“Deep breathing brings deep thinking and shallow breathing shallow thinking.” ~Elsie Lincoln Benedict When’s the last time you had room to breathe? At MCCDC this Sunday at 9 AM and 11 AM we will invite you to take a breath. And another. To breathe is to pray, especially when words fall flat, seem empty, or…
It is with purpose that we enter the 40 days of Lent. Lent is a season of questions. We may ask ourselves: Do I know my purpose? Has it changed? Is it changing? How am I called to live for the rest of my life? We may ask God: What is the next step? How…
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” ~Gail Sheehy Last night at MCCDC Bible Study, Elaine Durden-Hunter facilitated a powerful Bible Study. The topic of change came up: how changing our lives for good is difficult, often requiring more patience than we think we have. Yet when…
“One way to love your enemies is to love yourself. When you fully love yourself you are protected by your own love grounded in God’s love, transforming the threat of enemies.” ~Rev. Elder Dwayne Johnson Jesus doesn’t mince words: “Love your enemies” (Luke 6:27). The plain speaking Jesus of Luke’s Gospel continues his Great Sermon…
“When we continue to compartmentalize our lives, we diminish our capacity to learn, grow, be healthy, and have a fully dynamic relationship with God. As human beings, we are so complex and integrally connected that any time something goes askew in one part of our system, the other parts cannot help but be affected.” ~Doreen…
“No day is wasted when we apply ourselves to the lasting value of loving God, self and others.” ~Rev. Elder Dwayne Johnson In this noisy world every moment is an invitation to live beyond distractions. We are here to love. That is our number one purpose. It is easy to get distracted from that purpose…
” Love never gives up. ” ~ I Corinthians 13:4 We’re better than this. I have heard a lot of people say that lately. Especially in response to the bullying, name calling, trolling, body shaming, and hate speech that happens every day and is escalating. The attack this week on Jussie Smollett, star of the…
“We need in every bay and community a band of angelic troublemakers.” –Bayard Rustin We planned our current “Soul Force” worship theme long before the start of the partial government shutdown. The series has turned out to be timely. Indeed, it is Soul Force that will give us strength through and beyond the current crisis…
“In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative…
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.” -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This Sunday in Epiphany is traditionally known as “The Baptism of the Lord,” which is why the gospel passage is Luke’s account of John baptizing many people, including, of course, Jesus (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22).…
