Awakening the Heart: Small Groups for Spiritual Growth

Awakening the Heart:

Small Groups for Spiritual Growth

“Our Hearts are Awake!”

 “But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began as we came to faith. We can't afford to waste a minute….”

 Romans 13:11ff (The Message Bible Paraphrase)

We are aware that God is at work in our church.  The good news is extended to all, we help others find their voice, folks are helped, fed and given shelter through actions of our community of faith.  God is good and we are blessed by God’s presence in our midst. Let us give thanks that we continue to do God’s work and that we are continuing to grow. 

In the rhythm of God’s abundance, we are aware that just as there is a time for action, there is a time for reflection, spiritual conversation and growth in the spirit.  A wonderful place to do this is in small groups.  A few years back we experienced this through our Circles program. Now we are taking Circles to the next level:  “Awakening the Heart.”

“Awakening the Heart” is an opportunity to grow spiritually in small groups.  Over 6 weeks we will pray together, engage in spiritual conversation and begin to learn how to share the joy of our life in spirit and community.  “Awakening the Heart” is an opportunity to open to our lives, to their depth and beauty.  As we so richly encounter life we find our lives blossoming and beginning to flow out to neighbors and friends. 

Sign up today in Friendship Hall. 

Groups begin the week of April 26 and run up to June 7.

 

Women's Recovery Services --Walking the Talk

How is God alive in this world? Where is there hope? How can we be part of the solutions that life invites us to impart to others? By living compassionately and in loving support of those in need. A place where God is alive in this world is Women's Recovery Services (WRS), an addiction treatment program for women. Through you mission giving you are helping to support this excellent program, helping to save the lives of women and children who have benefited from the work of WRS .
As part of our church's effort to stay informed about the organizations in our community which we support, I went to WRS with members of our Outreach Board. I was deeply impressed -- Women's Recovery Services is an organization that does what it says it will do and does it well.

The Mission Statement of WRS says, "The mission of Women's Recovery Services is to assist alcohol, chemically and nicotine dependent women in their recovery from the disease of addiction...We offer the means for change of attitude and outlook whereby purposeful sobriety may take place.
As I said, I was deeply impressed by WRS. Twenty women and their children live at WRS. They work hard for their recovery, each day is filled with learning life skills, attending 12 step groups, learning parenting skills, learning to communicate with others and being engaged in activities and groups which enhance self-esteem. WRS has a comprehensive and effective program. The clients at WRS are fully involved in their recovery. Many rehab programs are 30 days in length. At WRS the women are in treatment for 90 days with options for transitional housing and aftercare once treatment is finished. A doctor and a nurse provide medical care to the women at WRS. In addition, there is a child care provider who tends to the children while mothers are engaged in their program.
Cheryl Stanley has been Executive Director of WRS for 14 years. She manages a successful enterprise that is healthy financially with the ability to do what they have committed themselves to -- they walk the talk.
You can rest assured that our monthly support of Women's Recovery Services is a wonderful expression of our ministry here at First Congregational UCC. If you would like to give more to Women's Recovery Services you can do so at their website.

Blessings, David