January 26, 2022
Dear Mission Partners,
Greetings of faith and hope and love from all of us at Hephatha.
As we go through this time after Epiphany, this time of “marching in the light of God,” we express gratitude from Hephatha to you who serve with us in the Gospel and who stand with us in our ministry commitment to God and the community of 18th and Locust. May I please share with you two incredible gifts from God that you share in with us as you serve with us….DEANNA and EH’ZARIAH…
+ DEANNA BRANCH: Hephatha Leader and Coalition On Lead Emergency leader, parent of a child suffering with lead poisoning, back on her feet following near death illness herself, introduced Vice President Harris in Milwaukee this week and spoke the truth of her family’s and the community’s suffering with lead poisoning, leading a call for change with her voice and life.
+ EhZariah, born in December, was given an emergency baptism at Children’s Hospital on December 22nd (I had the honor of also baptizing her father, at her bedside), with her mother and two nurses as witnesses. She has gone from ventilator and sedation in ICU to life at home as a healthy baby. She continues to be treated for some medical conditions and she thrives when her life was once thought to be over almost before it began. Here she is today:
We thank God for these sisters in the faith, for the ministry we share, for you as our partners, and for the light of Christ, who is with us always.
God’s peace to you,
Pastor Mary Martha