Newsletter
December 4, 2019
For your prayer and reflection this week:
Many people see miracles
as something obscure on the spiritual path.
But what if a miracle was simply something
we don’t yet fully understand?
To me, the internet, radio, and television are all miracles.
I don’t fully understand how they work,
yet they do (most of the time :).
If you would have told someone 200 years ago about these inventions,
you would have gotten locked up in an insane asylum!
The key in holding any mystery is faith and uncertainty together.
I don’t understand the virgin birth of Jesus from a scientific standpoint.
But I do believe with all my heart
that all things are possible with God.
Too many of us close our minds
to what we don’t understand spiritually.
What the Divine asks of us is a pure, open heart,
like Mary.
Though the angels brought what must have been perplexing news,
Mary received it with faith.
“Here am I, the servant of the Lord,” she says.
“Let it be with me according to your word.”
We think we know what’s best for us.
But too often our egos are in control,
masquerading as our real self.
Surrender to the Divine will is not a passive action
of letting another make our decisions for us.
It is a conscious co-creation with Spirit,
so that we might be participants
in the unfolding of light and love in the Universe.
What this Universe needs is people who are directed fully by the soul;
people who see all of life for the miracle it is.
In this state, we wait in joyful expectancy.
Where will the Divine appear to me next?
Contrary to my intellect,
all things are possible with God.
In the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning (adapted for inclusive language),
“Earth's crammed with heaven,
and every common bush afire with God,
but only those who see takes off their shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
I open to the miracle of each and every moment.
Friends, I'm so grateful to those who were able to join us November 24th as Agape's Minister of Outreach and Intergenerational Programs Dawn Sorensen led our service themed, "Being Otherwise." Dawn gave a powerful, multi-sensory, audio-visual presentation about what it is like living a non-binary life, sharing emerging theologies around gender identity and sexuality. Thank you so much Dawn!
This Sunday December 8th we will be having our Advent Dinner Church. Come as we prepare our minds and hearts for Christmas with our annual Advent service and dinner church. Advent in the Christian tradition is a time of waiting and preparation for the Christ child to be born, not only at Christmas-time, but in our hearts. This Sunday we will also kick off our stewardship season for 2020, inviting all in our Agape community to consider what we can contribute of our time, talent, and treasure to the building up and expansion of our vision and mission in the world. Thank you for prayerfully considering what you can give as Agape works towards being a self-sustaining community, seeking always to be faithful stewards of the gifts God has given us. There is a stewardship mailing going out this week that those on the Agape mailing list will receive shortly. If you haven't provided your mailing address and would like to receive this mailing, let me know (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
With you prayerfully waiting in love and hope,
Matt
P.S. Some of you may be interested to going to the Annual Advent Evening this Saturday at the Agape in Ware where some of us went for Francis Day in October. Details below!
Agape Advent Dinner Church
Sunday December 8th
4:30pm
Intercultural Center, Brandeis University
415 South St., Waltham, MA 02453
Come, prepare your minds and hearts for Christmas with our annual Advent service and dinner church, hosted by Agape Spiritual Community. Advent in the Christian tradition is a time of waiting and preparation for the Christ child to be born, not only at Christmas-time, but in our hearts.
From our sibling Agape community in Western Mass:
Agape Ware’s Annual Advent Evening see flyer here
Sat. Dec. 7, 2019 at 5:30 pm
During these troubling times, come to share the Holy Mystery of Communal Prayer and the ancient tradition of
Lighting the Advent Wreath as we pray:
Come Lord Jesus to our broken world
Vegetarian Pot-luck, bring music and poetry to share
Please RSVP to The Agape Community
2062 Greenwich Rd.
Ware, MA 01082 (413)-967-9369
www.agapecommunity.org This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Agape Christmas Service: Lessons and Carols
Sunday December 22nd
4:30pm
50 Church St., Waltham, MA 02452
Agape upcoming events and directions are at this link: http://www.agapewaltham.org/
www.agapewaltham.org
(This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 774-270-2185).
If you would like to make an end-of-year or Giving Tuesday love donation to support the unfoldment of Agape's vision in the world of living and spreading unconditional love, you can do so at the link below, or checks can be made out to "MACUCC" with "Agape" in the memo line (and mailed to 106 Stearns Hill Rd., Waltham, MA 02451).
https://macucc-reg.brtapp.com/