Audio

Sunday message by Rev. Pat Bessey

The plans for Mirabai Starr’s visit have been in process for a year and in ten days she will be here in Maine. There are still opportunities for you to experience her either on Friday evening at the University of Southern Maine, Saturday at Saint Joseph’s College or on Sunday here at Unity. At both USM and SJC we have expanded registration by offering live streaming at the events.

For the day-long retreat the cost is $35, and if you want lunch (which we recommend) it is an additional $7. To register go to our “Donate” button before Monday, March 9.

On Sunday the message was on compassion, “Moved by Compassion.” In Unity we see Jesus as our teacher and wayshower and the message was focused on how Jesus handled the healing of the leper. It comes from the Gospel of Mark 1:40-45.

Jesus is moved by compassion and stretches out his hand and heals the leper. The important significance of this action is that Jesus is breaking the law, violates the tradition, turns over all the cleanliness rules, is excommunicated and kicked out of society.

What does this scripture teach us? The leper shows the proper attitude toward Jesus, by kneeling down and asking for Jesus’ healing touch. There is a part of each one of us that is like the leper, that needs healing from Jesus. Each one of us has leprosy of the heart, or the soul. We need to go to Christ in our brokenness, our weakness, our frailty and vulnerability and ask for help, and keep going to him, and he will be moved by compassion, stretch out his hand, touch us, and heal us.

Jesus’ teaching of the lepers is that of compassion and we are his followers which means we must become people of compassion, too. Compassion breeds compassion… once we accept it, then we will want to show compassion to each other and to everyone on the planet.

Unfortunately, we are not that different from the people of Jesus’ time. We have a whole new set of lepers today whom we ostracize, whom we exclude and excommunicate and declare unclean and push aside.

Like Jesus, we must side with the lepers of our time,
• cultivate a heart of compassion,
• stretch out our hands,
• touch them,
• heal them, and
• welcome them back into the community.

We must reconcile with everyone everywhere. From now on, like Jesus, we are a people of infinite compassion.

I have given you just a snippet of the message here. You can hear the complete message in the audio file of Sunday’s service.

Let me conclude with this quote from Chief Seattle:

This we know, all things are connected.
Like the blood which unites one family, all things are connected.
Our God is the same God, whose compassion is equal for all.

You are a blessing in my life,
Rev. Patricia Bessey

Sunday message by Rev. Pat Bessey

Today is Ash Wednesday! It is the beginning of the Lenten Season. Traditionally it is a practice of placing ashes on your forehead as a sign of repentance. Have you ever wondered where the ashes came from? My colleagues Bill and Cher Holton wrote in the weekly musing, “The ashes used are gathered after the Palm Crosses from the previous year’s Palm Sunday are burned. These ashes are mixed with oil, and this paste is used by the priest or minister to make the sign of the cross and each person’s forehead.”

Traditionally Ash Wednesday is to focus on sinfulness, unworthiness, and repentance. Our MetaSpiritual perspective of Ash Wednesday is recognition of our Oneness, our worthiness and our Divinity. The acronym for LENT…Let’s Eliminate Negative Thinking. We resolve to deny the power of anything in the outer that creates the belief in separation from our True Nature.

This past Sunday we held our Annual Meeting and because of some changes we have made it was an abbreviated agenda as we will be voting on issues pertinent to the ministry in the fall as a result of changing our fiscal year to end on August 31.

We took the opportunity to use the time allotted at the Annual Meeting to do a burning bowl and visioning process with those in attendance. It was a very powerful experience and will give the Board of Trustees important information as we plan the vision going forward for Unity Center for Spiritual Growth. Thank you to all who gave of their time and input…it is very valuable.

A shout out to Deana Gurney, our fabulous music director for the choices of songs for the service. She does an outstanding job each week and we are so grateful for her talent and consciousness.

Rosa Parks

The talk was in celebration of Black History Month and I featured the “mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” Most everyone knows of Rosa Parks, however, many told me following the service they learned much more than they already knew.

Here are a couple of quotes and my hope is that you will listen to the entire message.

From D. Martin Luther King Jr…“No one can understand the action Rosa Parks took that day, unless we realize that eventually the cup of endurance runs over, and the human personality cries out, ‘I can take it no longer.’”

From Rev Jesse Jackson…“She sat down in order that we might stand up. Her imprisonment opened the doors for our long journey toward freedom.”

From Rosa herself…“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.”

In an interview several years ago, Rosa Parks was asked if there had been moments in her life when she doubted God. She said, “I can’t think of any time when I actually doubted the presence of the Lord. There were times, of course, when I felt somewhat discouraged, but I don’t dwell on anything negative when it comes to my life. I think negative attitudes are very destructive, so I think positively and have hope in the future and in those people who are willing to live good lives and do the very best that they can to help themselves and other people.” And she continued, “I think the Lord gave me the strength and the courage to resist the way I was being treated.”

Join me this Sunday for the message on “Moved by Compassion.”

You are a blessing in my life,
Rev. Patricia Bessey

Sunday message by Rev. Pat Bessey

A shout out to everyone who made it to church on Sunday. It was -8 degrees as we made our way there for the 8 a.m. service. However, the warmth inside was cozy and comfortable with all the wonderful energy that everyone brought.

If you RSVP’d “yes” to the invitation to awaken in 2020 to the life of beauty and wonder that Spirit intends for you, then continue reading this. This week the focus was on staying awake while navigating the wake. For the water skiers or kneeboarders reading this, you know how important it is to stay awake when you are on the end of the rope. If you take your focus off the present moment you will end up in the water, taking on water. When you stay present and are staying in the middle of the wake, things can be calm, but within a few feet either side, you’ve got this wave of roiling water which can be very treacherous.

At times, we feel like we are living in the wake of pain, upset, challenges and strife. But true beauty, true wonder, true awe, in fact miracles, come when we stay awake even in the middle of the wakes of life!

In the message on Sunday, I quoted from one of my favorite poets, Mark Nepo, from his book, The Book of Awakening. This is a portion of that quote: “Death pushed me to the edge. Nowhere to back off. And to the shame of my fears, I danced with abandon on his face. I never danced as free. And Death backed off, the way dark backs off a sudden burst of flame. Now there’s nothing left, but to keep dancing. It is the way I would have chosen had I been born three time as brave. We are often called further into experience than we’d like to go, but it is this extra leap that lands us in the vibrant center of what it means to be alive.”

Are you being called, right now, further into an experience than you might like to go? If so, my friends, I invite you to stay awake as you navigate through it. Because when you do, the beauty, the blessings, the awe and the wonder that await you, truly are holy!

Please take the time to listen to the message from Sunday and hear about the love and courage of Etty Hillesum as well as the complete piece from Mark Nepo.

You are a blessing in my life,
Rev. Patricia Bessey