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We live in a world where binary relationships are commonplace: black and white, day and night, good and evil… This sounds simple, but we all know that life is full of more than one shade of gray. How do we come to terms with the “binary myth.” Read on to open your heart to the nuances of the world we live in.
Are you harder on yourself than you are on other people? Does your inner critic sometimes win the battle? Do you find yourself shutting down in certain situations? Does your body sometimes seem to have a mind of its own? Hear what Pastor Margaret has to say about our negative behavior patterns and a tool she uses that can help us all learn how to be kinder to ourselves.
This past Christmas our church hosted a community event called “A Place to Be.” No matter who you were, where you came from, what you were wearing, or what you believed in, you were welcome here that night. What would it be like to share a meal with a bunch of strangers on Christmas Eve? Was this really a good place to be on this special night? Read on to hear the story of one of our member’s experiences that special evening.
In a world with a 24-hour news cycle, we need only glance at the screens in the palms of our hands to be bombarded with the latest catastrophe. All of it can feel like a constant, overwhelming onslaught of soul-crushing information. We’re often tempted to take to our beds, pull the covers over our heads, and shout, “World, go away!” But we can’t, can we? As Christians, we cannot put our proverbial “heads in the sand.” Read on to be assured as to why, and how we “can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.”
What makes a family? As members of the church, we all belong to the family of God. We are one body in Christ. Yet we all have different gifts and perspectives (Romans 12). What could we dream about together if we put aside our differences, and focused on our shared conviction in Christ? If we left room for God to fill in the blanks, in what ways could he use us to serve our community? Read on to join Crystal as she wonders about the answers to these questions with us.
How can you effectively love others if you don’t love yourself first? Some of us are so accustomed to dealing harshly with ourselves, that it spills over into how we treat others. In addition to loving him, God calls us to love our neighbors AS we love ourselves. You too are a child of God, worthy of love, compassion, and grace. Sometimes something as simple as making it a practice to regularly compliment yourself can enable you to see yourself the way God sees you.
One of the most difficult things about the pandemic is the constant need to readjust our actions and expectations. Once again, we find ourselves in need of change as this week the number of cases in our county have risen to their highest levels of the pandemic. As of this morning, December 29, our case numbers are at 88.9 per 100k via CovidActNow. Yesterday, the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department in their email update reported that their “latest report shows a 19% increase in the 14-day case rate over the last week, and 44% increase in a little more than 3 weeks.” The state and local health departments expect these numbers to continue to rise in the coming weeks.
As we continue to hear news about the new variant, Omicron, please know that your reopening team and pastors are monitoring the situation and working to ensure that our gatherings are as safe as possible. As fast as Omicron is spreading, we recognize that we may need to return to online worship in 2022. If that is the case, we will communicate with you through our usual channels: our website, Carry Out, Mid-Week Pick Me Up, and through the mail.
Our departments of health at both the state and county level remind us the best ways to protect ourselves are to be vaccinated, wear a mask, wash our hands, and get tested if we have symptoms.
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