Quote:
Money having the least value, I find what I have to give to bring one to their own experience of themselves and their creative power in the world as the only thing any man/woman can give that has value....
I was an active UCC minister (1953-1994, Labrador, NL, New Brunswick, Montreal, Toronto) for over 40 years.

From the beginning, I believed in doing gospel as well as teaching/preaching it. Because of this I got involved in the lives of many people--and I am still doing it, in my re-directment period (BTW, I don't like the term, 'retire')

Yes, I spoke--and I still do speak--to people about the need to tap in to their own creative power. Over the decades many thousands responded positively to this message, which I gave not just from the pulpit and to my congregations.

I also gave it to many non-church members who attended the on-going lecture series under the general heading PNEUMATOLOGY--The study of the spirit (pneuma) while including the mind (psyche) and the body (soma). In this series I was helped medical doctors, psychologists, nutritionists and others interested in the healing of the whole person,

However, I found that a certain number of people, especially those who lived on the streets, were too physically, mentally and spiritually ill to take in, let alone act on, any kind of deep kind of soma-psycho-pneumatology.

With Matthew 25: 31-46 in mind, I was inspired to see that they needed a hand out well before they were in any condition to accept a hand up. Many responded well.

But many--no-doubt life-damaged souls--were just takers and had no idea of what it means to work in family and community. And there were those who acted as though they didn't even want to help themselves, let alone anyone else. I could write a long book on my experiences with the needy, of all kinds. I learned this hard lesson, early.

How do you, TT--Or anyone--respond to what Jesus says in Matthew?

Last edited by Revlgking; 09/18/08 02:38 PM.