Kelly Clarkson has a new song out called "Dark Side." It asks the question that if someone really knew her dark side would they still love her and would they be willing to know her dark side. It's a very good question. There are many philosophies about people and their dark sides. Basically I think it's the stuff in life that we want to keep covered up. We're not always aware of the stuff in there. Sometimes we are aware that we have stuff there but we try to cover it up and ignore it. We all have them and some people are able to live a life without really ever engaging their dark sides. Then there are others who dive on in and try to work on their dark side. That's what I'm trying to do - explore the stuff in my dark side. The dark side does affect me even when I wish it didn't. It's not an easy process and can be painful. There have been many times were I have been brought to tears and crying to the point of hyper-ventilating. I fight myself often in going to that dark place. I try to go around it and not engage it but in the end I learn more about myself be engaging the process and my dark side. I'm learning to be more self-aware and aware of others. My compassion and empathy are increasing and I know that I'm becoming more connected to the universe and others. I'm becoming more then I was and hope that my dark side will become smaller and I'll find a more holistic person.
For years now, I have heard in preaching and clergy circles about being political in sermons; the good, the bad and those who state that church shouldn’t be political. There are workshops, books, and podcasts talking about politics in the church with a variety of opinions. What do people mean when they make the statement that the church shouldn’t be political? The IRS has the most say about the rules for the separation of church and state/politics. If your church wants to be tax exempt, there are rules: don’t endorse any candidate or party, if you allow one party to use your space, other political parties also must be allowed to use the space, etc. The UCC’s general counsel, Heather Kimmell, has a webinar on this topic if you’d like to hear a more detailed explanation which can be found on the UCC’s YouTube channel. Churches have gotten “creative” in how to get around this, often partnering with another non-profit group to give support to a particular group. The UCC is proud to claim...
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