 |
||||
|
||||
|
 |
|||
|
August 2007 “We walk by faith, not by sight.” Beloved Friends, John Updike wrote a short story called Pigeon Feathers. It is about a young boy, David, who begins to have doubts about his faith. One night in bed David is thinking really hard about his problem. Suddenly, he decided to try a bold experiment. He takes his hands from under the covers, lifts them over his head and asks God to touch them. As David waits breathlessly, he thinks he feels something touch his hands. He not really sure, though. After a while, he puts his hands back under the covers, unsure whether they had been touched or not. We can all relate to David, can’t we? We all have times when our faith seems to disappear or go behind a cloud. When this happens, we long desperately for a sign that God is real. It seems our faith has its high and low points. When life is going well, we seem to be on a faith-high. We feel strong and bright, fully connected with God. We feel God so close it is as if God is wrapping Divine Arms around us. On the other hand, sometimes life is seemingly against us, filled with challenges and seeming trials. Our faith flickers, and it feels as if God has left us. We begin to even doubt the presence of God. Helen Keller is one who demonstrated a faith we can all aspire to. Here are her thoughts on faith, “Dark as my path may seem to others, I carry a magic light in my heart. Faith, the spiritual strong searchlight, illumines the way, and although sinister doubts lurk in the shadow, I walk unafraid toward the enchanted wood where the foliage is always green, where joy abides, where nightingales nest and sing, and where life and death are one in the presence of the Lord.” The Truth is that no matter what our life experience is, God is ever with us – loving us and caring for us exactly as we are. Faith has its mountains and valleys. Let us remember that God will always embolden and quicken our faith if we only ask! In Spirit and in Truth, MARK’S MUSINGS It's August and time to start planning those final vacations of summer before school starts at the end of the month! It's also time for the congregation to prepare for the beginning of our remodel process. I personally have been a bit frustrated with the delay and the extension of the bid process, but I trust God that this delay has some hidden blessing for our congregation. I continue to affirm that all is unfolding in Divine Order for the build-out of our building. I believe we have been guided by God from the very beginning, and led to purchase Pam's Place – a former bar and grill into a church! I believe that we can strengthen our faith and know that this delay is for our good. We as a congregation can exercise some patience now, which will have immediate and long-term benefits for us as a whole. Remember, we inhabited our present building only eight short months ago. However, the building we rented in Kemah now seems like a distant memory for me. We need to be acknowledged and congratulated for our continued prosperity, which places us near the top of the Unity movement in terms of giving per member. We are a very prosperous church! And we have created a new Activities Committee which has organized many well-thought out and well-attended social events to help us build more community among members! They are to be acknowledged for their powerful contribution! Be on the lookout for plans for the implementing of landscape changes for the back part of our property to include a wonderful meditation garden, waterfall and pergola. A special thank you to Evan Weaver who is assisting in designing this project! All of our Team leaders and volunteers are to be thanked in appreciation of the way they gently and generously serve our church family. As of this writing, our family is vacationing in the upper Northeast, mixing family visits and business for a week. Upon our return, Ryan goes off to Texas A&M for soccer camp! UNITY CHAPLAINS Have you ever considered expanding your prayer consciousness and serving others in a very special and meaningful way? Our Unity Chaplains serve our congregation through prayer after services and in monthly wellness calls. Each is trained in listening, holding sacred space and praying affirmatively with others. Does this special way of expressing God touch your heart? We are forming our Chaplain Team for next year, with training to occur in late September. Call the office to schedule an appointment with Rev. Steve if this wonderful opportunity to pray and serve our congregation speaks to your heart. DO YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN MIND? Our nominating committee for board elections is forming. The committee will be taking nominations for board members. Please be considering church members who you believe would be excited and proficient in serving our church in this most important way. We will be sharing the contact names and numbers for our committee later this month. Maybe you would like to serve! Remember, our Annual Membership Meeting is October 14, 2007. Youth & Family Ministry It seems this summer has flown by and school will be starting soon. For many of our families, this becomes a busy time as there are school supplies, new clothes and possibly a new school. Change affects our children as much as it affects us. So how can we best support them in this new adventure? I think it’s important for us encourage them to express all of their concerns, hopes and dreams and to acknowledge their feelings and thoughts about the new school year. It really is a new adventure and if we can help them to see it in this light, we can influence how they approach it and lessen some of the anxiety and fear that often occurs. This is a great time to remind our children and teens (and ourselves!) of our 5 Basic Unity Principles:
I invite you to have a family time of prayer each day. Focusing on them and creating a way to talk about them will create a positive energy for everyone. It will help us all remember we are all beloved, lovable and loving children of God! Even greater news is that practicing prayer renews your connection with God, our Source. Please join with me in this as we also affirm in prayer for all of our youth and teachers, that this will be a wonderful new school year, filled with many new and interesting experiences, learning more about our world, each other and ourselves! Youthful Blessings! TREASURER’S REPORT for JUNE 2007 General Fund Income $ 17,376.60 Expenses - 16,438.44 Net General Fund Income + 938.16 Building Fund Income + 495.00 Total Income $ + 1433.16 Building Fund $ 115,500.00 Unity Church of the Bay Area's tithe for June was $1,878.00. It was blessed and $469.50 each was sent to the Association of Unity Churches and Unity School of Christianity. $939.00 was sent to Bay Area Turning Point in support of the work they do in sheltering, training and helping abused women and their children, a special ministry indeed! Your continued financial support allows our church to grow and flourish and carry the message of positive, practical Christianity in the Bay area. Thank you, and thank you God!
|
||||
