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Lillian Daniel reflected on Good Samaritan and PNC

For her sermon during the PNC Annual Meeting opening worship, Michigan Conference Minister Lillian Daniel wove her personal experiences in with the gospel narrative of the Good Samaritan.

Lillian Daniel preaches and reflects at PNC Annual Meeting. Photo courtesy of Lillian Daniels

“We are often more comfortable accusing than confessing and that silence is our besetting sin,” she said, pointing out that “in Christ, everybody gets to grow and change” and that worship is a gift given to God.

Lillian described the parable of the Good Samaritan as a subversive story that reveals that everyone is a minister in a context in which God is still speaking.

“We imagine that we are the ones called to be the Good Samaritan, when instead we are all in or have been in, the ditch,” Lillian said, recalling that, in her life, when she was in the ditch, Jesus was with her.

“Being in the ditch can make us wise,” she said, speaking of “Ditch University” as “the place we might need to discover our calling as ditch dwellers.”

Given the opportunity to offer a closing meditation and reflections to the Annual Meeting on Saturday afternoon, Lillian observed that people in the PNC know what they have to work on and “have tremendous resources in people with diverse points of view.”

She likened the people attending the conference meeting to a cat that always lands on its feet when thrown in the air. She recognized that “you have faced hardship, prejudice and unfairness, and land on your feet,” but advised that when grieving, “it’s time to stop throwing cats in the air and it’s time for loving kindness” especially when needing to make a major decision.

Lillian sees the PNC as brave, honest and serious.

“In the UCC, we are like a bunch of kayakers, independent thinkers who want a voice,” Lillian noted. “So our systems need to be transparent. We need to work with the lights on, to present ourselves honestly when candidates for conference minister come.”

Lillian said that she is impressed with the strengths of the PNC.

“Your financial resources are way above other UCC conferences, and your camps are not draining you. That is rare,” she commented. “I’m impressed that you have stayed at tables in times disagreement and have self-corrected while being told important truths.

“That takes courage. Lillian continued. “That is not common.

“When we are at our best, we turn on the lights, tell the truth and stay at the table. We need to do this more often,” she said. “We need to make intentional spaces where we don’t just come to make decisions and vote, but where we just listen and have deep conversations.”

 

Pacific Northwest Conference United Church of Christ News © April 2026

 

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