View From the Corner Office
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I am quite an avid reader; I read almost anything which captures my attention. That which follows is such a piece; it is from a UNITED METHODIST CHURCH publication entitled FAITH LINK. |
In "The Natural World section of the Social Principles, the United Methodist Church affirms, All creation is the Lord's, and we are responsible for ways in which we use and abuse it. Space is one of many aspects of the natural world "to be valued and conserved because they are God's creation and not because they are useful to human beings." The UMC declares that the universe, "known and unknown" deserves the same "respect we are called to give the earth." The church '(rejects) any nation's efforts to weaponize space and (urges) that all nations pursue the peaceful and collaborative development of space technologies and outer space itself."
Now that is quite a mouthful and, yet, it deserves at least an acknowledgement on my part that UMC is on the right track. Too often we may tend to disregard what others affirm for reasons of personal bias. With conversations in progress between ourselves (TEC) and UMC, we should be listening with open hearts and minds.
AND, with respect to the above, God created and pronounced what He saw was GOOD!
We must take note.
PAX,
Fr Jerry
Now that is quite a mouthful and, yet, it deserves at least an acknowledgement on my part that UMC is on the right track. Too often we may tend to disregard what others affirm for reasons of personal bias. With conversations in progress between ourselves (TEC) and UMC, we should be listening with open hearts and minds.
AND, with respect to the above, God created and pronounced what He saw was GOOD!
We must take note.
PAX,
Fr Jerry
Tossed Salad
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On the “Three Sides” podcast (ELCA, Sept. 6, 2018), Wendy Davidson, a leader at the Kellogg Company, shares how her Christianity informs her work. Because her adult faith emerged from several denominational influences, she considers variety to be a strength, not only spiritually but throughout life.
Davidson encourages her co-workers to bring their unique personalities and ideas to the table to create a metaphorical salad. “It doesn’t mean that the salad now becomes one homogeneous blob; it is still distinctly the flavors of the salad ingredients,” she says. “But they’ve all found a way to come together to make something that much more flavorful than they could have been all on their own.” Viewing church and our communities this way could be transformative. What if we welcome different people, invite ideas and resist melding everything into one giant blob? Then we can savor each “ingredient” and the resulting gourmet dish. Delicious! |
How Peace Bears Witness
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Christians ought not to be smothered in fear. There is a spiritual readiness, where we return to having the peace of God stand guard over our hearts and minds. What an incredible witness it is to a lost and fearful society when the Christian acts like a child of God, living under the loving sovereignty of the heavenly Father. The Christian needs to walk in peace, so no matter what happens they will be able to bear witness to a watching world.
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