First Congregational Church
Humanity Is a Breadbasket
Bread is who we are.
(Posted October 3, 2024)
On this upcoming World Communion Sunday, I think that Jimmy Carter, who I’ve just quoted the day after his 100th birthday, has become a source of wisdom after witnessing humanity and its struggles over all those years.
Like Jimmy Carter, I’d rather not think of the world as just a melting pot, sometimes simmering along, sometimes boiling over. It is, of course, a planet where those who allow themselves to be guided by their beliefs as they navigate life, do have a chance to realize their hopes.
People Are Their Bread Recipe
I’d rather think of humanity as a breadbasket, into which all the peoples of the world have placed their unique staff of life, their main source of nourishment. The breads of the world are a mosaic, as varied as the people who bake them. Some are rich and dark, some are pale and thin. Some of them are sweet and others are savory. Hidden in some are the fruit of the vine, or in others seeds of the plants that were given up to create their unique, traditional flavor
For people around the world, bread isn’t just something they eat. Bread is who they are. When we are gathered together in the ‘basket’ of God’s love, a few crumbs of another “loaf” are bound to rub off, to be exchanged and enjoyed with our own.
This Sunday we will bring the loaves together, and share them and our hopes for peace that need, like yeast, to rise and expand among the people.
Walking the Road to Wisdom
I will be offering you the first in my October series on walking The Road To Wisdom together. We’ll explore how our personal beliefs help sculpt what we are able to learn; conversely, what beliefs we hold keep us from listening and learning from others.
Join us this Sunday at 10 AM to share the breads of the world and the fellowship of the Lord’s Supper
All are welcome at his table, regardless of their beliefs.
How Truth Becomes True
Our ‘Web of Belief’ guides us.
(Posted October 10, 2024)
I’m sure most of us, if not all of us, have had the experience of running into that one person who is absolutely, positively sure that their opinion on a topic is 100% correct, even if others can present evidence that it’s not. Very often it’s a family gathering where suddenly you find yourself wondering how people who share the same gene pool with you could think so differently.
So here’s the question. How does something become the truth for you? Who or what planted those seeds of experience that would become a belief for you?
Where Truth Comes From
A good number of our childhood beliefs are gifted to us by our parents and family. They are the basics for our sense of what is right and what is wrong.
It’s important to realize that some of our beliefs are core to who we are. Other beliefs change over a lifetime. We eventually leave behind our beliefs about the Easter Bunny and Santa and focus on more important questions. Who loves me? Why am I here? What constitutes a good person?
Web of Belief
All of us conduct our daily lives with a “web of belief” within us that guides what we do. However, to be very honest, that web of beliefs also tends to determine how willing we are to listen to a new information that might challenge some of those beliefs, and to respect the beliefs of others.
This Sunday we’ll hear the story of a wealthy young man who asks Jesus how he can gain eternal life. When Jesus tells him he must give over all his material possessions, it’s more than the young man can handle. He believes in his core identity as a wealthy person so much that he leaves in discouragement. Too much truth all at once.
Speaking Up for Truth Is Not Easy
Which brings me to my focus of the second Sunday where we discuss The Road to Wisdom.
We know that we’ve been given the task as followers of Jesus to speak the truth in love to all that we meet. But how do we speak up for truth in an era where there can be so much anger and harm inflicted by one person over another, just because their beliefs differ? Gone are the days when
“a simple, sober and non-emotional presentation of the facts of the matter would quickly win the day,” as Dr. Francis Collins laments in his book.
Reason and persuasion are not enough, he says. We need to start by looking at ourselves, and how we can get our own web of beliefs to permit us to listen to The Other. Direct confrontation rarely succeeds to implant truth.
This Sunday we will explore the ways that we can make the journey with others to refreshed beliefs and mutual respect. Come join us!
Faith: A Way Out of Isolation
Faith is an important tool for living.
(Posted October 17, 2024)
There’s one statement that virtually anyone I know agrees with. We’re living in a time of unprecedented uncertainty, and for many, a state of anxiety that we’ve never experienced before.
Some people deal with the negativity by simply tuning out the news, retreating into anything but the news. Older people think they recall a time when they felt more hopeful for the future, when they trusted their leaders more, that they would do the right thing. Not now, however.
The Danger of Isolation
But for young adults, especially teens, the present time is even downright dangerous.
They live on social media so much that there is no way to filter out the darkness. Especially when the darkness takes the form of bullying and character assassination of the most vulnerable kids. This year approximately 13 million kids will be bullied. One in three are bullied online.
We may have furnished our teens and young adults with the latest in digital devices. But the one coping tool we’ve neglected to give them is a background of faith –- the belief that there is a God who is present in the light and in the dark of it all.
Faith isn’t a mere matter of religious doctrine. It’s believing enough that we are not alone and trusting that God will make things right in the end.
Faith Breaks Isolation
The formula for getting through tough times might look like this:
Belief Plus Trust Equals Faith
Faith leads to Hope and Resilience
The Price of Isolation
Boston Children’s Hospital reports, among teens between 15 and 19 years of age, suicide is the second leading cause of death. (Sadly, the number one cause combines car crashes and overdoses.)
Mental health experts warn us that among all youngsters, in the last ten years, the number of youth who have considered ending their lives has risen by 20 percent. For every age group, including all of adulthood, the terrible presence of loneliness has thrown a pall over our current lives. This loneliness is made worse by lack of human contact with so many people living online.
When we don’t feel we have the presence of even one real friend, who cares if we live or die?
A Way Out of Isolation
The truth is, we all have a sense that there is a spiritual dimension to existence during the course of our lives. Even if a young adult hasn’t had exposure to faith development, he or she can still explore that important tool for living just by stepping in the door of any congregation that welcomes everyone just as they are on their own journey.
The same welcome is just as available for seniors.
This Sunday, as we kick off the journey to stewardship later in November, we will explore the fourth Sunday service with Dr. Francis Collins’ Book, The Road To Wisdom. Dr. Collins was an avowed Atheist, until his years as a scientist began to show him the clues that God is present in everything. He came to believe at the age of 27.
Come join us this Sunday as we hunt for hope.
Information
First Congregational Church
164 Deer Hill Ave.
Danbury, CT 06810
Est. 1696
Phone: (203) 744-6177
Email: office@danburychurch.org
Office Hours:
Monday Closed
Tuesday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Wednesday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Thursday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Friday Closed
Thrift Shop Hours:
Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Sunday Worship:
Sunday 10:00 a.m.–11 a.m.