Stump the Minister
Join us for another fun Stump the Minister Sunday, where Rev. Jean-Marie will sweat it out while trying to answer congregant questions he's never seen. Do you have a heart-felt and meaningful question about your spirituality and how it is applied to your life? There's still time to ask a question!
We'll also enjoy beautiful music brought to us by our amazing music team, as well as the opportunity to come together in fellowship after service. See you there!
Listen & Watch
Sermon Notes
Invocation
“A Kindness Poem”, by Becky Goddard-Hill
It is easy when tired or scared or utterly desolate to speak words of bitterness about others,
to think badly of them, to wish them undoing, to shove them around, to kick them hard
even if it is just in your mind
they feel it
It is easy when jealous and empty and confused by another’s actions, to blame, point fingers, slander
to unleash the heavy, staining, bad breath of unkindness onto another
It is easy and it can feel good, righteous for a moment there.
A release of all your own unhappiness, fear, torment.
Ah, but who are we kidding,
We know inside our souls the absence of our kindness makes us so very ashamed
how it hurts hearts and breaks bonds and fractures friendships
To breathe words that are cruel upon others, to slam doors, shout, refuse to help, blame and belittle
to isolate, ignore, use, abuse
it makes us all feel so very small in the end.
We, more than ever, need to let our hearts boom and
beat to the very beat with kindness, praise, gratitude, love, light, compassion and understanding
We must lean in to hear the beat of that different drummer
that may have grown faint and quiet but with our listening grows stronger, prouder
Then how we will rise (all of us) with the strong, fierce lightness of kindness like a beautiful cake filled with promise of the taste of delicious delight.
A kindness poem upon the world is what we need to sing, powerfully but breezily letting it spread, spread, spread till the earth sings it back to us
Till everyone sings a kindness poem back to us,
to mend those broken hearts, to heal the broken bonds, to unite us,
to bring us back to falling in love with ourselves and each other.
The world needs to hum with a kindness poem – we need to write it