View this email online if it doesn't display correctly
|
|
|
|
| Wednesday Meditation: 7:00 PM Table Talk Thursday: 12:00 PM Sunday Service: 10:45 AM Sunday Social: 12:00 PM
|
| | | | Our
WINGS group met in the UCC Cafe on Tuesdays for many years. Now that
we're sheltering in place, the group really misses sharing their
inspiring weekly studies.
Since our WINGS group leader, UCC Certified
Truth Teacher, Cynthia Mackey, began to send out weekly emails to the
group, we asked if we might share her messages with our entire email list so that more people could enjoy
them.
You're very welcome to send questions or positive comments to
Cynthia at: info@unityofclearwater.org. |
| |  |
Hi Everyone,
Greetings to all of you and Happy August! I hope this message finds you healthy and well, beginning our fifth month of pandemic living.
Last Friday, my family and I went boating on the Homosassa River. I mentioned before that this was in the planning and so off we went for a wonderful day of swimming in the Homosassa Spring and a picnic as well as sight seeing along the river and out into the Gulf of Mexico on our rented pontoon boat. I have to say it was quite good for my spirit to reduce our day into a swim in the rather chilly spring (72 degrees year around) and a simple picnic lunch, peaceful conversation and wildlife observation. I felt all of the tension leave my muscles as soon as we left the dock.
So, when I was thinking about that experience as I sat down to write todays message, I thought of the Beatitudes which are the opening to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which can be found in the fifth chapter of Matthew in the Gospel section of the Bible. The first Beatitude states, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” If you look at the explanation of this Beatitude in Emmet Fox’s book The Sermon on the Mount, it is not as you might first think. It of course has nothing to do with poverty. Emmet Fox says that since the “Bible is really a textbook of metaphysics” and is a “manual for the growth of the soul” it must be looked at through that frame of reference. Here Fox tells us that Jesus is giving us the formula for the kingdom of heaven – that place of peace and serenity on earth. He says that we must empty ourselves of our self will, powered by our preconceived ideas and opinions and put aside our present habits of thought, views and prejudices. In fact he goes on to say “jettison anything in our lives that stands in the way of our finding God.” Whew, that is a tall order!
I am not sure how close I can come to that on any given day – especially during these times when opinions seem to serve as facts some of the time, and every preconceived notion and prejudice in my life seems it is being exposed for my examination. However, I can tell you that when I plunged into the cold spring, squeeling and laughing with my family, I was much closer to that kingdom place…….when I took delight in the children around us on a “slidey” mat or on noodles splashing and laughing and saw a man paddle by with his little daughter sitting in a miniature lawn chair on a paddle board wearing a crown like she was queen of the Nile or a fluffy white dog in his own vest held up by noodles paddling in the water – I was in that moment “poor in spirit” and experiencing “the kingdom of heaven.”
I know it is not possible for all of us to do something like that in these times. It was our first time since the pandemic began and I feel very grateful we were able to have a special fun time away from the concerns of everyday life. It was good for me to let go of those habitual thoughts of what can’t be done in these times and grab on to what can be done!
As always I thank you for reading my little updates. I miss everyone so much! Thank you for the messages you send me!
Peace and Love in the Kingdom!
Cynthia
Todays attached photo is called “Socially Distanced at the Homosassa Springs Swimming Hole” |
| | | | | Your Weekly Affirmation:
I OPEN THE DOOR TO A QUIET STATE OF MIND, WHERE I REST IN HEALING PRAYER.
THANK YOU, GOD! |
|
|
|
|
