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It would be hard not to notice the collective anger right now — how much of it feels manufactured, how easily it turns into "othering." This week, Rev. Dr. Pam Ninneman asked a harder question: not whether we're angry, but what we're doing with it.

Fear is loud, but that doesn't make it right. Rev. Marilyn Sprague joined us from Portland to explore what happens when we meet fear differently: as a messenger to learn from, as a story to rewrite, and as an invitation to let love lead instead. Courage doesn't require fear to disappear; we just have to be curious, compassionate, and say yes anyway. This reflection looks at what fear tries to tell us, and what it means to choose love in the middle of it.

Rev. Dr. Larry King told us fear only lasts 30 seconds, biologically speaking. Everything after that is on us. His talk on fierce clarity covered some brain science, a joke about a monster under the bed, and a five-step way through fear that's simpler than it sounds. He also asked: after the pause, after the clarifying, is action even required? Sometimes the answer is no.

A lot of us grew up where anger wasn't allowed. Yet, anger is a powerful tool. It's its own energy; it's information and fuels action. Angry feelings can be uncomfortable, in part because we aren't taught or given tools to adequately or appropriately express them. Examples of types of anger include the mama bear anger that protects and defends, and the bully anger that takes other people's power away and shuts them down. Both are harmful. So how can we use anger for good?

On Sunday, Rev. Larry asked us to guess: genetically, how much do human beings actually have in common? Our responses, shouted from the audience, were pretty spot on! It's 99.9%. No matter your skin color, height, quirks, or whether you're built for a marathon or a porch swing, that's only a wee tenth of a percent.

In community, we have more power than we think we do, and more than we have alone. It’s part of why what happens in our sanctuary on a Sunday morning matters, and extends beyond our walls. Whenever we walk into something new, whether it’s a job, a congregation, a friend group, or any transition, we ask ourselves a version of the same question: Is there a place for me here? We're wired for belonging. And

Question: What if we left our masks off and instead brought our whole selves to our relationships? By the time we're five, we've already drawn conclusions about who we're allowed to be, largely through our family relationships. But who are we at five? This is long before we can apply wisdom and make choices about who we are. We think, "If they really knew me, they wouldn't like me." But is that really true? Likely not.

Most of the time, we don't notice our running monologue or the habitual thinking underneath everything, deciding what to criticize or excuse in ourselves, as if wholeness had to be earned. It doesn’t. We're already whole. There's no destination to reach. Science of Mind core concepts can help us be more conscious and live lives from a place of wholeness.

Looking back, we had a month of love, culminating in Pride Day this last Sunday. Rev. Michael reminded us we're already swimming in it. Rev. Liz said to plant your flag. Rev. Jim said love means reaching for the better response. And Rev. Larry closed it out with one question: What would love do?

Our thoughts shape our world, and our automatic thoughts and responses may be limiting. How do we become more conscious of our automatic thoughts, so that we can be and bring love to everything we do? How can we change our response to effectively heal the world by healing ourselves?

Love isn't something that arrives when conditions are right. It's a force — Martin Luther King's word — and an active one. SOM founder Ernest Holmes said it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find any situation that doesn't respond to love's creative and healing power.

Rev. Michael Auch kicked off our June Higher Deeper Love theme on Sunday with All the Love We Cannot See, reminding us of a fish named Fred—intro'd to us by Rev. Larry—a fish on a lifelong quest to find water. Fred had no idea he was immersed in, swimming through, and sustained by water. That’s what love is. When we talk about love in Science of Mind, we aren’t talking about romantic love, or as Rev. Michael described, loving a person, a thing, or idea. Love is the energy tha

Some of us likely grew up in an environment where questions weren’t welcome. Whether that was school, family, or church, we learned that toeing the line, not asking questions, and not talking back were the correct behavior. We were expected to believe what we were told (how many heard our parents say, “because I said so!”?). For some of us, that didn't sit well. If we’ve learned nothing this month, talking about doubt, it’s that doubt isn’t the opposite of faith. It’s an impe

Doubt isn't divine; doubt is human-generated. Doubt starts with comparison, looking outward. We create our own constriction to our flow of good, and we don't have to. Spirit always says yes; it's our source, substance, and supply, and always available if we're open to it. Listen for guidance; if you're on the threshold, the only right answer is yes.

I just came back from ten days away with no computer (and I limited my phone use). Re-entry is always an adjustment, and I know it's been a good reset when everything I do requires me to stop and think before doing. That could be why my weekly mindset reset (Sunday service) mattered even more this week, because Rev. Jim Boone's talk was exactly what I needed to hear on my return (caught the YouTube replay). Continuing with our May theme, Divine Doubt, Rev. Jim, one of our awe

What to do when doubt shows up, especially self-doubt, and how to transform it.

How can you use doubt as a doorway to greater awareness and a better life experience? Rev. Gary shares ideas about how to make doubt our friend rather than foe, how to use it so it no longer stops us from creating the life we desire. When we reframe our interpretation, we shift our mindset.

Where else can you go on a Sunday morning for a meaningful mindset reset and hear our own local superstars belting the venerable Rev. Al Green from the stage? One more reason I love this place. Mercy, mercy me. That opening set the tone, soulful and grounded, for this pre-Earth Day Sunday. Followed by Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi, another favorite, and also, sadly, the perfect Earth Day song for all the wrong reasons. And, our talented team more than did the music justice,

Cindy Clay talked about healing, revealing, and the power of vulnerability and sharing our stories to become who we're meant to be. It's how we surrender shame and blame and become our true, authentic selves. It's important to only share with those who deserve to hear them.

What to bunnies, eggs, and presence have to do with each other? Easter is filled with symbolism and Rev. Jim Boone brought all these home with his talk, Living with Presence and Deep Awareness. Kicking off with Oh, What a Beautiful Morning, sung by an amazing group of humans, we kicked off Easter joyfully, mindfully, and with practicality.