So I'm just going to say it, as crazy or not as it may sound - I am being visited by those I met in my past. Yes I'm getting ready to go back to Kentucky for a short weekend trip and have been talking to people I haven't seen in a year, but that's not what I'm talking about. Let me give some background: I believe that each person has a spark/spirit/essence/brahma within them that comes from the Divine. It was created long before a physical shell is made and it goes back to the Divine when the shell has finished it's time in this place. This spark is free to move and act. As I attempted to meditate and get centered last night, I found that people, whom I meet while a chaplain at a hospital in Kentucky were there with me. Not to hurt me but to stand with me. Some smiling but others sitting there looking, watching me. The gaze in their eyes that seem to go straight to my core - they have something to do with me, maybe unfinished business. Maybe I'm their unfinished business. I don't know yet but I can say it's weird to be in their presence.
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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