Dear Friends:

Thanks for all who joined last week to hear Mark Demos share his perspectives on how to live your life by serving at your highest purpose in life. I found the discussion afterward fascinating, as we talked about ways you can align your income stream with your greater purpose. 

Please note the recording will be posted on our church website shortly.

This Sunday, I’ve got a secret to share, but I’m only telling you. And please don’t tell anyone I told you what I said about them. You guessed it, this Sunday my sermon topic will be about the “Danger of Gossip”, and ways we can avoid it. I’ll be spilling some tea. If you don’t know what that means, I’ll fill you in on Sunday.

This is commitment four of the fifteen I’ll be sharing with you this year. It reads:

Gossip

I commit to ending gossip, talking directly to people with whom I have an issue or concern, and encouraging others to talk directly to people with whom they have an issue or concern.



The flip side would be:

I commit to saying things about people that I have not or will not say to them. I commit to talking about people in ways I wouldn’t if they were there. I commit to listening to others when they gossip.

Please share this topic with your friends, just don’t say anything negative about me when you do.

Rich

Readings for the Coming Sunday

Matthew 12

Jesus speaks to the Religious Leaders

33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

James 4:11

Brothers and sisters do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.

Proverbs 10:18

Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads gossip is a fool.

Proverbs 11:13

A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret.

Swedenborg Insights

“Those among them who are like angels …intend nothing but good towards their neighbor; and if they notice anything bad in someone, they try to be understanding.” (AC 6655)

There have been people after their death denied the crimes and transgressions they had committed in the world. To make them aware of their transgressions, all their crimes were disclosed to them. They were drawn out of their own memory in sequence from the beginning of their life to the end. (HH 462)

Save the Date:

Music of the Angels on March 16th

Join Us:

Good Friday Service on March 29th

We will be holding a Good Friday Service on March 29th at noon EST to observe the time when Jesus was crucified.

The service will be co-lead by Rev. Tafel and Rev. Catherine Lauber of the Fryeburg New Church in Maine.

The half-hour service will include meditative readings from the last words of Christ and the Sermon on the Mount. Communion will be celebrated. If you join online, please bring bread and juice. Rev. Tafel will be present in the sanctuary for anyone wishing to join in person.

The Zoom will be the same as Sunday.

New Members

As announced at last Sunday’s service, we are excited that Roxanne Sperry, Jason Bellini, Christian Cline, Ellie Hansen and Louise Capon have all requested to join the church membership. We will welcome them on Easter when we also hold a baptism service for Katy Bose and Jose Venzor.

Thanks to all for building our community. 

If you would like to join our community, simply reach out to Rev. Tafel.

Board Meeting

The Church Board will hold their next meeting on March 19th at 7:00 PM EST.

Telephone Hour

The music this Sunday will be a tribute to the power of gossip. You can check out the song Telephone Hour here. Bye Bye Birdie was released on Broadway 1960 as play on the Elvis Presley phenomena.

In the late 1970s Rev. Tafel dawned his father’s fraternity sweater and performed it his highs school musical.

Check out the video to see that phones were a challenge for teenagers going back sixty years!

Thought of the Week

1611 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20009

holycitydc.org