“Find Joy Purposefully! It is the Water of Life”
“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” – Rumi
When you were a child, you had unfettered access to wonder, curiosity, joy, and resilience. You splashed in puddles, you danced and laughed loudly. We need this joy, the joy to do the work of justice and love, to live a life in this beautiful, complicated, and hard world.
Siblings, what gives you joy? In The Book of Joy, the Dalai Lama says, “In fact, taking care of others, helping others, ultimately is the way to discover your own joy and to have a happy life.”
Come friends, let’s reflect on joy as one of the pillars to build God’s beloved community here in Oakland being held in God’s fierce love.
Join us in person or via Zoom, Facebook or YouTube Live.
Sunday service begins at 10:15AM.
Bulletin Link
You may give your Tithes & Offerings by mail or click here.
–
ZOOM Link
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85755892415
Meeting ID: 857 5589 2415
Passcode: 326043
Dial the number below then, when asked, dial the meeting ID & Password provided.
To join Sunday Worship via Facebook, log onto your Facebook account and search for the ‘Lake Merritt United Methodist Church’ page or click here.
To watch the live stream of our service on YouTube, click here.
2024 January – February Worship Series
Fierce Love
Inspired by the tenets of ubuntu—the Zulu phrase, “I am who I am because we are who we are”, that we are each impacted by the circumstances that impact those around us, and that the world won’t get better until we all get better. In her book, Fierce Love, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis shares her own experience, of being the first female and first Black minister in her church’s history, of being in an interracial marriage, and of making peace with childhood abuse – illustrates that our human capacity for empathy and forgiveness is the key to reverse a world divided and broken.She lays out the nine daily practices in her book for breaking through tribalism and engineering the change we seek but in our worship, we will reflect on six practices. From downsizing our emotional baggage to speaking truth to power to fueling our activism with joy, it demonstrates the power of small, morally courageous steps to heal our own lives, and our larger communities.
Sharing stories that trace her personal reckoning with racism as well as the arc of her journey to an inclusive and service-driven faith, Dr. Lewis shows that kindness, compassion, and inclusive thinking are muscles that can be exercised and strengthened. She says, Fiercely Love! Love! Period!
Feb 4, 2024 | Black History Month
Find Joy Purposefully! It is the Water of life!
Feb 11, 2024
We Will Get to the Promised Land