What’s Going on at the Church
On June 20th, we had 2 events happening simultaneously!!
Our first distribution from our food pantry was tended by members of the church and the Lafayette Mason Lodge! Al Shipley organized the distribution. The pantry is located in the former library of the church. We are using the shelves to store non-perishable food items. We will be hosting other distributions in the future. However, if you are in need of an emergency distribution, please call the church and we will arrange a time for you to come by and get a bag or two.
Outside we were celebrating the grand opening of the Union Street Resource Center (USRC) Community Garden! Mayor Ray Giacobbe cut the ribbon alongside Council members Darlene Eastman, Dave Brown, Danni Newbury and Jeff Brooks, USRC Director Cheryl Anne Cammann, Rahway’s Best owner Joie Nodarse, First Pres member Sue Krivenko, and David Holmes was accompanied by his fiancé, Hakiema.
The creation of the garden was the idea of David Holmes. David and Cheryl Anne worked hard to take this from idea to reality! Many volunteers from the church attended work parties to build, move, and fill the raised bed gardens. Northfield Bank gave funds to purchase the soil through Councilwoman Eastman. At the ribbon cutting, attendees signed-up to help tend the garden. Loyalty Food Truck provided free hot dogs and sodas to attendees.
All of this happened one of the most beautiful days of the year! God’s blessing is upon us in so many ways!
“Weighing Truth and Life”
Most of us know about the effectiveness of the twelve steps with helping people with addictions towards recovery. However, what if this approach could also be helpful towards spiritual transformation? This idea prompted Rochard Rohr to do a deep dive into answering that question. Beginning this week, we will work our way through these 12 steps from a spirituality perspective.
“Bill W., the founder of AA and the twelve-step program recognized that the imperial ego has to go and only a recognition of powerlessness can do the job correctly. Otherwise, we try to engineer our own transformation by our own rules, and by our own power, which is by definition, therefore, not transformation! It seems we can in no way engineer or steer our own conversion. If we try to change our ego with the help of our ego, we end up with only a better disguised ego!
This is what’s behind the way that many Christians whittle down the gospel to some moral issue over which they can feel totally triumphant and superior, and which usually asks nothing of them personally. The ego always insists on moral high ground. (This is behind e.g. celibate priests focusing on birth control and abortion as the core of evil, heterosexuals seeing gay marriage as the ultimate threat to society, liberals invested in some current political correctness while living lives of rather total isolation from the actual suffering of the world, Bible thumpers ignoring most of the Bible when it asks them to change, a nation of immigrants being anti-immigration, etc.) We see that the ego is still in charge and it just wears different disguises on both the left and right side of most groups and most issues.
As many teachers of the 12 steps have said, the first step is probably the hardest, the most denied, and the most avoided. What the ego hates more than anything else is to change, even when the present situation is not working or is horrible. No one likes to die to who they think they are. Their false self is all they have. Letting go is not in anybody’s program for happiness and yet, all mature spirituality, in one sense or another, is about letting go and unlearning.
Jesus used the metaphors of a “grain of wheat” or a ”branch cut off from the vine” to describe the ego. He was pointing to the isolated and protected false self, and he said it has to go. “Unless the grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies it remains only a single grain, but if it dies, it will yield a rich harvest.” (John 12: 24) The ego defines itself by its attachments and revulsions. The soul does not attach, nor does it hate; it desires, and loves, and lets go. Think about that – it can change your very notion of religion.“
Blessing and Peace, Ed
Looking to donate to our thrift sales?
If you have any furniture to donate, please take a photo of what you have and send the photos to office@1stpresrahway.org. At this time, we’re not accepting clothes or shoes.
Members usually work on Wednesday’s for our sales from 10:30 am -1:30 pm. If that’s not a convenient time for you to drop off donations, other arrangements can be made. Please email the church office and your request will be forwarded to the “sales crew” so they can respond to your inquiry.
As always, thank you to all who donate. Our sales have been a great success this year because of you!
Important Message from the USRC Board of Directors:
Please read these guidelines about Squier Hall and the formation of the USRC Board of Directors, who will be overseeing the groups meeting in Squier.
As part of the guidelines, please use this form if you have any concerns so that they can be addressed.
Interested in Getting Involved?
We have a lot of different ways for you to get involved – short-term projects, one-time opportunities, working with our livestream technology on Sundays, plus much more. Click on the button below to see what we have on our ‘volunteer wish list’. As more opportunities become available, we will be sure to update our listings.