No longer on the outside looking in

Spiritual resource to share: tmcyouth blogs!

This was posted earlier this month on tmcyouth.com as part of their "Growing Up Strange" blog series.  Each blog post tells a little bit of what it is like to grow up as a Christian Scientist.  These are fun and insightful!:

Growing up, I never felt that my friends rejected me because of Christian Science, but they did think of it as an out of the box religion—and weird in an interesting, loving kind of way.

One time I went with a friend to her regular medical check up. “My friend doesn’t go to doctors,” she boasted to her elderly physician, “She’s a Christian Scientist.” The doctor glared at me and said, “You’re going to die before the rest of us.” ......

(To read more, click here.)

Peace on Earth

Spiritual resource to share: all that is good

Another reason I like it here: the Ministerial Association.

We meet monthly -- this group that represents much of the spiritual leadership here in the Northwoods. There is a profound focus and regard for the religious and spiritual lives of the people in this community. Discussion usually centers around what can we learn about our communities, what are we doing for our communities, and what more can be done.

Recently, different members of the group collaborated and put on a series of talks about world religion. A Presbyterian minister gave these series of talks in the new Catholic church in which many churched, unchurched and seeking people came. As the classes on Shintoism/Buddhism/Islam/Judaism/Jainism/Christianity/etc rolled on, the instructor commented how many times, during each of the classes, he could see people waking up to the amazing number of similarities amongst the world religions. And they could see themselves from a new viewpoint as well.

This is a common theme among inter-faith groups. Respect and unity in diversity is their healing gift to the communities they serve and to those willing to be taught.

This made me think of a quote from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. I always thought about it concerning individuals, but this time I saw how it applied to the different disciplines of faith and worship.

Man is not absorbed in Deity, and man cannot lose his individuality, for he reflects eternal Life; nor is he an isolated, solitary idea, for he represents infinite Mind, the sum of all substance.

Healing through prayer as taught by Christ Jesus is what I bring to the table of this group. And I as lovingly embrace them, I feel that love right back.

After our meeting today, I went to hug my Unitarian friend goodbye and asked how should I wish her well for this season. The love, respect, working together, supporting one another through this group was all unspoken. But our greeting and well wishes for the season suited us both perfectly as we wished each other "Peace on earth."



To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.