Let our church be a gift from each of us to the other. But even more let it be a gift from each of us to our community. Let us be a gathering place for the spirit, a refuge for hope, a beacon of inspiration, and a dynamo of life and justice for all. Let faithful community be the ground of commitment and action to enrich the world.
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As people of faith, we should not try to divide the spiritual from the physical, heaven from earth, or the sacred from the profane. Accumulated wisdom tells us, such distinctions are not so clear-cut. Opposites are woven together. Sacred and profane turn out to be two aspects of the same reality. Our spirituality plays out in a material world moment-by-moment, right here and right now.
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All life requires nourishment. The spring rain soaks the ground and nourishes the new grass. Insects scurry through their tiny world. Beasts of the field and birds of the air feed after their kind, then pass away to nourish the soil in their own turn. The world goes in unending rotation. Here we gather to nourish one another and the world about, through mutuality of spirit and the commitment of our labors.
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We gather in faith and hope that our lives have significance and meaning, and that we bring both a physical and a spiritual presence to our complex world. A key part of this physical and spiritual presence is our church itself, as a gathering place, a refuge, a pot to be stirred, a center for the creative energy that is our greatest gift.
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To invest in anything is an act of faith, a giving of thanks before the event takes place. We do this in the belief that the investment will further the intent. Be our investment financial, emotional, or physical, it is worth keeping in mind these important questions: What do I really want to see happen? What will it take to make that happen? What are my resources? What is my commitment?
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Contrary to the old song lyric, the best things in life are not free. And those things which are free, are not necessarily the best. The summer presents us with horse flies, mosquitoes, and lyme ticks. Enjoy. Yet the swaying crops of summer, the ripe, rich fruits of autumn, and most of all the walls of this Sanctuary must all be lovingly maintained. Only then will they maintain us. Consider this as the Offering is received.
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