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The Bread of Life is Here! |
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By Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge
Before I came to Gentle Spirit Christian Church, I spent a few months church shopping. My criterion for a good church was a place that I would feel totally comfortable. "I'll know it when I see it," I told myself. I visited many churches around this area, both mainstream and predominantly gay and lesbian. I never found a church that made me feel totally comfortable until I walked into this church. True, I already knew Paul very well and there were other people in the church that were already friends of mine. But, a large majority of you didn't know me at all. But that didn't stop any of you from giving me a big hug and welcoming me into this church. It's the reason I've stayed. I saw what I was looking for a church that welcomed anyone who walked through the door and not just with a visitor's packet of information. No, you welcomed me with a hug, a smile and a genuine concern for my well being.
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Better Heresy of Doctrine Than Heresy of Heart |
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By Rev. Candace Chellew-Hodge
Better heresy of doctrine than heresy of heart.
-- John Greenleaf Whittier
Thomas Carlyle said, "A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge." On this point I believe Jesus and Carlyle are in agreement. Jesus told his disciples that "what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart." If our hearts are not loving, if we are not following the path of love that our hearts desire, then the utterances of our mouth will be nothing but pure evil, pure hate, pure deceit. When we cultivate a loving heart we find knowledge -- not just knowledge of the world but, more importantly, knowledge of ourselves.
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Somewhere Over the Rainbow |
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By Deacon Bob Shaw
Let me ask you a question… wouldn’t you agree that within the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities there has always been a fascination with the movie “The Wizard of Oz”? This Halloween many queer folks will dress up as their favorite character (and it’s not always Dorothy.) As a matter of fact, a phrase that our community uses to discreetly find out if another person belongs to our community comes indirectly from this movie. Have you ever been asked “are you a friend of Dorothy’s?”
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By Deacon Bob Shaw
There was a business consultant who decided to landscape his grounds. He hired a woman with a doctorate in horticulture who was extremely knowledgeable. Because the business consultant was very busy and traveled a lot, he kept emphasizing to her the need to create his garden in a way that would require little or no maintenance on his part. He insisted on automatic sprinklers and other labor-saving devices.
Finally she stopped and said, “There’s one thing you need to deal with before we go any further. If there’s no gardener, then there is no garden!”
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Because AIDS Isn't Over Yet |
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By Deacon Bob Shaw
Come! Let us walk in the light of God!
In this way the prophet Isaiah encouraged the Jewish nation thousands of years ago to find the light of God's love and to claim it and to walk in it.
Today we mark two occasions that require us, too, to walk in the light of God.
First, we commemorate World AIDS Day -– where we remember those who have died during this modern-day holocaust before it was their time. I call it a holocaust because we have lost some of the best, most talented, most intellectual, and most loving people that the world would ever know... to the AIDS holocaust.
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