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| WINGS Book Study Group (UCC): Tue, 12:00 PM
Practical Metaphysics Class (Zoom): Tue, 7:00 PM
Wednesday "Faith Lift" Meditation (Zoom): 7:00 PM Table Talk Thursday (Zoom): 12:00 PM
Exodus Class (Zoom): Thur, 3:00 PM
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| Sunday Service (At UCC): 11:00 AM
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| | WINGed Words The Reverend Cynthia Mackey, UCC Minister of Education |
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Hi, Everyone!
This is the first of my monthly essays. I am brimming with gratitude over the wonderful opening of our Church last Sunday! It was such a treat to be able to see so many folks and to welcome each other home to Unity Church of Clearwater. It was fitting that it was Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial opening of Summer and a weekend to remember the sacrifice of so many souls to our country’s wars—our military wars and our war with a tiny virus that killed more people than some of our military wars and sparked an internal battle in our own country. However, we are coming to the end of the pandemic—the once-in-a-century pandemic that we hope never to see again in our lifetimes nor in the lifetime of future generations. We pray to see peace and prosperity throughout our land!
I was so inspired by yesterday’s Daily Word reading on respect. The affirmation was, “I respect and honor the divinity within myself and others.” It went on to remind us that, though we may have been taught to respect our “elders,” it is not the years of life that commands respect in others, but the life lived in those years—whether many or few. There are many who demonstrate tremendous courage and take on great challenges. Their willingness, daring, determination, and courage deserve respect. So, on Memorial Day, we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and for their fellows.
It came to me as I looked at the American Flags flying throughout our neighborhood that they were not designated as being on the “Red Team” or the “Blue Team;” everyone was flying the same flag. It also came to me when I have visited Arlington Cemetery or when I visited the American Cemetery in Normandy France or when I went to the Vietnam War Memorial Wall that no one was designated with an “R” or a “D.” They were all Americans who loved their country, with all of its glory and flaws. When we mourn the loss of the over half a million souls that perished from this pandemic, we do not recognize whether they were on the red team, blue team, or neither or never voted. They are Americans of all races, ages, and genders.
I was and will always be a teacher and one of the subjects I taught was history, both world history and US history. The United States of America has been a great and wondrous experiment–governed by a living, breathing document called our Constitution which has always left room for us to do better. Just as individuals we can do better, our country can always do better. That is not to question its greatness, but to leave room for greater greatness to come. I am proud to be an American, proud of a country that knows it can always do better!
Two of the twelve Disciples, James and John of Zebedee, represent two faculties that work best when working together—judgement and love. In Chapter 9 of Your Hope of Glory by Elizabeth Sand Turner, there is a good discussion about judgment that may instruct us for the present day. In James 7:16-18, Jesus reminds us that He taught with authority from God, not on His own authority. The all-knowing Christ Mind in us will teach us when we are willing to listen, but we must lay aside our pre-conceived notions if we are to learn from our Father. Turner further reminds us of James 7:24: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” She explains this to mean, “It is wise to look for reality beyond every negative appearance . . . . We may see divine order that is beyond the display of disorder, love that is beyond the show of hate and wholeness that is beyond the manifestation of disease. To behold the good that exists in the very midst of the appearance of evil is indeed, “to judge with right judgment.”
So, therefore, I am going to apply love in any discernments I make about my fellow “countrypersons.” To realize that we may look through different lenses but there is a Truth that we can use my spiritual perception in order to discern. I am grateful to know I have that faculty. I am grateful for all the brave souls who have gone before me to help to form a more perfect union–a continuously evolving and further inclusive union of the United States of America. I believe that is what those whose names are on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC, in the American Cemetery in Normandy, France or in Arlington Cemetery in Virginia gave their lives to honor: a set of high ideals, not a specific team!
Look for WINGed Words next month on the first Tuesday of the month! Until then, you are welcome to attend if you can to the WINGS group on Tuesdays in the UCC Café at noon and, of course, I will see you on Sundays at Unity!
Peace, Love and Unity,
Cynthia
Today’s photos come from the American Cemetery in Normandy, France. The French people express such gratitude to this very day for the liberation of their country from Nazi occupation by the American and Allied forces who came ashore on D Day, June 6, 1944, and for the lives sacrificed in that endeavor. Visiting there was an incredible experience filled with sadness and pride! The first photo is of the commemorative sculpture at Omaha Beach on the coast of Normandy, France. The second photo is Mike and me in front of the monument to the First Infantry Division also known as the “Big Red One” which Mike served in during his tour in Vietnam, also on the beach at Normandy. The third photo is of the American Cemetery in Normandy. The last is the grave of a soldier that died in the D-Day Invasion. We were each given a white rose on arrival there to place on the grave of any person we selected; this is the person I selected. |
| | | | | | | | | | | Your Weekly Affirmation:
“MY LEGACY IS GOOD AND ONLY GOOD. IF I CAN DREAM IT, I CAN DO IT!”
THANK YOU, GOD! |
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