Peace United

PRACTICE AND FORMATION

The Core Four

Early Christians were called "people of the way"--a reminder that faith is practiced in simple ways, profound ways, everyday ways.  The four practices here are just a beginning...practical steps into the mystery and promise of Christian life.  We call them the "CORE FOUR."  At FCC, we recall these four in worship every week and encourage one another along "the way."   Join us on the journey!

[You can take a look--right here--at Dave Grishaw-Jones' new book: "The Core Four: How Four Practices Transform Progressive Faith into Daring Incarnation." ]

PRACTICE ONE: MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness is the energy we bring to being aware and awake to the present moment.  It's the continuous practice of touching life deeply--in every breath, every encounter, every sense.  How frequently we hurry through the day, unaware of God's gift and Christ's presence in the here and now.  To be mindful is to be truly alive, present and at one with those around us, deeply involved with what we're doing.  We bring our body and mind into harmony as we wash dishes, change a child's diaper, take a morning shower, meet a friend for coffee.  In many different ways, in diverse styles of prayer and meditation, we still ourselves and quiet ourselves, becoming more and more aware of the gift within and beyond us.
[See Contemplative Life at First Congregational Church]

PRACTICE TWO: FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is the heartbeat of Christian faith--the steady rhythm of God's grace in the choices we make around relationships and daily activities.  In the prayer we say in worship every week, Jesus assumes this linking.  Our experience of God's extravagant love is dependent on our own willingness to forgive, extend and reconcile with others.  "Forgive...as we forgive..."  We're so often tempted to brush off Jesus' teaching--as we judge one another and build walls.  As Christians, we come back to Jesus' prayer over and again.  It's a lifelong journey.  Included in this second practice is an awareness of division and brokenness in human community.  Jesus invites us to be among the lovers and peacemakers who tenderly and bravely move toward reconciliation among all God's children.

Discipleship is the daily choice to follow Jesus and learn the ways of compassion and peace.  We discern Jesus and his message through reading scripture, building community and serving.  We also discern his presence in our practices of mindfulness and forgiveness.  In personal devotions, we reflect on Jesus' call and how we might respond.  In community with other disciples, we find our way forward, embodying compassion and peace in daily living.  "No longer do I call you slaves," Jesus says to us, "but now I call you friends."  In this third practice, we step deliberately with Jesus on the path of friendship and deep connection.  We go together.
Communion begins in gratitude and praise and moves urgently to remember the world's brokenness and hunger.  How do we respond--sisters and brothers of Jesus?  Do we also turn to love, to generosity, to hope?  Even as fearful voices preach scarcity and danger at every turn?  In communion, we celebrate Jesus' vision of abundance and his daring sacrifice in the midst of life.  It is in giving that we receive!  It is in forgiving that we are forgiven!  It is in dying to fear that we are born again:  to communion, to generosity and to eternal life.  In approaching the table together, and in feeding one another in worship, we recall the centrality of this practice for Jesus and for us.  As a community of his friends, we weave this liturgical practice into every fabric of our lives: home and work, politics and public life, devotion and recreation.  Communion.  All is one!
Our community of faith seeks to teach, model and build upon these 'core four'--four practices for spiritual life in the 21st century. They're not the only four, far from it. But we begin with mindfulness, forgiveness, discipleship and communion--and find all kinds of grace and courage for the days before us.
In small groups, friendship and Sunday worship, we explore the shape of these 'core four' and the implications for our daily lives. Always, always, Jesus walks before us and beside us, our friend on the way.

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OCCUPY JESUS!

JESUS, POVERTY & EMPIRE
How did Jesus speak to economic injustice?  What kinds of action did he take in the face of inequality and social unrest?  Join us for a dynamic two-day seminar with Ched Myers and Elaine Enns as we explore economic crisis and the practice of Jesus.

WHY THIS EXTRAVAGANT WELCOME?

Our Core Four: Christian Practices

practices

 

On Mindfulness

The great mystics of all religions agree that in the very depths of the unconscious, in every one of us, there is a living presence that is not touched by time, place or circumstance. Life has only one purpose, they add, and that is to discover this presence. The men and women who have done this – Francis of Assisi, for example, Mahatma Gandhi, Teresa of Avila, the Compassionate Buddha – are living proof of the words of Jesus Christ, ‘The kingdom of heaven is within.’

But they are quick to tell us — everyone of them – that no one can enter that kingdom, and discover the Ruler who lives there, who has not brought the movement of the mind under control. And they do not pretend that our own efforts to tame the mind will suffice in themselves. Grace, they remind us, is all-important. ‘Increase in my my grace,’ Thomas a Kempis prays, ‘that I may be able to fulfill thy words, and to work out mine own salvation.’

The hallmark of the man or woman of God is gratitude – endless, passionate gratitude for the previous gift of spiritual awareness…. it surrounds us always. Like a wind that is always blowing, said Francis de Sales; like fire, said Catherine of Genoa, that never stops burning...

(Eknath Easwaran, Teacher and Author)

On Forgiveness

To forgive is clearly the mark of a humanity touched by God - free from anxiety about identity and  safety, free to reach out into what is other, as God does in Jesus Christ. But it may be that the willingness to be forgiven is no less the mark of a humanity touched by God. It is a matter of being prepared to acknowledge that I cannot grow or flourish without restored relationship, even when this means admitting the ways I have tried to avoid it. When I am forgiven by the one I have injured, I both accept that I have damaged a relationship, and and accept that change is possible.

(Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury)

On Discipleship

The followers of Christ have been called to peace...and they must not only have peace but also make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ, nothing is to be gained by such methods...His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce hatred and wrong. In so doing they overcome evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate.

(Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Pastor and Martyr)

On Communion

Communion is not merely in the words with bread and wine duly shared, but in these together with an open sharing of goods and income. Difficult though it undoubtedly is to recover this communal sharing in an individualized enterprise culture, such a perspective is at the heart of the Lord's Supper. Again, how we celebrate the Eucharist makes a difference. I suspect that the further we get from the real meal shared by a relatively small group, the the more difficult it becomes to regain the openness and commitment that make Eucharistic sharing of time, goods and money both gracious and glad...Our systems of production do not distribute food equally, but Christ takes food from us and ensures that all are fed.

(Brian Wren, Hymn Writer)