Category: Uncategorized

  • Wake Up In America

    WAKE UP IN AMERICA

    by Lea Morris

    Blessings abound with the generosity of musicians who are creating music to inspire and encourage us through these times of uncertainty and challenge. Today we feel privileged to have been given permission by singer-songwriter Lea Morris to share the attached music video (below) with you. The song was written by Dave Kinnoin and Jimmy Hammer. Follow along with the text below, which encourages the American spirit of diversity, dreams to fulfill, and Love for our neighbors. “The light in the harbor Shines for us all.”

    MAY YOUR LIGHT SHINE, SIGNALING THAT YOU ARE A HARBOR FOR SOMEONE TODAY.

    When I wake up in America
    I see my neighbors there
    With every type of clothes and shoes
    Hats and skin and hair
    Every fine belief and custom
    Scores of songs from who knows where?
    When I wake up in America,
    Our stories fill the air

    Wake up in America
    The light in the harbor
    Shines for us all
    When I wake up…

    I see the kids playing
    Happily swaying
    Good to be staying
    In a place like this
    With a face like this

    When I wake up in America
    I put away my fear
    And love my neighbor as myself
    And say, I’m glad you’re here
    We have found ourselves together
    In this land we dream could be
    When we wake up in America,
    Everybody will be free

    Wake up in America
    The light in the harbor
    Shines for us all
    When I wake up…

    – Dave Kinnoin has written songs for some of the most beloved characters in movies and on television. In addition to writing for his friends, he has released eight albums, has been honored with dozens of awards and tours nationally to enthusiastic audiences.

    – Jimmy Hammer is an award-winning composer and producer of children’s songs and music for many television series, commercials, sound recordings, theme parks, computer games, and toys. His credits include Disney, The Muppets, Universal Studios, EPCOT, ABC, NBC.

    – Lea Morris is a singer-songwriter, preschool music teacher, and recording artist with seven albums to her credit. She also SHINES with her many gifts as a music leader for spiritual gatherings.

  • Listen to the Earth

    LISTEN TO THE EARTH

    by Rev. Blayne Higa

    Our world is in chaos and it seems we are constantly trying to find our footing on the deck of a ship sailing on stormy seas. Our lives have been upended by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as well as the political and civil unrest sweeping across our nation. These events remind us there is an imbalance in nature and within our society that is the cause of immense suffering.

    In times of uncertainty, it is common for us to seek quick and easy answers to our problems and in recent years, many people, including certain national leaders have turned to believing in and promoting dangerous conspiracy theories and “Alternative Facts.”

    Belief in these theories arises from a human need to feel more in control of an uncontrollable situation. That also arises is the dark side of our nature which assumes the worst as we look to find someone to blame. This imbalance of perspective leads to further suffering as we find ourselves spiraling down a rabbit hole of fear, anxiety, and hatred.

    However, the Buddha offers wisdom for living through such turbulent times and how to determine which path to follow and who to believe. In a story from the Kalama Sutta, Shakyamuni Buddha visits the village of the Kalama people who share with him how monks they never knew visited their village claiming their teachings are the best and how others are false. After telling the Buddha of their confusion and ask for his help in deciding who to listen to and what they should believe. The Buddha tells the villagers that it is only natural to feel such confusion and doubt. He then offers the following advice:

    Neither believe nor reject anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions simply because they have been handed down for generations. Do not believe what is written in religious books. Do not believe something just because it superficially seems to be true. Do not believe something for reasons of logic or philosophy. Do not believe anything merely by authority of your teachers and elders. Even if I tell you something, do not believe it!

    The Buddha tells them to trust their own experience and to know for themselves whether a teaching leads to harm or happiness for self and others. This simple test encourages us to thoroughly examine, experience, and to carefully consider any teaching or advice with the compassionate heart and mind of a bodhisattva. The Buddha empowers us to tap into our own intelligence and wisdom guided by the light of the Dharma.

    The Buddha’s teachings can help us to engage in a chaotic world with clarity and wisdom. Our nation and the entire world are now being inundated with conspiracy theories and misinformation especially when some people disagree with reality. When someone you disagree with something or someone doesn’t fit into a narrative, it gets labeled “Fake News.” Just like the Buddha advised the Kalama people, think critically about the media and information you consume. Rigorously test its veracity based on whether it leads to harm or happiness for self and others.

    The truth matters especially when making decisions that impact our lives and the lives of others. Truth matters when dealing with public health. Truth matters in our democracy.

    This is an occasion for us to reflect deeply on the nature of our true self, which is hidden beneath our ego and attachments. It is this ego-self that is seduced by the promise of simplistic answers offered by conspiracy theories that poison our hearts and minds. The Buddha’s teaching is the antidote which neutralizes ignorance and helps us to discern fact from fiction, truth from lies, and what is wholesome and unwholesome in life. Let us reflect on cultivating spiritual balance through living the Buddha’s teachings.

    Namo Amida Butsu (Entrusting in All-Inclusive Wisdom and All-Embracing Compassion)

    Rev. Blayne Higa is the Resident Minister of the Kona Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Kealakekua, HI and is the Co-Chair of the Committee on Social Concerns for the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. Before entering the ministry, he spent over 17 years in state government and the non-profit sector. He has served on the Board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii and Vibrant Hawaii. Rev. Blayne holds a Master of Divinity from the Institute of Buddhist Studies and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

  • Listen to the Earth

    LISTEN TO THE EARTH

    by Rt. Rev. Mark Lattime

    “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.” – Job 12:7-8 (NIV*)

    Listen to the earth. The caribou on the tundra, the starving polar bear, blazing trees and scorching winds full of smoke—all are prophets.

    Even covered in ashes, Creation’s prophetic voice calls to us at the gate. The warning rises above the din of those who shout that common good is measured in dollars and land exploited for profit.

    Cast down your idols, seek what is good; the earth belongs to the Lord. Heed this warning with sacrificial love, and faith will see green sprouts rising through gray ash even as we reach towards God to be reconciled. – The Rt. Reverend Mark Lattime

    The Rt. Reverend Mark Lattime serves as the 8th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska. Prior to 2000, Bishop Lattime served as college chaplain at Canterbury Fellowship and Associate Rector at R. E. Lee Memorial Church in Lexington, Diocese of Southwest Virginia.

    * THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  • How Do I Speak My Truth?

    HOW DO I SPEAK MY TRUTH?

    by Margaret Benefiel, PhD

    In the face of racism, police brutality, and bitter political divisions in this country, I struggle with how to relate to those with whom I disagree. How do I find the wisdom to interact in a loving way; how do I speak my truth so they might hear?

    I know that I can pray for them. When I pray, I am changed from an oppositional stance toward them to feeling compassion for them as I see the fears and hurts that draw them. As I am led, I can speak to their fears and hurts, and also speak prophetically to them. And when the conversations grow tense, I can keep returning to my spiritual grounding, keep praying that I will come from a place of compassion. When my ego gets hooked and the conflict escalates, I know it is time to take a break and center down.

    Loving and speaking prophetically at the same time is a spiritual practice for me. Will it change others? I don’t know. But I do know that it changes me and that it can sow seeds of transformation in others that might take root and grow, either now or sometime in the future.

    There is no template for loving across differences, no formula that we can follow that will result in transformation of others at the end. There is the lifetime work of spiritual practice, practice that will change me and, through my actions, sow seeds in the world. Whether those seeds grow is up to other people and to God.

    So, as the election draws nearer, how can we have courage, faith, hope, and love for all, even for those with whom we disagree? First, by staying spiritually grounded through daily spiritual practice. Second, by making the practice of loving across differences one of our regular spiritual practices. Third, by discerning in community “What is mine to do?” and being faithful in carrying out our part.

    Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington, D.C. She has served as Chair of the Academy of Management’s Management, Spirituality, and Religion Group. She also serves as Co-chair of the Christian Spirituality Group of the American Academy of Religion, and has held various leadership roles in Spiritual Directors International. She is the author of Soul at Work and The Soul of a Leader, and co-editor of The Soul of Supervision. Dr. Benefiel has also written for The Leadership Quarterly, Management Communication Quarterly, Managerial Finance, Journal of Organizational Change Management Organization, Personal Excellence, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, America, Presence, The Way, Studies in Spirituality, Radical Grace, and Faith at Work. She lives with her husband in Washington, D.C. and enjoys hiking, cycling, reading novels, and scuba diving in her free time.

  • Come By Here

    COME BY HERE

    by Kyle Pederson

    This creative and very worshipful experience comes to us with permission from the arranger, Kyle Pederson, and his copyright agency, ECS Publishing. You will recognize the tune as the familiar African spiritual, Kumbayah — but the voices and imagery add a whole new dimension which has touched us deeply in a unique manner. We are so greatly indebted to all the musicians who have been so generously contributing their talents to this website!

    Kyle Pederson (b. 1971) is a Minneapolis-based composer, lyricist, pianist, and educator. Kyle was awarded the ACDA Genesis Prize in 2020 and the American Prize in Choral Composition in 2019. His work has been commissioned, premiered, and recorded by All State/Honors choirs, and youth, church, college, and professional choirs around the world. Kyle enjoys working at the intersection of the sacred and secular, and his lyrics and music invite the choir and audience to be agents of hope, grace, and compassion in the world.

  • A Soul Prepared

    A SOUL PREPARED

    by Rev. Roland McGregor

    I was unprepared for 9/11/2001, and I was spiritually unprepared for 11/9/2016. As I watched the election map turn red into the midnight hours, I thought, “This is not my country.” I was dumbfounded. Thanks to “Shine Your Light” I will have better spiritual preparation for 11/3/2020. This time around I will not sell my soul to a particular outcome. Jesus warned about selling the inmost self. He said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” On the cross when all seemed lost, he gave his soul to God. He had not given it to any other definition of victory. The spiritual struggle of our country and of each one of us is not subject to victory or to defeat but to persisting in love. Whatever happens at the end of these forty days, we will persist in raising up the downtrodden, encouraging the oppressed and calling our leaders to do the same. I may be jubilant at the outcome of the election or I may be sickened by it, but I will not be put off from loving my neighbor regardless of their yard sign. This is my country. These are my neighbors.

    Rev. Roland R. McGregor is a retired pastor in The United Methodist Church, New Mexico Conference. He previously served Asbury United Methodist Church of Albuquerque and First United Methodist Church of Clovis, New Mexico, as well as churches in Texas and Puerto Rico. He is the founder of the McGregor-Kajoba Chair of Practical Christianity, an endowed professorship at the United Methodist seminary at Mulungwishi in the southern Congo (DRC).

  • Light in the Dark

    LIGHT IN THE DARK

    by Rev. Kealahou Alika

    “Listen to me, you that pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Listen to me, my people, my nation: for a teaching will go out from me and my justice for a light to the peoples.”
    – Isaiah 51, 1, 4, NRSV*

    Leonard Cohen was a Canadian poet and singer. In 1992, he released the album, “The Future.” Among the most well-known set of powerful lyrics is the message of hope in darkness from his song, “Anthem.”

    In an article written in 2016 in Quartz, a business-focused international news organization based in New York City, Cassie Webster wrote that “in dark times, poetry and music often become more important to us, providing the kind of transcendence we need to interpret painful events in a wider context.” “Anthem” will always be a song of hope for every generation in every country that finds itself in the midst of tumultuous times.

    While Cohen appears to employ Christian images of “the dove” and “bells,” he also manages to combine the “sacred and profane” from different traditions. He was Jewish and studied Zen Buddhism deeply, becoming a monk for several years, and was drawn to other religious traditions. As such, we would be safe to assume that he was very familiar with the words of the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah.

    The Psalms (89:15; 56:13; 119:105) and Isaiah (5:20; 9:2; 45:7; 51:4) are among the primary sources in the Hebrew text that provide us with metaphors for light. It has been said by others that God is the source of life; of goodness; of life; of wisdom; of compassion; of justice, and that light is the very source of God’s being.

    The writer of the First Letter of John in the New Testament wrote centuries ago:
    “God is light, in him (sic) there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5, NRSV

    The Rev. Kealahou Alika retired on February 16, 2020, as the pastor of Keawalaʻi Congregational Church – United Church of Christ (USA), Makena, Maui having served the church for 29 years. He currently serves as an officer of the Hawaiʻi Conference Foundation of the Hawaiʻi Conference – United Church of Christ; as an officer for the State Council of Hawaiian Congregational Churches; and as a member of the Reconciliation Working Group of the Hawaiʻi Conference (UCC). He previously served as the Executive Director for what was then known as the Pacific & Asian American Center for Theology & Strategies in Berkeley, California from 1979 – 1985, and later as an Administrative Assistant for Mission & Evangelism for the Presbytery of San Francisco, Presbyterian Church USA from 1986 – 1991.

    New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  • Shine Your Light on Us, O God!

    SHINE YOUR LIGHT ON US, O GOD!

    by Dr. Elna Boesak

    EDITOR’S NOTE:
    Dr. Elna Boesak of South Africa has witnessed, first-hand, the destructive force of those who would override democracy, who persecute those fighting for social justice and the rights of others, and who imprison those who speak Truth to power. She was a driving, tenacious support to her husband, The Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak, whose meditation appears in Day #1 of our 40-Day Series of Prayer and Meditation. They both have stood alongside such leaders as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu against apartheid, and today Elna prays for America from the deep concerns of her heart and experience.

    “To You, O Lord, I call; my rock, do not refuse to hear me … Blessed be the Lord, for God has heard the sound of my pleadings.” – Psalm 28:1,6 NRSV

    GOD, JESUS CHRIST and HOLY SPIRIT, we embrace Faith, Love and Hope. We pray for equality and justice (equity) in the United States of America. GOD, you are purposefully unfolding significant and radical changes towards equal political, social and economic human rights and opportunities. Inequalities and injustices are still causing murder, oppression, exclusions and marginalization. GOD, Empower us to stand firmly against four hundred years of deep-rooted racism. Strengthen us to stand firmly against political leaders who facilitate atrocities. Lead us to halt the Evils of violence, murder, abuse, oppressions, marginalization, poverty, hetero-patriarchy, misogyny and capitalism. GOD, we praise you for your:

    Mobilization of global support and solidarity for an inclusive, anti-imperialist, democracy in the USA. Shine your Light on us Our GOD! Amen!

    Presence in this year’s election and beyond.

    Intervention against social injustices and inequalities.

    As a philosophy, gender and religion scholar, an audio-visual producer, social commentator and academic researcher, Elna Boesak has taught as a Distinguished Professor in Communication at Berea College, Kentucky and was a Center for Advanced Study (CAS) George A. Miller Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the USA. She collaborates with the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference headquartered in Chicago. She lives in South Africa.

    *New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  • Delight in your Uniqueness

    DELIGHT IN YOUR UNIQUENESS

    by Mark Hayes

    This meditation appears in the video below. You surely do not want to miss its inspiring message, accompanied by Mark Hayes’ beautiful music and photography. Mark plays his piano arrangement of the well-known Hymn Tune: FINLANDIA, and shares photography of the foliage mentioned in his meditation. So be sure to head straight to the video, created by Kelley Lum Oshiro.

    An internationally known writer, conductor, and concert pianist, Mark Hayes’ career has blossomed into international tours to Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa and Canada. Hayes’ music is found in the music libraries of churches and universities around the world. His compositions and arrangements are known for their unique American sound, drawing from such diverse musical styles such as gospel, jazz, pop, folk and classical. Mr. Hayes’ personal catalog, totaling over 1,500 published works, includes work for solo voice, solo piano, multiple pianos, orchestra, jazz combo, small instrumental ensembles, and choruses of all kinds. He is honored to have his music regularly featured at ACDA, MENC and Chorus America conventions. Hayes is regularly commissioned by churches, universities, children’s choruses, and community choruses to write original choral works. Mr. Hayes is also sought after as an orchestrator and music producer. He has recorded over 20 solo piano recordings ranging from jazz to classical to gospel and is a favorite arranger of church pianists throughout the world. Mark Hayes is a recurring recipient of the Standard Award from ASCAP, and his album, “I’ve Just Seen Jesus,” received the Dove Award, the equivalent to a Grammy in gospel music. In June 2010 Mark released his first CD of original songs titled All Is Well, featuring Kansas City jazz artist, Monique Danielle. In 2010, Baylor University Center for Christian Music Studies awarded Mark the Award for Exemplary Leadership in Christian Music. Hayes received the first place composition award in the eighth annual John Ness Beck Foundation competition. He regularly conducts his works for chorus and orchestra at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Whether concertizing on the other side of the globe or composing at his home in Kansas City, Missouri, Mark is blessed to live out his mission “to create beautiful music for the world.”

  • Standing at the Shores

    STANDING AT THE SHORES

    by Rabbi Joel Nickerson

    Each day, Jews offer a prayer in which we imagine ourselves standing at the shores of the Red Sea. With plagues, tyranny, and chaos at our backs, we envision crossing that sea and moving away from personal and collective enslavement towards a land flowing with hope, freedom, and love. So let us take a deep breath, open up our hearts and minds to our deepest potential, and together, may we walk through to the other side, taking one step closer towards our Promised Land. May God Bless Us and Protect Us.

    Rabbi Joel Nickerson joined the Clergy of Wilshire Boulevard Temple from Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles, where he developed an enthusiastic and devoted congregation over the past 8 years. Prior to his years at Temple Isaiah, he served as a leader at Stanford University’s Hillel, and as a Hillel rabbi at the University of Pennsylvania. Joel has a fascinating background that includes a degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. When not working he loves spending time with his wife, Julia, and their three daughters, enjoying a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop, or taking advantage of the great outdoors.