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Sermon for September 13th, 2026

Iraneal — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 14:39:09 GMT

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	For those of you who know Dr. Majd Sarah, you probably already know that she's a powerhouse, a boss-lady, someone whose energy, drive, laughter, and enthusiasm completely fill whatever room she walks into. Here at our church, Majd serves as an elder on the session, she has served as a Deacon and the clerk of Deacons. Some of you may not remember this one, but many years ago she also organized and led a massive federal grant program through our church called STAR TALK, where we taught Arabic to El Paso kids for two summers.		For those of you who know Dr. Majd Sarah, you probably already know that she's a powerhouse, a boss-lady, someone whose energy, drive, laughter, and enthusiasm completely fill whatever room she walks into. Here at our church, Majd serves as an elder on the session, she has served as a Deacon and the clerk of Deacons. Some of you may not remember this one, but many years ago she also organized and led a massive federal grant program through our church called STAR TALK, where we taught Arabic to El Paso kids for two summers.

	That's the Majd we know, love, and appreciate today. But when she first walked through the doors of our church, almost fourteen years ago, Majd was a refugee. Her childhood home in Syria, the town of Homs, had been almost completely destroyed, in a civil war that targeted Christian Syrians, like Majd and her family. Majd came to us, on the night of our annual Christmas concert, with her infant son (at the time) Arthur, and not much else. Arthur was just a few months older than my son, Jonah, and we must have parked their strollers next to each other a few times, and they decided pretty early on that they were going to be best friends. Because of that friendship, and because of Majd's increasing involvement in our church, I've gotten to know her pretty well over the past decade and a half. I've watched as she (and her parents, and her brothers and their families) have re-built their homes, their careers, their families here in El Paso. Along the way, Majd married Chris, and Arthur got a little brother, Edward (whom I had the privilege of baptizing not that long ago). They bought the house right across the street from the church, and Majd works at the YWCA right next door, directing all of their afterschool and children's programs.		That's the Majd we know, love, and appreciate today. But when she first walked through the doors of our church, almost fourteen years ago, Majd was a refugee. Her childhood home in Syria, the town of Homs, had been almost completely destroyed, in a civil war that targeted Christian Syrians, like Majd and her family. Majd came to us, on the night of our annual Christmas concert, with her infant son (at the time) Arthur, and not much else. Arthur was just a few months older than my son, Jonah, and we must have parked their strollers next to each other a few times, and they decided pretty early on that they were going to be best friends. Because of that friendship, and because of Majd's increasing involvement in our church, I've gotten to know her pretty well over the past decade and a half. I've watched as she (and her parents, and her brothers and their families) have re-built their homes, their careers, their families here in El Paso. Along the way, Majd earned her Doctorate, married Chris, and Arthur got a little brother, Edward (whom I had the privilege of baptizing not that long ago). They bought the house right across the street from the church, and Majd works at the YWCA right next door, directing all of their afterschool and children's programs.

	Of course, there's so much more to her story than this. Last January, Majd and her sister-in-law sat down for an interview with Vanessa for her Substack--which you should all find and read--and I learned some things about Majd that I hadn't known. That and another interview Vanessa did with Joseph Ku (who is next week's guest) formed the inspiration for this sermon series on migration stories, and all the ways in which our faith, our families, and our identities are wrapped up in those journeys--whether they are long, short, traumatic or joyful, or anywhere in between. But enough from me--I'd like to invite Majd to join me so you can hear about her story in her own words.		Of course, there's so much more to her story than this. Last January, Majd and her sister-in-law sat down for an interview with Vanessa for her Substack--which you should all find and read--and I learned some things about Majd that I hadn't known. That and another interview Vanessa did with Joseph Ku (who is next week's guest) formed the inspiration for this sermon series on migration stories, and all the ways in which our faith, our families, and our identities are wrapped up in those journeys--whether they are long, short, traumatic or joyful, or anywhere in between. But enough from me--I'd like to invite Majd to join me so you can hear about her story in her own words.
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	*You grew up in one Christian tradition, and today you’re an Elder in a Presbyterian church. How has your understanding of faith—and especially your own place as a woman in the church—changed over the course of that journey?		*You grew up in one Christian tradition, and today you’re an Elder in a Presbyterian church. How has your understanding of faith—and especially your own place as a woman in the church—changed over the course of that journey?
	*You’ve said that one of the things immigration taught you is how much people from very different places actually have in common. What do you wish people who have never been immigrants understood about the people who come here looking for a new home?		*You’ve said that one of the things immigration taught you is how much people from very different places actually have in common. What do you wish people who have never been immigrants understood about the people who come here looking for a new home?

			====Story and Scripture====
			Majd’s story helps us hear both of today’s scripture passages a little differently. Psalm 121 is a traveling song, a song for people on the road: “I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord.” And then at the end: “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.” The Psalm is also a promise for those who are traveling: It doesn’t promise that the journey will be easy, or that we will always know where it is taking us. It promises that God goes with us. Across mountains and oceans, across borders and cultures, through all the places we leave behind and all the places we learn to call home, God keeps our going out and our coming in.

			And then in Jeremiah, God speaks to a people who have been carried far from home, people who are living in a place they never expected to be. And God tells them: Build houses. Plant gardens. Raise families. Seek the welfare of the city where you now live, because its welfare is now tied up with and connected to your own. I think that’s a pretty good description of what we’ve watched Majd do here in El Paso. She has built a home. She has raised a family. She has educated children, served this community, and helped lead this church. None of that means forgetting Syria, or loving it any less. It simply means that sometimes God makes room in our hearts for more than one home. And if we are going to be faithful to these scriptures, then our calling as a church is to make room, too—to welcome the people whose journeys bring them to our doorstep, to help them plant and build and belong, and to become a community of welcome, where a wider table is set.

Sermon for September 13th, 2026

Iraneal — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 14:25:18 GMT

Created page with "==Psalm 121:1-8 (OT p.571)== 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life...."

New page

==Psalm 121:1-8 (OT p.571)==
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and for evermore.

==Jeremiah 29:1-7 (OT p. 731)==
1 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said: 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

==Journey to a New Home: Stories of Migration. Part I - Majd's Story==
For those of you who know Dr. Majd Sarah, you probably already know that she's a powerhouse, a boss-lady, someone whose energy, drive, laughter, and enthusiasm completely fill whatever room she walks into. Here at our church, Majd serves as an elder on the session, she has served as a Deacon and the clerk of Deacons. Some of you may not remember this one, but many years ago she also organized and led a massive federal grant program through our church called STAR TALK, where we taught Arabic to El Paso kids for two summers.

That's the Majd we know, love, and appreciate today. But when she first walked through the doors of our church, almost fourteen years ago, Majd was a refugee. Her childhood home in Syria, the town of Homs, had been almost completely destroyed, in a civil war that targeted Christian Syrians, like Majd and her family. Majd came to us, on the night of our annual Christmas concert, with her infant son (at the time) Arthur, and not much else. Arthur was just a few months older than my son, Jonah, and we must have parked their strollers next to each other a few times, and they decided pretty early on that they were going to be best friends. Because of that friendship, and because of Majd's increasing involvement in our church, I've gotten to know her pretty well over the past decade and a half. I've watched as she (and her parents, and her brothers and their families) have re-built their homes, their careers, their families here in El Paso. Along the way, Majd married Chris, and Arthur got a little brother, Edward (whom I had the privilege of baptizing not that long ago). They bought the house right across the street from the church, and Majd works at the YWCA right next door, directing all of their afterschool and children's programs.

Of course, there's so much more to her story than this. Last January, Majd and her sister-in-law sat down for an interview with Vanessa for her Substack--which you should all find and read--and I learned some things about Majd that I hadn't known. That and another interview Vanessa did with Joseph Ku (who is next week's guest) formed the inspiration for this sermon series on migration stories, and all the ways in which our faith, our families, and our identities are wrapped up in those journeys--whether they are long, short, traumatic or joyful, or anywhere in between. But enough from me--I'd like to invite Majd to join me so you can hear about her story in her own words.

====Conversation with Majd====
*I heard that Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys played an important role in your education. Say more about that?
When you first came to El Paso, what struck you as the strangest thing about this place—and what, if anything, felt familiar?
*You’ve been away from Syria now for about sixteen years. How vividly can you still remember home? What are the things you’re afraid you might someday forget?
*When you look back at yourself arriving in El Paso as a young mother and compare that person with the person you are today, what do you think she would be most surprised by?
*Was there ever a particular moment when you realized, El Paso is not just where I live anymore—this is home now?
*You grew up in one Christian tradition, and today you’re an Elder in a Presbyterian church. How has your understanding of faith—and especially your own place as a woman in the church—changed over the course of that journey?
*You’ve said that one of the things immigration taught you is how much people from very different places actually have in common. What do you wish people who have never been immigrants understood about the people who come here looking for a new home?

First Presbyterian Church

Iraneal — Sun, 13 Sep 2026 13:30:52 GMT

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	==2026==		==2026==
			* [[Sermon for September 13th, 2026]] 586th Sermon: Journey to a New Home: Story's of Migration - Majd's Story
	* [[Sermon for September 6th, 2026]] 585th Sermon: Higher Education Part VI: Judgment (2222)		* [[Sermon for September 6th, 2026]] 585th Sermon: Higher Education Part VI: Judgment (2222)
	* [[Sermon for August 30th, 2026]] 584th Sermon: Higher Education Part V: Don't Worry, Seek the Kingdom (2132)		* [[Sermon for August 30th, 2026]] 584th Sermon: Higher Education Part V: Don't Worry, Seek the Kingdom (2132)