Skip to main content

In the World–August 21, 2022

Download “In the World” for August 21, 2022 here.

FOR THE HEALING OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS

Washington, D.C., contains many pockets of financial wealth and many pockets of poverty. Two such neighborhoods are split by the Anacostia River, which is quite wide at the point where it separates the affluent Navy Yard homes from the downtrodden Ward 8 region. A highway bridge linking the neighborhoods was torn down a decade ago, but the piers and pilings were left in place. And now plans are finalizing to rebuild the bridge as an elevated park, garden, art space, and performance venue. “These communities are separated by 900 feet of water,” said Scott Kratz, one of the planners. “They have been divided for generations.” He hopes the park will bring residents from both sides together. Harriet Tregoning, former D.C.-area director of planning, agrees, calling the new bridge “a space where people who wouldn’t otherwise be in the same place would be able to mingle and do things together.”

FOR THE HEALING OF THE NATIONS

Our passage today depicts the New Jerusalem of God, through which runs a wide street with a river flowing down the middle. Straddling this river of crystal-clear water stands the tree of life, which yields twelve crops of fruit and bears fruit every month. It’s a picture of plenty and luxurious life, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

  1. If you wanted to bring two divided populations together in peace, how would you do it?
  2. What step could you take today to be a peacemaker or bridge-builder?
  3. In what ways is the New Jerusalem similar to the garden of Eden, and in what ways is it different?

Additional Resources

These videos and materials are for your personal use. If you show videos in class, be sure to have the necessary rights to do so.

David C Cook Editorial

Author David C Cook Editorial

More posts by David C Cook Editorial