by Roger Mock This Sunday evening’s OneSong service reflects on what the New Testament calls the Fruits of the Spirit: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22) We reflect on these from an understanding that these attributes represent our True Nature, and here to elucidate…
by Roger Mock You probably know the story of the elephant and the blind men which originated long ago in the Indian sub-continent until it crossed the path of many religious traditions including Jain, Buddhist, Sufi, Hindu and Bahá’í. This morning I discovered this poetic retelling from the 19th century by one John Godfrey Saxe. And Saxe, it turns out, lived his last 27…
by Roger Mock For the Baha’i faith God exists as the Ultimate Reality and this universe came about as a movement of love within that Ultimate Reality. It is beyond the ability of finite human minds to conceptualize the infinite reality that is God. Therefore any concepts that humans form of God are only partial truths that…
by Rob Geyer I am grateful for the opportunity to have served on the Board for the last three years. It has been a rewarding and challenging experience, especially during the most recent year with the minister transition from Jim to Crystal. I want to thank the congregation for their warmth and unconditional love and…
by Roger Mock Speaking for myself, I do feel used on occasion – and that’s good. Really good, actually. Writing this little column provides an example. Sometimes, like today, I really have no idea what I’m going to write about when I sit down to type. An idea shows up and I run with it,…
by Roger Mock There’s an old Gospel song with the chorus: I don’t want to get adjusted to this world, to this world I don’t want to get adjusted to this world, to this world I’ve got a home so much better and I’m gonna go there sooner or later And I don’t want to…
(Note: originally posted November 2014) By Roger Mock I recently re-read these words from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book The Mastery of Love: “Your heart is a magical kitchen. Open your heart. Open your magical kitchen and refuse to walk around the world begging for love. In your heart is all the love you need. Your heart…
by Rob Geyer Every so often I wonder- “what would create stronger bonds between people?” Most often my answer is simply, “the experience of sharing with each other”. I love finding out new and interesting things about folks and getting a better sense of what is important to them. So I’ve decided to share something…
Sue Oringel offers the following two poems as a reflection on the recent weekend retreat – Embracing Loss and Grief for Healing and Renewed Joy. Sue comments: “The first poem represents the shock of loss and the second, a move toward acceptance.” The Fact of After Stomach sucker-punched, you double over, shaking. Face flushes, hot…
by John Daubney Those who give of themselves; who have learned the benefits of service, freely-given, are among the happiest people you might encounter day-to-day. Possessing a beautiful smile and a giving spirit, Orisa Skipper, exudes the joy that emanates from being a giving person. Both in her work life and in service here at…