Rise & Shine - February 4
“In our lives, who are the people in which we most need to find the face of God?”
The Rise and Shine discussion group meets Sunday mornings at 9:00 am in the Parlor. Adults from the 8:00 & 10:00 services gather for discussions that are relevant to their lives through the lens of a current topic and scriptural references. This week's story can be read or downloaded below.
Click HERE to watch Dr. Brown's sermon
On January 21st Dr. Brené Brown gave a sermon at the National Cathedral. She preached on the need for us to come together as people of faith, as Americans, and as a collective humanity to put aside our differences and see each other as beloved children of God. Below are some quotes from her sermon. Today, we ask ourselves “In our lives, who are the people in which we most need to find the face of God?”
“Over the last twenty years […] we have sorted ourselves by ideology into bunkers […]. We now live with, worship with, go to school with, hang out with people who believe like us. And, we have very little interest in people who do not believe like us. And, you’d think the upside to sorting […] would be that we’d be behind these barricades of ideology with our best friends ever. Except as we have sorted loneliness rates have tracked equally with sorting so the more sorted we become the lonelier we are.”
“I would define where we are right now in this highly polarized world as a crisis of spiritual connection.”
“Here’s how I define spirituality […] – the deeply held belief that we are inextricably connected to each other by something greater than us, and something that is rooted in love and compassion. I call that God.”
“Find ways to be in communion with people that you don’t know to remind all of us that that connection is real and alive whether we forget it or not.”
“The opposite of collective joy and collective pain is dehumanization. And we are in a time of rampant dehumanization.”
“If you are a member of this Anglican communion or any faith, you are called to find the face of God in every single person you meet. And, there is nothing really, more unholy than stripping the humanity away from a person.”
Prayer for the Human Family (BCP p.815)
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us
through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole
human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which
infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;
unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and
confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in
your good time, all nations and races may serve you in
harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
