THERE’S A REASON WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER
The fourth of the four core values from the initiative WMTN that we will seek to embody:
“Responsible Citizenship: We will emphasize that it’s up to all of us, we-the-people, to depolarize our politics and meet our common challenges.”
It’s time for each of us to be the bigger person. Do it for one another: “As I have loved you….”
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris
HONEST IN OUR HUMANITY; AUTHENTIC IN OUR DIVINITY
The third of the four core values from the initiative WMTN that we will seek to embody:
“Honesty: We will allow people to feel what they are feeling about the election. We will not ask them to hide their satisfaction and joy if their side won, OR their grief and anger if their side lost.”
Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”
We strive to be the best human beings we know how to be, until that day when we actually come to live in the awareness that we are NOT human beings. We give every other human being the same latitude.
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris Owen
DIVINE PERFECTION – HUMAN IMPERFECTION
The second of the four core values from the initiative WMTN that we will seek to embody:
“Humility: We will talk about our own side with the knowledge that our leaders are not perfect and that our current policy solutions are not complete answers to our nation’s complex problems.”
Here I am reminded of four of AA’s 12 steps: 4, 5, 6, 7.
I am not a perfect human being – neither is anyone else I know. As I practice these steps in my own life, I surrender my need to be in control of the Universe, much less any other merely human being. We follow Jesus’s suggestion: “Let he among you who is without sin, cast the first stone.”
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris
NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS – ONLY OF THE DIVINE!
The first of the four core values from the initiative WMTN that we will seek to embody especially during this difficult time for our nation:
“Respect: We will talk about our fellow citizens on the other side with respect for their intelligence and good will. We will avoid characterizing them as deserving our disdain or pity.”
Spiritually speaking, there are no others. If we are one, then, what we do to another, we do unto ourselves. The practice of “putting ourselves in another’s shoes” might be as close to experiencing Oneness as many of us can get. We’ll explore why “loving our neighbor as ourselves” is the second great commandment that Jesus gave.
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris
A Love That Is Out of This World
There is no such thing as a conscious unloving act.
All unloving acts arise from a state of unconsciousness, unconnected to our Source, to the truth of Who We Are. All tension and conflict arise from our identification with Who We Are Not.
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris
Blessing Releases and Reveals
As we progress on our spiritual journey, we ultimately come to the realization that everything that shows up in our lives is here to serve us. To “turn a frown upside down,” all we have to do is look for the good in even the worst situations. As we continue to deal with the challenges of COVID-19, as well as, the civil unrest, political climate and natural disasters, we have tremendous opportunity to grow into the fullness of our Divine Potential. Blessing “what is” frees us from shallow, programmed, hurtful responses and creates the deep space necessary for something new to take hold.
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris
Come Home to Prayer
It’s often said that prayer is the foundation of Unity, but what does that mean? It also begs the question: What is prayer? Our last two Sunday sermons have tried to answer those questions, along with: “Why pray?” This Sunday, we’ll look at a very familiar prayer and try to see it with fresh eyes. Join us as we share a different perspective on The Lord’s Prayer.
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris Owen
Prayer and the Great Mystery of Humanity
From anthropologists to religious historians, no one really knows when, where or how prayer originated. What is apparent is that prayer is an important part of all religions. In honor of Unity’s World Day of Prayer, we will look at two aspects of prayer that seem to be common to all the world’s religions. Those aspects are: 1) A sense of connection to something higher; and, 2) Prayer involves asking for something. Prayer is ultimately an expression of a mystery that expresses in, through and as humanity.
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris Owen
Highway to Heaven
“Everybody know it; nobody does it.” “It” is the Golden Rule, which weaves its way through more than a dozen spiritual paths the world over and has done so for more than 2600 years. It’s such a simple idea, universally accepted, yet it seems we haven’t figured out how to love it. Let’s take a deeper dive into this familiar saying and see if we can’t move it from its place on a billboard by the side of the road to the very road beneath our feet.
Rev. Jean DeBarbieris Owen
