RevRuss's blog

Kindness and Justice

In the book Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices, author Brian McLaren wrote these paragraphs that highlight the relationship between contemplation and justice. I've found them to be inspirational, and would like to share them with you.

Contemplation as Letting Go

This spring, Unity of Fairfax engaged in a collective study of the book The Naked Now by Richard Rohr. He has a daily blog, and I found today's blog especially meaningful and have decided to share it with you. If you're inspired by his words, you may want to subscribe to his blog. Although a Franciscan priest, Rohr's teaching aligns well with Unity teachings. I am always delighted to find seemingly different teachers coming into alignment!

Contemplation as Letting Go Friday, September 2, 2016

Discernment

The word "discernment" is an important word for anyone on a spiritual path. The word itself comes from a Latin root meaning "to separate." Discernment is to be contrasted with another word "decide," which also comes from a Latin root meaning "to cut off." Why is this important? In making a decision, one "cuts off" the other options. It's either A or B, not both. Decisions are decisive and sometimes made in haste and often - more often than not - made in one's head.

Leaning In

I love the opening lines from the 1859 novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens:

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter On July 7, Unity Worldwide Ministries (UWM) posted on its Facebook page a meme that had the words: "What is your commitment to being a more active ally in the movement for Black lives?" Included were the hastags #BlackLivesMatter and #PrayerToAction.

Guest Blogger Rev. Dr. Rick Belous: Miracles, Unity,and Black Swans

Does Unity believe in miracles? Well, that all depends on what you mean by miracles. If by the word ‘miracles’ you mean “hocus pocus” and “abracadabra” magic tricks, then most leading thinkers in Unity would suggest that you are watching a “slight of hand” vaudeville show. No, it is a trick that you are watching. Enjoy it because there is nothing like a good magic show right in between the dog act and the dancing siamese twins.

Higher Laws

Guest Blogger Ron Karstetter: Why doesn’t Unity believe in original sin?

Original Sin or Original Blessing? Hiking is a big part of my spiritual practice. Being on a trail in the woods, helps me to relax, clear my mind and refocus; along with the gift of connecting with creation, and my place in the creative process. Some trails are clearly defined, others not so much; and on those occasional strays from the path, there are inevitably, wonderful surprises along the way, with opportunities to course correct, and to redirect my energy as needed.

This or Something Better

I have been noticing lately that I hear myself referencing 2 Corinthians 5:7, a little line that says, "for we walk by faith, not by sight." I don't know about you, but I much prefer walking by sight - deciding where I want to go and, with eyes wide open, going there. It just seems much easier to walk by sight and not by faith. My needs for comfort, security and clarity are met when I have all the facts in front of me (walking by sight). But if, as we say in Unity, "the nature of God is altogether good," then maybe walking by faith isn't such a bad thing.

Interfaith and Intra-faith

Thoroughout our Unity and New Thought communities, a key idea that is taught is "oneness" - the state or condition of being at one with our Creator, however we understand that Creator to be, and all other people. To that end, many of our communities engage in interfaith services and projects in which we pray with others or engage in service projects that serve the general good. A recent example at Unity of Fairfax was our hosting a program on behalf of Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions on April 2. In June, Unity of Fairfax will once again be hosting the "Ramadan Tent" on behalf of the American-Turkish Friendship Association in which not only local Muslims, but church and community groups are invited to join in breaking the Ramadan fast.

Repel Fewer Newcomers

I'm going to depart from my addressing a spiritual question in this blog and address a spiritual community question. That quetion is this: why does membership in faith communities remain static over years when we have so many visitors?

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