Dear Church Family,
I love watching my dog roll on his back into the grass. It does not happen often when he finds a spot on the ground that he wants to transfer the smell on his body. We call it a sweet spot. I cannot detect the aroma that he wants to wear on his body, but he can. Except once when he found a decaying fish carcass at Fiesta Island and he decided was too good to pass up. Yikes! He received a bath when we returned home. The act of rolling around on the sweet spot appears to be joyously euphoric and it makes him sneeze.
My sweet spot is often found in worship – celebrating the Spirit of God with others elevates my body and emotions. I am grateful for enjoying and sharing the sweet spot with you who attended our service this past Sunday. The sweet spot began with the Sunday Morning Gathering on Zoom where 16 of us gathered. They held in prayer the Sunday Worship Service that took place after them. And then 33 of us gathered in the Sanctuary for our first live in-person worship in over 7 months.
These weeks leading up to the election has found me at times in error consciousness. As a Truth Student, I recognize error consciousness almost immediately and begin to deny its power and turn it over to be loved and forgiven. When I wander into any thought that feeds into separation – I attempt to heal it. I realized that I have triggers – usually about something that appears to threaten me, my family, or the people I love. Recently I have become aware of the ways information from news sources appear threatening. I get stirred up because of something expressed that may or may not be true. I believe in journalism and value information from reliable news sources. Good journalism will hold us accountable to our actions. I am not writing this to discuss reliable news sources, but to explore how receiving news impacts my life. I found myself feeling fearful, angry, and my emotions shutting down. Not a good place to be for a pastor, spouse, or anybody. I had already put distance between me and news sources, but this week I took action to turn off many forms of news and information. I have also edited other “entertainment” from TV realizing that if the message is not uplifting – I don’t need it.
The fearful and angry feelings subsided. The world did not stop because I stopped receiving information from my news sources, and I don’t think I missed anything – because everyone around me drops information that is important to them. I am not sure if or when I will return to a diet of news. Perhaps I needed this awareness to assist me in getting clarity on what feeds my Spirit and what feeds my fears.
Connecting with you on our Zoom gathering and in person at church feeds my soul. Being a part of your day or week empowers lifts my vibrations into my sweet space. Quite frankly, I desire more sweet spaces in my life. I imagine many of us desire more sweet space, too. Let us affirm that we discover and experience more sweet space in our life. The Universe provides us with experiences and connections that bring joy!
Hope to see you in some form of worshipping together soon! Stay safe, calm, and assured that our highest good is always unfolding. Oh yeah, go Vote!
Many blessings,
Pastor Robert
PS: It's Day Light Saving Time: Remember to set your clocks back an hour.