Resources for Staying Centered, Grounded, and Connected

For those of us practicing a justice-centered, non-Christian-nationalist faith, it can feel like we are on the margins, on the outside looking in, in disbelief. Yet we are reminded, as we worship and work together as Lake Worth United Church of Christ, that we are not alone. And LWUCC is not alone as a faith community in fostering and practicing resistance in the midst of our nation's continued slide into tyrany and fear. 

Many in our congregation are keeping up to date with writers and thinkers around the country offering information and hope. In the future, The Comma will, as well as keeping us up-to-date on the amazing work taking place in our church, provide resources for education, formation, and encouragement from the wider community. 

This week we start with a post from Christian author Brian McLaren, shared with us by Bobbi Marsh. Written only a few weeks into the current presidency, McLaren shares his thoughts on a five-fold strategy for survival: 

1. Guard your heart.
2. Find your people. (And since you are reading this, you most likely have!)
3. Educate your mind.
4. Do what you can.
5. Survive another day.

What I love about this is that we, as a faith community, are well on our way in practicing all of these. At Lake Worth UCC, we say that we are here to follow Jesus in answering God's call to practice faith, mercy, and justice, in community. Our faith practice allows us to guard and strengthen our hearts, connecting with Divine source, as we engage the work we are called to do. In our practice of mercy we are doing what we can to mitigate the harm so many are facing, helping them to survive another day. In our work together for justice, we are doing what we can to resist the cult of money and power that fuels the harm being done to our siblings.

For the time being, here is our ask as we work at getting this newsletter out each week:

1. Be looking for it, read it, and engage with it.
2. Share it with others you know that might still be looking for "their people."
3. Where are you finding your education, formation and strength? Reply to this email and let us know so we can pass it on! 

Bonus: In his blog McLaren also lists some reliable source where he is getting his information: The Contrarian, Letters From an American, The Ink, Tim Snyder, Ezra Klein.

This September we are joining churches around the world in observing The Season of Creation. During our Sunday worship, we will be hearing the words of the prophet Jeremiah and of Jesus himself and reflecting on what they have to teach us about our relationship with the planet. This week we began by seeing God, and ourselves, at the potter's wheel, participating in the creation of the world. You can watch the service here. 

We will finish our observance on October 4th as we participate together in Teilhard De Chardin's Mass on the World.

The trustees recently reviewed the financial reports ending July 31, 2025, and the church membership needs to be thanked for being so generous.   As of July 31 (7 months), we have received (numbers rounded) $86,500.   This compares to receiving $68,200 in 2023 and $63,300 in 2024 for the same period.   This increase has greatly assisted the church in meeting its expenses.   The church still had a small deficit of about $6600.   Also we have been able to donate to various mission projects about $31,000, mainly through the use of interest and dividends from our sale proceeds account which is invested with the United Church Funds.   So thank you and continue to be generous for the rest of 2025.

A Month of Sundays

On Sunday August 17th, Stacey Harter preached and led us in worship. If you missed her sermon "Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler," a beautiful invitation to consider what we might need to release to follow Christ, you can find it here. 

On August 24th and 31st, we looked at "How to Have An Enemy." The first Sunday we explored "Naming, Knowing, and Feeling" and the second week "Praying, Forgiving, Loving." You can see both of those worship services here.

It's September which means we are beginning our justice ministry year with our house meetings. The first will be this Friday night at 6:30 - if you would like to attend this meeting and don't yet have information, reply to this email and we will get the information to you. The next meeting will be Sunday September 14th at 12:30 PM at the church following our potluck lunch. We have a third listening meeting scheduled for Saturday, October 11th at 2:00 PM, location to be determined. If you have friends and acquintances who are looking for ways to be engaged a make a difference in what is happening in our community, this is a great way for them to be inolved. Let them know!

Our app is now back up and running on all of your favorite app stores. You can watch services, keep up with what we are doing, and connect with one another. Go to our app page to find the links to download.

Last Wednesday night at 6:30 we began a new series in our Wednesday night Together group.   Embodying the Divine: Love as the Heart of Creation is a compelling five-part film series featuring theologian Ilia Delio, exploring the profound implications of understanding God as the unstoppable force of love within creation. Each film delves into the nature of divine love as it manifests in the cosmos, community, and personal transformation. Through these discussions, viewers are invited to reconsider their relationship with the divine, themselves, and the world, discovering how love is not only the essence of God but also the very fabric of existence. The series offers a transformative journey into the heart of a universe that is continually evolving toward greater union, freedom, and fullness.

You can join us on-site at 1415 North K ST in Lake Worth Beach, FL or online via Zoom (click here). 

For more information and resources about the group, check out our website.

This year, we are once again sponsors of CROS Ministries Hustle to End Hunger on Saturday October 4th. You can donate or join us in walking or running here.

On Sunday September 7th, from 2:00-5:00, Jason will be leading a new workshop. Soul force is that ineffable quality, the inner power that allows us to meet the demands of life and make a difference in the world.

In this workshop, you will:

• Gain clarity on your most important goals for the next six to twelve months, as well as a vision for the future you're excited to move towards.

• Develop a personal protocol and process to achieve those goals, with easily

accomplishable daily steps.

• Gain greater confidence in your capacity to move through challenges, do hard things, and be who you're capable of being.

• Know who you are at your best, the qualities that the best version of yourself embodies, and—most importantly-how to express that best version of yourself more consistently every day.

• Cultivate the ability to respond intentionally to life with a simple, repeatable process: stepping into the gap between stimulus and response and closing the gap between who you're capable of being and who you're actually being.

• Create a valuable collection of prior successes, and learn how to leverage your prior successes as fuel to create a better future.

• Know what it means to flourish, and how to live with more wisdom, discipline, courage, love, gratitude, hope, curiosity, and zest.

• Connect with those committed to being the best versions of themselves, in service of something bigger.

This will be in person at the church office, 1415 North K ST Lake Worth Beach FL. You can register here.

Our church has a long relationship with the Guatemlan Maya Center here in Lake Worth, founded by Father Frank O'Laughlin in 1992. They have been paroviding support to the immigrant community in Lake Worth in Palm Beach County for decades. That tradition of advocacy has carried on through the recent immigration raids. This week, they shared a typical, heart-wrenching week in the life of their work and community, including parents taken from their children and people living in fear. You can read it here.

"A long weekend is merciless; everyone is distracted, and evils can silently occur. The current administration planned to deport hundreds of Guatemalan children over the weekend, many of whom were already placed in Foster Care. Gratefully, a judge blocks the unlawful deportation. We wait to see what comes next for our children."

Join us at 10:30 on Thursday morning as we gather to catch up with one another! Currently we meet only on Zoom - you can join us here. We will resume in person meetings later in the year.