I wrote an article for the local newspaper which serves the Southern Chandler and Southern Gilbert areas of Arizona.  It's the first of a new series of "spiritual" articles they want to have written by different pastors on a rotational basis.  I've included it below.

The San Tan Sun News, November 17th edition, page 60 of 72.
Faith in the Midst of Crisis
by Rev. Anthony Tang

I am the pastor of Light of Hope United Methodist Church and it has been an exciting year since we moved into our own facility on the northwest corner of Riggs and Lindsay in the Offices at Shadow Ridge.

Unfortunately, it has also been a difficult personal year for my family and me. Our ten-month-old son was diagnosed mid-year with an extremely rare disease called, "Menkes Kinky-Hair Syndrome," that has no effective medical treatment or cure and tends to claim its victims within two to three years of life.

Obviously, it was very difficult for my wife and me to take this news. I would be lying if I didn't admit that over the last six months we had periods of confusion, anger, desperation, depression, grief, fear... you name it. We prayed for healing, but while our son is doing relatively very well, he still has Menkes.

What is the role of Faith in the midst of a crisis?

Well, we still pray for healing-regularly-but faith is not about getting whatever we want. We have wondered why this would happen to us and our son, but faith doesn't guarantee anyone-not even a pastor-a pleasant and easy life. We pray for understanding, but not all of life's questions can be answered with satisfactory results; besides, knowledge is not the same as faith.

The role of faith in the midst of a crisis is to teach us how to love: to love and care for ourselves; to love others honestly, respectfully and deeply; and to learn to love God who has not abandoned us, but walks with us to courageously face the crises of our lives.

My son may or may not ever call me "daddy," but my faith helps me to see and cherish the moments when he looks up to me, recognizes my face, and calms down from his fears. My faith has taught me that my parenthood may not be about future hopes, future plans, and future aspirations; but it definitely is about being with my son and helping him interpret and be grateful for the world around him. My faith has taught me that our son's life may be short to me, but from God's perspective... all of our lives on this earth are short; what matters is not the length, but how much we love in the time that we are here and how well we are prepared to love throughout eternity.

Likewise, as my family's love has grown, so has the love of our church family, the congregation of Light of Hope United Methodist Church. They have supported us and nurtured us through many difficult times and we daily give thanks for their courage and hope.

Here at Light of Hope, we pray that whether you are in the midst of a current crisis or if you are simply trying to connect with others and discover meaning in life that you would join us or another church for regular opportunities of worship. Together, God speaks to our hearts the wisdom of faith and the power of love.