed, radiant, free.
Death loses its claim.
He ascends with Christ,
not into a land of dust and stone,
but into the heavenly homeland.
Centuries later he will appear again—
not as a dead man,
but as a living one—
on the Mount of Transfiguration, standing beside Elijah, speaking with Jesus.
What he once longed for but could not enter,
is finally given to him:
the true, eternal Canaan.
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SummaryMoses dies—yet God buries him personally.
Christ resurrects him, breaks Satan’s claim,
and brings him home to eternity.
Moses’ death becomes a triumph of life.
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Message for TodayWhat looks like a “no” from God is often only the curtain before something far greater.
Moses did not receive the earthly land—
but the eternal one that will never perish.
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Reflection QuestionWhich “lost Canaan” in your life
might turn out to be the better thing
that God is preparing for you?
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LuxVerbi | The light of the Word. The clarity of faith.
November 26, 2025
Joseph – Faith That Carries You Through
29. God Turns Evil Into Good
Daily Bible Verse“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
Genesis 50:20
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IntroductionThere are things in life we would never have chosen.
Losses that take our breath away.
Decisions made by others that wound us.
Pain we did not deserve.
We see what people do—
and we ask:
“Why does God allow this?”
Joseph had many reasons to ask exactly that.
His brothers didn’t act out of a misunderstanding—they wanted to get rid of him.
And yet, years later, Joseph looks back and does not say:
“I broke because of you.”
But instead:
“You intended evil — but God made it good.”
That one phrase — but God — changes the entire story.
It is the turning point of every darkest chapter.
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DevotionJoseph was still a young man when his entire life changed in a single day. His father had sent him to his brothers, as he had done many times before. For Joseph it was an ordinary task. Nothing suggested that he would see his home for the last time that day.
But his brothers were filled with jealousy and anger. They had never understood his dreams and believed Joseph wanted to rise above them. When they saw him from afar, they decided to act. At first they planned to kill him. Eventually, they chose to sell him to traders. For them the matter was settled. For Joseph, a completely new chapter began.
He was taken to Egypt and sold there as a slave. Even though he was completely innocent, he had to find his way in a foreign land. He was brought into the house of Potiphar, a respected official. There he worked faithfully and reliably, and everything he did succeeded. But even that positive development did not last long. Potiphar’s wife accused him of something he had not done. Joseph could not defend himself. He was arrested and thrown into prison.
Prison could have been the place where Joseph broke inside. But it was precisely there that God began to shape his character. Joseph took responsibility. He cared for other prisoners. He held on to his integrity—not because he hoped it would free him, but because it aligned with his convictions. Even when Pharaoh’s cupbearer promised to mention him and then completely forgot, Joseph remained patient.
Years passed. Then Pharaoh had a dream no one could interpret. Suddenly the cupbearer remembered Joseph. Joseph was brought out. He stood before the most powerful man in the land and explained the dream—calmly, clearly, and with wisdom. Pharaoh was so impressed that he made Joseph the second most powerful man in Egypt.
In this position Joseph led the land through a severe famine. Not only the Egyptians were saved, but also people from surrounding regions. Among them were Joseph’s brothers. They came to Egypt to buy grain, unaware that the man before them was their own brother.
Joseph recognized them immediately. With their appearance, all the past returned: the betrayal, the pit, the sale into slavery. But instead of letting these memories define him, Joseph saw something else. He saw how every step—even the painful ones—had brought him to exactly where he now stood. He saw that God had used it all so that lives could be saved.
When he revealed his identity to his brothers, they were terrified. They expected revenge. But Joseph said something that revealed how deeply his perspective had changed:
“You intended to do me harm. But God made it good.”
He did not mean that what happened was right. But he recognized that God is able to bring good even out of evil intentions. His brothers had sold him—but God had used that very act to place him in a position from which he could save their family.
In the end, Joseph did not place the focus on his brothers, but on God.
Not their actions defined his life, but God’s intervention.
Not human guilt wrote the story—but God’s plan.
This understanding gave Joseph the freedom to make peace instead of seeking revenge. It gave him the courage to look forward. And it gave him the confidence that his life was not directed by people, but by God, who knows and guides every chapter.
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Thoughts for Your Heart• People have power, but God has the final word.
• No chapter of your story is lost when God is writing with you.
• God does not transform every evil immediately—but He never loses control.
• Your past does not define you—God’s plan does.
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What We Can Learn from Joseph• You can name what was done to you honestly—without staying stuck in it.
• You can forgive because God’s sovereignty is greater than human injustice.
• God uses even dark paths to bring you to places you were meant to be.
• What is planned against you, God can turn into something that brings life to others.
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Practical StepsWrite down what you perceive as “evil” in your life—raw and honest.
Bring it before God and say: “Lord, I know what people did. Show me what You can do.”
Ask God for His perspective, not just answers.
Practice saying: “God is greater than what was done to me.”
Ask God: “How can my story serve others?”
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Questions for Reflection• Which events in my life have I evaluated only from a human perspective?
• Where do I still feel “victimized” by others?
• Where do I need the words “but God” in my story today?
• Who could be blessed by my experience?
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PrayerLord,
you know the paths that have wounded me.
You know the people who have hurt me,
the decisions that affected me,
and the chapters I would have never chosen.
I bring You my pain,
my questions,
my uncertainty.
Teach me to see, like Joseph,
that You are greater than what people plan.
Show me where You were at work even in the darkness.
Take bitterness from my heart
and give me Your peace.
Give me the courage to say:
“People meant evil — but God turned it into good.”
And use my story
to bring hope to others.
Amen.
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Key Thought of the DayEvil has power — but God has the final word.
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Blessing to CloseThe Lord who led Joseph through betrayal, loss, and imprisonment
bless you with the same hope.
May He give you eyes to recognize His hand
even when the path is dark.
May He strengthen your heart
so you can say: “But God…”
And may He turn your wounds into springs of life—
for you and for many.
Amen.
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LumenCorde | Daily light for a living soul.
Feeling unseen or alone? 💔 You’re not forgotten. Pray with me and feel God’s presence again. Type “Amen” and share this prayer with your friends. Source: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EEYu0jtASqk
by Loren Seibold | 25 November 2025 | An Adventist Today reader told me a story recently about how, when he was younger, he had a business colleague who had deeply impressed him. This man was “a shining example of what I wanted to be in business: caring, helping others, fair.” The man was a […] Source: https://atoday.org/can-adventists-be-freemasons/
God’s goodness isn’t theory. It’s something real and something you can experience. 🍯 Source: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UOhkZAsJM7o
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 26th of November 2025
The land was so central to the existence of Israel as God’s people that it could not be apportioned as a whole. It had to be divided by tribes, clans, and families (Numbers 34:13-18) in order to prevent it from becoming the possession of a few leading elites.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
By contrast with Egypt, where citizens regularly lost their land and became Pharaoh’s serfs, the purpose of God for the Israelites was that they would never become indefinitely disenfranchised. Nobody, outside the clan and family to whom it had been originally allotted, could own the land. In fact, according to God’s plan, the land could literally never be sold; it could only be leased according to its value established by the number of years left until the next jubilee. Therefore, the relatives of a person who was obliged to “sell” his ancestral land had the duty to redeem it even before the jubilee (Leviticus 25:25).
The allotment of the land becomes a window into God’s heart. As our heavenly Father, He wants His children to be generous with those who are less fortunate and to allow their lands to feed them every seventh year. The sabbatical year applied the principle of the Sabbath commandment on a larger scale. Besides valuing and encouraging hard work, ownership of the land also calls for respect and kindness to those facing financial challenges.
Land ownership legislation provided every Israelite with the opportunity to be freed from inherited or self-induced oppressive circumstances and to have a fresh start in life.
In essence, this is the main purpose of the gospel: to erase the distinction between rich and poor, employer and employee, privileged and underprivileged, putting us all on equal footing by recognizing our complete need of God’s grace.
Unfortunately, Israel neglected to keep the standard set by God and, after centuries, the warnings of dispossession were fulfilled (2 Chronicles 36:20-21).
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How can the principles of the Israelite land allotment and the Sabbath remind us that, in God’s eyes, we are all equal? How can the Sabbath help us say “no” to the exploitative, vicious cycles of consumerism that plague many societies? |
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25 November 2025 | The following is an official statement from the Lake Union Executive Committee’s year-end meeting held on November 19, 2025. A Pastoral Reflection from the Lake Union Conference Affirming the Dignity and Humanity of the Vulnerable Among Us The Lake Union Conference affirms the North American Division’s statement “An Appeal for Human Dignity and Decency,” […] Source: https://atoday.org/lake-union-makes-official-statement-appealing-for-the-human-dignity-of-the-immigrants/
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