Proof of Presence by Charles Conkin

A prayer offered in worship by Charles Conkin on Sunday, March 29, 2020. Let us join our voices and offer our prayers to God. O God, our hope of passed days and our refuge in our present time, what a great uncertainty we live in. We cannot know what tomorrow will bring with the increasing unrest. We cannot get through to the other side with the numbers growing. We cannot see an end in sight and that makes us uncomfortable. So we come together, through our multitude of platforms, with an unfettered faith, knowing that you will hear our prayers and you will guide our days.

Passing the Digital Peace

I'm generally not a fan of social media. I don't usually post much on Facebook—it's much too easy to make folks mad, and I don't have the emotional constitution to deal with that. In my experience, social media platforms seem to facilitate talking past each other rather than fostering real conversations. I often feel like everybody has a soapbox and microphone, and we just shout back and forth. I do, however, love cat videos. Strangely, over the last couple of weeks, I have found more peace, comfort, and encouragement from online video meetings, YouTube chats, Facebook posts, and emails than I could have ever imagined.

Prayers of Love

My dear church family, let me share some news and some thoughts. You may have heard that I have been in the hospital. I was in the coronavirus testing, rule out, and other isolation since Monday night. Spoiler alert - it’s Thursday and I’m home now! I do have some health issues that probably contributed to the symptoms that, along with my compromised immune system, led them to take these measures. Hopefully, things are on a better path now. The Covid-19 test was negative, and assuming it continues to be, I am hopefully on the mend and working on dealing the other health issues that this incident brought to light.

What Resource Can We Offer?

A few ways to share our resources

Staying Connected

Stay connected with YouTube and Facebook

Now. Here. This.

Being Present in Our Current Time

Finding Silver Linings

Let's maintain the ties that bind with silver linings.

Hey, you, COVID-19!

Seeking to be the church in a time of great testing.

Everything Belongs - Chapter 6

As we close out our reading of Everything Belongs, Rohr kindly brings us back to the beginning.  He uses several images in this chapter to describe this movement back to the Sacred, from thresholds to shadows.  All of his metaphors seem to lead us back to where we started—God's presence in all things.  

Rabbi Blumenthal on Repentance

The Jewish five steps of repentance leading to true confession.