What’s Going on at the Church
EXTRA, EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT
Yes, it’s TRUE. Your session took a bold step and approved the installation of air conditioning in Davis Hall. This is indeed a costly project that is being funded by the investment funds and will improve our summer worship services as well as enable us to rent the hall during the hot months. The (4) mini-split units and condensers have been installed. The next phase is the electrical assessment to determine the safest and best way to provide power to the units.
We welcome donations to offset the cost of this project with much appreciation.
“Weighing Truth and Life”
We’re living in the midst of a time, which, in many ways is unprecedented. Yes, there has always been dirty dealing in commerce and politics. Yes, there have always been leaders in government, the church, and the business world who have been corrupt, short-sighted, incompetent, and destructive. However, we are seeing these characteristics showing up with a frequency and intensity that most of us have never seen. John Pavlovitz wrote a book two years ago that has excellent advice for those of us who are wondering how to “keep the faith” and be a force for good in such times. The next series of meditations will be drawn from this book’s helpful, practical insights for living in such times. The first several insights will be about “warning signs” to pay attention to in order to maintain our health and perspective.
“As we go about the work of being compassionate human beings in these days when cruelty is trending, there are two wounds we need to be mindful of and sensitive to: the wounds of the world, and the wounds we sustain tending to them. The former are usually much better at getting our attention than the latter are. The very empathy that enables us to notice the pain in our path makes us vulnerable to injury as we travel it. Proximity to other people’s trauma makes it difficult to enter those places unscathed. The best we can do is pay attention to the signs and mitigate the damage, and we’re going to need to slow down in order to do that. There is a stillness that is both necessary and elusive if we want to stay compassionate for the long haul.
Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh writes “We do so much, we run so quickly, the situation is difficult, and many people say, ‘Don’t just sit there, do something.’ But doing more things may make the situation worse. So, you should say, ‘Don’t just do something, sit there. Sit there. Stop, be yourself first, and begin from there.’
It’s difficult to quantify the physical and emotional toll of the collective hell we’ve all passed through in recent years, and the heightened level of awareness that we’ve all had to sustain along the way. We’re learning that trauma resides in our bodies, but its impact is time-released, which makes it very tricky to track. Sometimes we can name precisely the sources of our fatigue and anxieties. More often our assailants surface later, shape-shifted into something else: a stress-related heart episode, a relationship’s collapse, a mental health emergency. We may not be able to run a tether directly from these things, but we need to know it’s all connected.
Ultimately, each of us is the greatest resource we have in the fight for a more compassionate planet, but dead people make lousy activists. We have to pay attention to these warning lights, and these self-awareness, self-care aspects are fight number one.”
Blessing and Peace, Ed
Looking to donate to our thrift sales?
If you have any furniture to donate, please take a photo of what you have and send the photos to office@1stpresrahway.org. At this time, we’re not accepting clothes or shoes.
Members usually work on Wednesday’s for our sales from 10:30 am -1:30 pm. If that’s not a convenient time for you to drop off donations, other arrangements can be made. Please email the church office and your request will be forwarded to the “sales crew” so they can respond to your inquiry.
As always, thank you to all who donate. Our sales have been a great success this year because of you!
Important Message from the USRC Board of Directors:
Please read these guidelines about Squier Hall and the formation of the USRC Board of Directors, who will be overseeing the groups meeting in Squier.
As part of the guidelines, please use this form if you have any concerns so that they can be addressed.
Interested in Getting Involved?
We have a lot of different ways for you to get involved – short-term projects, one-time opportunities, working with our livestream technology on Sundays, plus much more. Click on the button below to see what we have on our ‘volunteer wish list’. As more opportunities become available, we will be sure to update our listings.