The Gift of Your "Virtual" Presence
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Photo: Screen shot from my home office space
Good morning, Sunrise Chapel peeps!
How ARE you?
Please send me a note by email, text, or call me. I'd love to hear from you!
Friends,
I'm thinking of you and wondering how you are faring through this unprecedented ordeal? In the spiritual world, as Swedenborg explains, people can actually become present with one another through thought.
- "Thought itself brings about presence; for a person who is in one's thoughts appears and is so-to-speak present before one's inward sight. In the next life this is what happens in actual effect, for when anyone there thinks intently about another person, that person comes to be standing present there. So it is that friends are brought together." Secrets of Heaven 6893
We can all experience this in our imaginations. Just by picturing another person, we can get a sense of their presence, whether they are in this world or in the next.
So I'm thinking about each of you! And sending prayers for your well-being as we all hunker down and experience a temporary new routine of life... disconnected in some ways, and very much connected in other ways. Even though we need to practice physical distancing, we can remain spiritually close by staying in touch "virtually".
Phone Someone and Say Hi
Elise and I are working on a "good old-fashioned" phone calling system to enhance our connection and communication during this weird time. Until we get it going, please reach out to any Sunrise Chapel peeps by phone and say Hi! Chat. Share. Pray together. Let's keep up our sense of community as much as possible. We need each other! If you need a church directory,
contact me and I'll email you a pdf.
With love and respect and prayers,
Nathan
nathan@sunrisechapel.org
cell/text 520-820-5148
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Photo: Chapel chancel
This Sunday, I will again livestream a church service
Our 11 o'clock service will be livestreamed using our YouTube channel (see below for links).
Last Sunday I introduced one of our Choose Joy spiritual growth tasks about practicing acceptance. Thank you to Ken Lee for doing our readings from the Word remotely by phone. And thank you to Kelly Woofenden for leading a guided meditation, also by phone. I look forward to including more people remotely in our worship service this Sunday. It helps me maintain a sense of our
community.
This Sunday's Topic
I'll be talking about Task # 23 "Not Worrying." This can be challenging since there are so many possibilities of things to worry about. But the Lord does say not to worry, so let's explore what that might mean! How do you manage your level of worry? What do you do to reduce your worry? What is your go-to replacement? I'd love to hear from you today. Drop me a note,
or give me a call. It always helps inform my message to hear what you are thinking about on the topic.
"Children's" talk - Please gather a few supplies
This is actually for any adult, too!
Before our Sunday time together, please get a couple of items and have them on hand for this interactive portion of the service:
- a container with a lid (a jar, a shoe box, a pottery vessel, etc.)
- some sheets of writing paper, sticky notes, or 3x5 cards
- a pencil or pen or marker
I will be explaining a way of encouraging each of us to create a space - physically and spiritually - to help deal with our worries.
If you want to read a version of the task ahead of time, go to choosejoynow.org and look up Task #23 - Not Worrying. Or if you have a card deck of the tasks, get it ready.
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Livestream and Archive Videos of our 11 am
Worship Services
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Please subscribe to our YouTube channel Not only does it help spread the word to others, you can also get an alert when we go live on Sunday morning. If you bookmark the link in your favorite browser, you can also easily view any available archived service anytime. Comments or questions? Contact me anytime.
~ Nathan
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Photo: ZOOM logo
Congratulations to our Women's Group! They successfully held their first online Zoom meeting last night!
Way to go, you rockin' ladies! So proud of you!
Last night 13 women connected for an online group experience, overcoming technology hurdles and having what I understand was a very good, fun, and meaningful gathering. Elise said it included the opportunity for each person to "check in", then Kelly led a guided meditation, followed by everyone's "closing thoughts" and they concluded by saying the 23rd Psalm together. Congratulations everybody! I
knew you could do it! Very heartwarming! I wish I had a screen shot of the Zoom meeting to share with everyone. What a wonderful accomplishment!
If you want to join the Women's Group in this way, contact Elise to be added to the notification list. They are now meeting at 6:30 pm (AZ time) on Thursdays.
I'm leading a 30-minute meditation group on Mondays at 9 am (AZ time). All welcome!
This online group is open to anyone. Last week I had people from Sunrise Chapel, Phoenix, and places on the East coast.
The meeting starts with a brief check-in (who are you, and how are you?), then a quotation from the Word to use for a few minutes of silent meditation, then closing thoughts. Please join the Zoom meeting a few minutes ahead of time. If you need help understanding what to do, contact me for more details. You don't even have to have a computer to participate - you can join by simply making a phone call.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about or what Zoom is, but you want to learn, contact me. I'd love to help you!
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Photo: laptop + smartphone
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To the extent they can be arranged either remotely or in person (if allowed):
Apr. 5 (Sun) - Palm Sunday
Apr. 10 (Fri) - Good Friday
Apr. 12 (Sun) - Easter
Apr. 19 (Sun) - Board Meeting
May. 17 (Sun) - Annual Congregational Meeting
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Your church home for partnering with the Lord and each other in the practice of cultivating spiritual growth and choosing heavenly joy
www.sunrisechapel.org
nathan@sunrisechapel.org Office 520-298-1245
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