Black Lives Absolutely Do Matter
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Our friend, Lori's beautiful family
My friend Lori (center) and her awesome children
Along with so, so many, people, I have been stunned, horrified, sick to my stomach by the brutality that humans inflict on other humans. Racism and brutality are evil, plain and simple. They're against God's love. They're the opposite of God's wisdom. They serve no good use. The whole bad package is a spiritual issue as much as it is moral and civil, because the origin of racism
is from broken human hearts and minds. We are not created to hate. We learn it from sources that are evil and false, either within us or from the ill will and mental confusion of others. And it's up to each of us to confront those negative influences and replace them with truly heavenly thoughts and feelings as well as outward acts of love and kindness.
The photo above gives me hope. It's one of many Christmas card photos Elise and I have received from our longtime friend, Lori (center), bragging about her amazing family. She was so proud of each of her children, five out of six of whom were adopted. Though I have never met the adopted ones in person, I feel I know them from her outpouring of love. Each one is wonderful, smart, caring, and
ambitious. She did an incredible job of raising them, and I have a sense of hope for their future and how useful they will be in their lives. Skin color and race did not reduce her magnanimous love for them. Her heart and face beamed with happiness to be their mother. Sadly, her cancer took over her body recently and she died at age 60, but her gracious spirit lives on in the other world and in the lives of her children. I'm so proud of her and her family. They are a model for me of love
and respect for every person regardless of color or race.
Even protest against hate gives me hope. Not the violence or looting, that's just a smoke screen. I'm encouraged by the unified message of so many wholehearted people of all walks of life to stop the racism, stop the brutality, just stop being meanspirited, period. I'm also hopeful that some of these goodhearted protesters may become our future leaders, bringing much needed change in our country
and our world. In the midst of our sadness and confusion, that's something to look forward to!
With love and respect and prayers for everyone's well-being, physically and spiritually,
Nathan
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Sermon series based on Matt 7:12
The Spirit and Practice of the Golden Rule
Last Sunday I started a 4-part series on practicing the Golden Rule, a timely topic that applies to the spiritual lifestyle that we all long to experience inside and out.
I am fascinated by the study of this very common teaching, which is known the world over through different spiritual traditions. There is so much to learn by exploring the source of its goodness and wisdom and by using it's motivating message - that is both complex and simple - to bring changes to our spiritual and down-to-earth lives. You can watch last week's message on our YouTube
channel.
Here (and pictured above) is the task for the week that I introduced at the end:
Golden Rule Intention #1:
When I find it hard to love or like or even tolerate another, I will use empathy to become aware of and sensitive to how my words and actions might affect that person. I will say or do only what I would want her/him to say or do to me.
This Sunday I will continue the series with a 2nd intention that has to do with balance and individual responsibility. I also want to thank Dr. Joshua Simon, MD, EdD, a Tucson resident and all-around wonderful person, for writing a great book all about the Golden Rule called "Positively 4th Street - A Babyboomer's Guide to the Promised Land." I was introduced to Dr. Joshua at last year's Tucson
Festival of Books, bought a copy of his book, and have been thinking about this topic for months.
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"Soft" reopening for in-person church activities
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Combination of livestream and in-person church service
We are reopening gently, carefully
As places of worship in Arizona begin reopening for in-person meetings and church services, I want to reiterate that, for me, reopening at Sunrise Chapel is a matter of safe health practices, not political viewpoints. There is still a lot we don't know about CoViD-19, but we do know that the number of positive cases being reported in Pima County is still rising. Thankfully, there were no new CoViD-related
deaths reported yesterday, so that's good news. But there is still reason for caution and care.
Also, we simply need to be loving and respectful of each other’s needs and sensitivities. Please be patient with each other.
This Sunday, once again, I will focus primarily on the livestream via our YouTube channel. This new electronic medium is here to stay, and I intend to continue improving it even as we steadily return to in-person church services.
Guidelines for reopening
In addition to participating via the livestream, I welcome a small number of people to attend in person under the health guidelines of the CDC and the guidance of the Governor’s office, including the following:
1. Stay safe while being kind and respectful. If you attend, observe the guidelines. If you are uncomfortable for any reason, please take care of yourself first; feel free to leave without any negative judgments.
2. Do not attend in person if you are sick, or if you are concerned about getting sick, or if you are at high risk. Instead, please continue to participate remotely.
3. As a community of people who love and respect each other, wearing a face covering is a community service to protect each other, especially the vulnerable. Wear a face covering your nose and mouth. Please bring your own face covering (mask, scarf, bandana, etc).
4. Practice social distancing while on the church property (inside buildings and outside) including friendly no-touch greetings.
5. Current social distancing guidelines from the CDC and FEMA recommend 113 sq ft per person indoors, which means limiting our number of participants in the main seating area of the Chapel to about 15. The service will also be viewable on the TV monitors in the small group room and in Friendship Hall.
6. On entering and leaving the buildings, wash hands with soap or use hand sanitizer.
In addition, these are procedures we will follow during the church service:
• The air conditioning will be turned off just prior to the church service to reduce circulation of airborne particles
• Sanitary wipes will be available for individuals to wipe down chairs and surfaces they use
• Bathroom use will be limited to one person at a time, using only the main bathrooms at the entrance to Friendship Hall
• We are not handing out printed bulletins or songbooks. Instead, the song lyrics will be projected on the monitor and announcements will either be projected or verbal.
Please, let me know whatever you think. It's good to hear from as many people as possible. I'm doing the best I can, and I don't want to put any volunteers or visitors in any unsafe positions. I appreciate your help and patience!
Looking forward to your participation either in person or online!
Nathan
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Photo: ZOOM logo
After church, Zoom with me at Noon!
If you haven't participated yet, I welcome you. It's a casual time to "check in" with some friends and have informal conversation. Everyone is welcome. It's fun to see each other and say hello. You can pop in for a bit and leave whenever you need to. It's also important to me to get some feedback about the church service and any other aspects of church life.
To join the Zoom meeting, click on this link at NOON
If this link doesn't work for you, go to Zoom.us and enter these credentials for the meeting:
Meeting ID: 949 4617 0443
Password: 05152020 (hint: the numerical date for May 15, 2020)
If you ONLY want to call in (without your computer or video), use one of these phone numbers and follow the prompts. You may have to enter the Meeting ID and the password. You will be able to listen and talk (but you won’t see anyone and no one will see you).
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 949 4617 0443
Password: 05152020 (hint: the numerical date for May 15, 2020)
Managing Zoom security
In addition to Zoom's new requirement of a password, for the sake of security, I have also enabled the "waiting room" feature for our Zoom call. When you join the meeting, you will enter this "waiting room" until the facilitator "lets you in."
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A Blast from the Past - June 20, 1980
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Nathan & Elise June 20, 1980 in Bryn Athyn Cathedral
Please Help us Celebrate our 40th Wedding Anniversary!
We are happy and proud to have made it to this marriage milestone together, and we want to show our appreciation for your love and support in the recent few years.
We warmly welcome you to a DRIVE-UP anniversary celebration on June 20, between 6-8 pm at Sunrise Chapel.
When you drive up to Sunrise Chapel, we'll give you an in-person, socially distanced greeting. Then drive over to the wedding cake table for an individual serving of carrot cake from the same recipe used for our wedding cake. Bottled water will also be available. (No gifts please! This is our gift to you, and your gift is your smiling presence.)
We just want a way to connect together (safely) and celebrate our appreciation for marriage and family and relationship-building.
With love and respect, Nathan and Elise
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Photo: laptop + coffee
Weekday Meditation (9:00-9:30 am MT) This is the link for the Monday meditation that I lead, but it is also the same link for the rest of the weekdays, led by other folks. Try it! You might like it!
ESPECIALLY FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES:
New Church Vineyard (This is a RICH source of KID-ORIENTED content for all sorts of stories from the Bible and the teachings of Swedenborg. Use this for family worship and for "Sunday school" type activities to enhance your spiritual lives at home.)
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End of Fiscal Year Fundraising
Our church runs on a fiscal year ending June 30th. This is typically the time of year where we make an extra appeal for fundraising. Of course we had hoped to hold a significant fundraiser event at the end of March, but the CoViD-19 outbreak put a hold on that.
This year is also a very trying time for many. It's important to be clear about 2 things:
1. Fundraising is never our goal. It is simply a means to continue the work that we do at Sunrise Chapel... worshiping, facilitating small groups, connecting, serving, and creating our beautiful spiritual home together.
2. We understand that for some during this very unique situation of stay-at-home orders and social distancing, it is creating a very challenging financial situation. We DO NOT want anyone to feel pressured to give.
We do, however, want people to be mindful of our financial picture in order to continue doing the important work that we are so blessed to do together.
If you feel called to make a donation at this time we deeply appreciate it. If you feel called to pledge a planned gift, that would be amazing. All gifts, no matter the amount, help us get to our goal and help support the infrastructure needed for daily and weekly operations.
You can donate virtually through Sunrise Chapel's PayPal account or send a check directly to Sunrise Chapel, C/O William Smith, Treasurer, 8421 E Wrightstown Rd. Tucson, AZ 87515.
Consider setting up a recurring electronic donation through PayPal or by having a check mailed from your bank to the church.
Questions? Ask our Treasurer, Bill Smith william@sunrisechapel.org
Thinking about setting up a planned gift? Talk with our Director of Planned Giving, Mark Wyncoll mark.wyncoll@newchurch.org
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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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