I went to church this morning, not that unusual but I agreed to work a recruiting table in the lobby before and after the service. Some programs are totally dependent on volunteers and the HOT (Hunger Outreach Team) is where I plug in. We work together with another volunteer organization to feed several hundred homeless folks three time a week at a park in the city. We have the kitchen facilities and usually a dozen or so of our regulars show up to cook, make sandwiches and distribute food at the park. There were two of us at our table and we talked with some nice people. We didn't get any firm commitments but several who basically said, “Maybe”. You can volunteer as much or as little as you like; there is always something to do.
There is a lot of change going on at All Souls. I think it’s due to changing times as well as natural attrition and new faces in the congregation. Fifteen years ago the old guard would have bristled at anything biblical coming from the pulpit. But most of them have either passed on or softened their tone. We have too much on our plate to be finding fault with well intended believers. We all have strong beliefs about one thing or another. What we believe comes after the fact, manifest in what we do, in this life, here and now. The difference between faith based and secular religion is that the one requires a supernatural power (being) and the promise of eternal life. We skip the supernatural mythology and control politic, cut straight to human relationships; love and take care of each other. We recognize the nature of nature, that it needs to be nurtured, not exploited.
Next week a different group (program) will be working the recruiting/information table. It might be Green Sanctuary, Racial Justice or one of several others but you cannot make it through our lobby on Sunday morning without being informed and, or solicited. Gandhi told us “As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change toward him. That is the divine mystery.” Since then the idea has been reframed to, Be the change you want to see. I think that’s what we are trying to do.
There is a lot of change going on at All Souls. I think it’s due to changing times as well as natural attrition and new faces in the congregation. Fifteen years ago the old guard would have bristled at anything biblical coming from the pulpit. But most of them have either passed on or softened their tone. We have too much on our plate to be finding fault with well intended believers. We all have strong beliefs about one thing or another. What we believe comes after the fact, manifest in what we do, in this life, here and now. The difference between faith based and secular religion is that the one requires a supernatural power (being) and the promise of eternal life. We skip the supernatural mythology and control politic, cut straight to human relationships; love and take care of each other. We recognize the nature of nature, that it needs to be nurtured, not exploited.
Next week a different group (program) will be working the recruiting/information table. It might be Green Sanctuary, Racial Justice or one of several others but you cannot make it through our lobby on Sunday morning without being informed and, or solicited. Gandhi told us “As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change toward him. That is the divine mystery.” Since then the idea has been reframed to, Be the change you want to see. I think that’s what we are trying to do.
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