Base Community Sample Topics and Questions

Here is a list of readings and questions to use for your Base Community and Small Group Ministries

"Intentional Community" - Discussion/Thoughts/Questions ~ J. Lehmus

For tribal people, who see the world as a whole, the essence of our work is in its entirety. In a society where all are related, where everybody is someone else's mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or cousin, and where you cannot leave without eventually coming home, simple decisions require the approval of nearly everyone in that society. It is the society as a whole, not merely a part of it, that must survive.

This is the Native understanding. It is the understanding in a global sense. As more and more technology shrinks our planet Earth, the commonality that emerges among people is our interdependence. We, ours, yours and theirs. If we see that so clearly, then just on the horizon lies the vision of humanity. 

Discuss how you might live in this global sense. What if your neighborhood transformed into a society that lived in the tribal ways? An Intentional Community. Could you live as part of the whole with everyone being equal and some or most possessions being shared? Does money remain as the bartering basis? Now that there is a Euro-Dollar, would you come up with an IC-Dollar?

By utilizing networks of sharing, distribution and exchange of food and materials what would happen to your thoughts about money. Would you keep your job and trade money for "room and board" or decide to work in your intentional community and be provided for?

Are you ready to live like this? Would you be willing to try the IC model for one year or five years  or ten years? If not now, how about in the future? How about when you are in your retirement years? Where will you want to be?

Base Community Discussion - (from Paul Bauer of DreamsAlive.com)

"The man who's vision essentially created Gladiator, Ridley Scott, didn't win any awards. He sat back when Steven Soderbergh was chosen as Best Director. But I noticed something... something very important... When members of his team won awards, they cared enough to say something about Ridley, like Russel Crowe did: "I owe this to one bloke, and his name is Ridley Scott,"

As Ridley heard this, you could see the tears in his eyes begin to well up. He may not have won Best Director, but you can be very sure that he felt deep inside that he's Living his Life's Dream.

Because it's not about winning the Oscar, or the award, it's about Living - being in touch with all our feelings - all our humanness - with every ounce of our energy. So, today (and every day) take time to nourish your Spirit and remember YOUR Dream. The point of the stories above aren't that Hollywood deserves to live their Dreams...We deserve to live our Dreams...TODAY! If we endeavor to remember our dream, we can re-light our torch every day when we wake up. That way we know we are truly alive."

Questions: What is your dream? When do you think about your dream(s)? Is your daily practice moving you toward your dream(s)? Do you have the intention and act on the intention? Think of ways you can continually remind yourself about your dream(s). How else can we get there?

Base Community Discussion

"The Bodhisattva"

It is as if a firefighter in a burning building with a group of people knows the way to safety, but will not save him or herself until all in the building are safe. And the firefighter knows there will always be another fire and more people and animals to lead to safety.

Just as there have been many Buddhas, there have been, and are, many Bodhisattvas. Not being bound by the clutching of ego, the Bodhisattva may be an unassuming person. He or she may be emptying the trash where you work, or may be feeding the homeless at a shelter. Or maybe the Bodhisattva is among the homeless in the shelter. Perhaps the Bodhisattva is a preacher, or an artist, or a comedian. They might even be lawyers or politicians. They will be people who bring more light into the world, more love, more wisdom. They are the worlds heroes of compassion.

We too can awaken from our illusionary existence and pick up the compassionate challenge of Bodhisattvahood. We can choose to commit ourselves to full Enlightenment for the sake of others. We can choose to seek the knowledge and wisdom necessary to slip beyond our limited ego. We can choose to learn the ways of right living. We can choose to increase awareness of our actions and motivations. We can seek to live in compassion.

Suggested Practice: Meditate on the all seeing, all-helping, all compassionate Bodhisattva. Form a perception of this archetypal being filled with kindness, always merciful, ever helpful. Meditate on the seed of the Bodhisattva that lives in your heart. Become more aware of your own qualities of kindness, mercy, and helpfulness. Nurture that seed. Let it grow. Practice treating those around you as if they were holy beings in disguise. Now, what did you learn? Now that some ignorance is removed, how will you share?

Base Community and Small Group Questions:

Are you willing to listen to your Heart and intuition and be true to yourself, even when it hurts? Are you willing to do the unpopular thing especially when it's needed? Do you now work for a company that routinely rapes the land with pollution, or for a drug company that uses animals for testing and even worse uses humans as guinea pigs? Does this sound too opinionated? Only to those unwilling to really look at what is needed to honor our Earth, our children, ourselves.

Have you ever considered the consequences of your decisions? Do you purchase toxic products from companies like Monsanto (maker of Nutrasweet - a known toxic compound that slowly poisons the body - and they are now trying to "bioengineer" crops such as corn, soybeans, etc. that create dangerous side effects)? Do you smoke? Do you allow your children to watch violence on TV thinking "Oh, they'll get over it"?

Every seed we sow grows, so we need to be aware - fully conscious of what we are planting in our own minds and the minds of those who you influence.  What can I do today to have more integrity?

Sit for a moment, and ask yourself:  Why am I here?   What am Here to do?     How can I best use my creative talents and speak my Truth?    How can I honor my intuition - my Heart and honor this sacred Earth I live on - to help protect it for my children?

As you go about your daily life, listen to your Heart, remember that integrity means the state of being complete, connected to your own self. What can you do as you are reading this, that will honor your own integrity?

Base Community Question

From the Bible - Luke 3:15-16,21-22

In the Christian calendar, on this Sunday we observe Jesus' baptism, marking the time between celebrating his birth and observing his work as an adult. John the Baptist speaks about two different baptisms, one with water, the other with the Spirit. In the story of Jesus' baptism, we're told that after he was baptized with water, the heavens opened and the Spirit descended in the form of a dove pronouncing him God's beloved Child.

  At this pivotal point, it's as if the angels and stars that announced the birth and led shepherds and magi are descending right into Jesus' heart and soul. This movement from exterior signs to interior knowing, is the movement of an exterior experience of the Divine to knowing God within. With that we potentially receive such things as assurance of God with us always, guidance through each moment of our lives, and even knowledge of our life purpose.

  At this point in your life, is God more an external or internal presence, or a combination of both? How do you understand spiritual baptism?  What effect does it have on your life and how you relate to the rest of the world?

Base Community Questions

The following Base Community readings are from the JoinHands.Com, web site.  An interesting site with a regular newsletter available for sign up.

Song of Solomon 2:8-13 - This book is also called the Song of Songs (which I like better) or the Canticle (song). It is a gorgeous, lyrical and beautifully erotic poem and should be enjoyed as such. The Christian church, until the last half century, had a very hard time believing that something so powerfully sexual could be in Holy Scripture, but that said more about the repressed sexuality of the culture than about this book of the Bible. Jewish people have never had a problem seeing healthy eroticism as one of God's gifts. So first of all, read it for what it is, a rich and powerful poem of love between a woman and a man. But Rev. Bev suggests we also see it as a metaphor for the deeply sensual way in which God courts us, waiting, hoping for our love.

Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9 - This psalm is also identified as "a love song." It's to be sung at a royal wedding, and the king is the handsome one referred to in verse 2. It's also a song of pure celebration and everything is described in superlatives. It's how we are meant to feel when we make a life-covenant with a partner. "We feel we have power, position, wealth," as Bev says and everything is going well for us, if only for this one day. "But a loving relationship with a partner is for the long haul," says Bev, "just as our relationship with God is for all time. Can we hold those two in tension - the celebration of the moment and the commitment to love forever?"

Base Community Questions

Read Psalm 25 and review and discuss these questions: What thoughts are generated and what visuals do you "see" when you read this?  Do you remember issues of your past?  Do you think about your actions  Now, or does the reading make you look forward and think about how you can improve upon yourself?  Do you feel your inner Resolve and Strength?  Do you think about your Wisdom?

Reading and discussion

Read Mark 4:1-9 - What is the meaning of Jesus meeting by the Sea?  What is the symbolism of getting into the boat?  Talk about the the sower.  What seeds do you "drop"?  What seeds are dropped upon you?  Are you a worn down path, rocky ground or thorny ground?   Can you harvest a seed hundredfold?

Base Community Questions  (St. Francis in the Foothills - Tucson, Az)

Reading and discussion questions - Genesis 2: 4b-10

The garden is a beautiful metaphor for our souls, which are in turn primary places of connection with God or the Spirit. Now call forth your image of the Garden. What is the state of your soul's garden? Is it lush with growth? Is it fallow and waiting? What kinds of things are you growing in your garden and what does this mean to you? What kind of attention is your garden needing at this time? Ask these same questions of our collective gardens at your place of Worship, your friends, neighborhoods, Base Community and in our larger society and world.

Reading and discussion questions - Genesis 3: 8-14, 23, 24

You are probably aware of the story: Adam and Eve being cast out of the Garden of Eden. It has those humorous projections of Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the serpent, but they don't seem quite so humorous when we acknowledge how much projection of blame we do. But that's not the point. The point is that these first mythological expressions of each of us lost their home, and we have been longing to be "home, back home" ever since. It's what Dorothy longed for in "The Wizard of Oz." It's what E.T. longed for, and it is what we long for. What is your true home? Where is your true home? Do you long to be "home" once again?

Reading & Questions - Jeremiah 8:18-9:1

"Quitcherbellyaching" is a sign over the desk of a friend. He would hate this passage from Jeremiah. "I never complain myself, and I can't stand it when others complain," he was fond of saying. But when his wife of many years passed away, he had no way of mourning. He tried hard to keep his customary stiff upper lip, but then he wound up in hospital with a mental breakdown.

Jim Taylor tells us in Aha!!! that "lament is not part of our culture. Everyone wears a bright smile, or at least they think they should. By contrast, if the Jews felt badly about something, they poured it out." Rev. Bev wonders about our cultural happy face. "Are we called to lament some of the situations in our world?" she asks. "'What about the hurt of my poor people?' Jeremiah mentions in verse 18:21. 'Should we not be lamenting them?'"

Reading & Questions

Luke 16:1-13 - Now here's a head-scratcher. Is Jesus praising dishonesty? It certainly sounds like it. Make sure you're wide awake when you read this one.

Actually, I think Jesus is pulling my leg here. If we could see his face, I'll bet he had a sardonic grin when he was suggesting we make friends for ourselves by means of dishonest wealth (verse 9). Jesus had a lively sense of humor. But the grin would be gone as he spoke verse 10. Now if whoever read it in church could only imitate Jesus' facial expressions!

Rev. Bev raises the issue of accountability, which is, after all, the core of this passage. Who are you accountable to? The dishonest manager in the parable did some fancy self-justification. How do we justify our own actions and attitudes?

(The above is based on Jim Taylor's lectionary notes in Aha!!! and on notes from Rev. Beverley Milton.)

BASE COMMUNITY QUESTION

John 3:2-11a

This story is about judgmentalism, unacceptance, and unforgiveness on the part of a group of people who were trying to get at Jesus by harshly accusing a woman for behavior they didn't approve of. Jesus called their bluff by suggesting that each of them has chosen behavior, about which others could be equally judgmental.

Whenever we find ourselves judging some-one else, whether it's their life choices, dress, hair style, or personal habits and idiosyncrasies, we're really judging ourselves. We're invited to take a look at the ways in which we are not accepting and forgiving of ourselves, whether in small or big ways. We're not going to stop having opinions about each other, but the greatest spiritual and personal development can happen when we're primarily willing to look at ourselves.

In what ways do you unfairly judge yourself? In what ways do you need to forgive yourself? What can you do to practice acceptance of yourself this week? How can you practice these same things with others?

BASE COMMUNITY QUESTION

Isaiah 60: 1-6 and Matthew 2: 1-12

The first scripture comes at a time when Israel is returning from exile. Amidst the darkness, the light of God shines, and the people of God return to their homeland. Amidst what appears to be sure death, the light of God dawns. It signals a rebirth for an entire nation. Then Matthew signals rebirth for the entire world.

Amidst the darkness of these times, what light is shining in your life that causes you to arise, to shine, to be of such brilliance that nations shall come to your light? Such a question is not being melodramatic. One person does make a difference to all -- when that person is called to
arise and be what God created him/her to be.

If you are having trouble with this, see the movie "Patch Adams." Perhaps you will want to see it as a Base Community gathering. "Arise, shine, for your light has come." It's time. 

Base Community Questions

Luke 16:19-31 - You can get off on a wild-goose-chase if you think this passage is about the nature of hell. It's a parable, a story Jesus made up to make a point, and it's aimed right at those who ignore the signs all around them. We use all kinds of mental gymnastics to think our way out of helping the poor - of giving as little as possible because we "need" the money. Jesus is a bit ticked off at the folks who say, "Show me a miracle and then I'll believe!" In the meantime, we keep kidding ourselves. Jim Taylor tells the story of Bob Elliott who received a very moderate salary.  Jim found out that Bob gave about 60% of his paycheck away each month. Bev wonders who we identify with in Jesus' story. Lazarus? The rich man? And what does the story say to us about priorities? (Thanks to Rumors@joinhands.com Rumors Newsletter #19)

Base Community Questions

For tribal people, who see the world as a whole, the essence of our work is in its entirety.  In a society where all are related, where everybody is someone else's mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or cousin, and where you cannot leave without eventually coming home, simple decisions require the approval of nearly everyone in that society.  It is the society as a whole, not merely a part of it, that must survive.

This is the Native understanding.  It is the understanding in a global sense.  As more and more technology shrinks our planet Earth, the commonality that emerges among people is our interdependence.  We, ours, yours and theirs.  If we see that so clearly, then just on the horizon lies the vision of humanity. 

Discuss how you might live in this global sense.  What if your neighborhood transformed into a society that lived in the tribal ways?  Could you live as part of the whole?,  everyone being equal?,   utilizing networks of sharing, distribution and exchange of food and materials?  If not now, how about in 10-15 years?  Where will you be?

Base Community Questions

Read Psalm 8:3-5, Genesis 2:4a-8, 18-19
There are two creation myths in the Bible. In this one, human beings and animals are formed from the earth and given life by the Creator who breathes into their nostrils. Through the telling of this myth, we affirm that we and other creatures are made up of a physical, earthy nature as well as divine spirit. We are both at the same time. 

There are times when we're out of balance, and focus on one of these natures to the other's exclusion. Sometimes we focus so much on our spirits that we deny the gift of being in these bodies. And sometimes we focus so much on our physical bodies that we forget our divine capacities. Perhaps that's what the writer of the Psalm was thinking about when looking with awe at how we are made, only "a little lower than God."

What happens when we're out of balance? How do these imbalances manifest in society? What can we do to affirm within ourselves and others the earthiness and godliness of our natures?

Base Community Questions

Revelation 3:14-20 ~ This is a difficult scripture for me, for I always end up seeing myself as one of those that is spit out of God's mouth because of my "lukewarmness."  Interesting that Dante puts "lulkewarm Christians" in the lowest circles of hell.  It is the plague of our time as well.  We as a Spiritual culture, seem reticent to be totally committed or totally uncommitted (hot or cold).  Would it be better if we were either hot or cold so we could at least define ourselves? We have good reasons (or excuses) for being neither hot nor cold.  It's comfortable, for awhile, to be luke-warm.

Where are you on the continuum that runs from cold to hot? The luke-warm way sounds attractive, doesn't it?   But it also brings lukewarn joy, lukewarm satisfaction, lukewarm love, lukewarm involvement, lukewarm. . . . . . you might continue this list with your Base Community. ~ Thanks to M. Foster (Tucson, Az) for our questions.

Base Community Questions

    Newness is not possible without the willingness to forgive one another. Forgiveness is the cement of family and community life. To forgive myself, or another, is an act of liberation. We no longer hold ourselves or them to rigid and pre-determined stereotypes (i.e. I will not ever speak to them because...). The great temptation is to cling to anger and define ourselves as being offended and wounded, which deprives us of being who we are.

    What are the grudges you are clinging to?  Can you let them go in order to be a new person?

Base Community Questions

You are the salt of the Earth. You are the light of the World. (Matthew 5:13-16)

It inspires a number of introspective questions:
Do I bring spice and seasoning into each occasion?
Do I let my light shine, or am I inclined to dwell in the shadow-lands?
Do you acknowledge that you are a bit reticent to let your light shine for fear that it might not be acceptable?
Can you be the Light of the World and the Salt of the Earth without be self-absorbed?
Is there a way you can express your radiance and uniqueness and yet remain humble?

(Thanks to Margaret Foster, Tucson, AZ for sending us the Base Community readings)

Base Community Questions

I Corinthians 13
It's a poem about love! Perhaps one of the most beautiful in all literature.  It speaks of love as foundational; as primary and essential to all other acts, things, words, deeds and prophecies.  In other words, it's important.  There are other references to "love" in the Bible, over 950 of them. Among the: "God is love," Love your neighbor," Love one another."  It is the foundational focus of all the world's religions.  But it is not practiced!  What stands in the way of loving one another?  What stands in your way of loving another?  Perhaps we don't even know what love is.  What are your thoughts?  Your feelings? Your.........?

I was interested in a point made during the commentary on "Love/God", that both words should be considered verbs, an action, a living part of your life.  Once you accept a specific definition, the name becomes static and therefore, nouns. (He did not take credit for this idea but told us who had originally put it forth). So all that we believe about "Love/God" should just be lived and shared with others.

Base Community Questions

Ezekiel 11: 17b - 19
    When we're afraid, hurt, angry, lost or confused, our world becomes very small. We can only be concerned with the immediate issue that is causing these feelings. We tend to shut down and our hearts can feel very small and hard.  We reach a point along our path where the hardness begins to feel worse than the problem before us.   We find ourselves at a crossroads - we can keep our hearts of stone and limit our lives -- or we can open our hearts to the Divine presence, allowing them to expand, to be open to guidance and letting go of hurt, fear, anger, loss and confusion. What things make your heart feel like stone?  What do you need to let go of in order to yield to Divine guidance?  What crossroads to you see in your personal life or in your community?

An added thought:
Newness is not possible without the willingness to forgive one another.   Forgiveness it the cement of family and community life.  To forgive myself, or another, is an act of liberation.  We no longer hold ourselves or them to rigid and pre-determined stereotypes (i.e. I will not ever speak to them because...).  The great temptation is to cling to anger and define ourselves as being offended and wounded, which deprives us of being who we are.

What are the grudges you are clinging to?  Can you let them go in order to be a new person?

Base Community Questions

A related reading is Luke 1: 39-45.   Our first response is often disbelief when a new possibility presents itself in our lives.  We may feel a mixture of both hope and fear at what could happen.  When we open ourselves to the working of the Holy Spirit, we relax into that possibility and allow it to happen as it will. 

What glimmers of new beginnings do you sense in your work, home life and relationships?  What possibilities for new life do you see in your community, place of worship, schools, government and the larger world?  How can you make these new beginnings so that they flourish and grow?

Base Community Questions

A Related Reading is John 6: 1-14 - You may know this story: No one seemed willing to share until a child gave all that he/she had, five loaves of bread and two fish, to help feed 5,000 people.  Then it happened; everyone started sharing, and there were twelve baskets-full left over!

Grace begins with an impossible need which transcends our ordinary capacity to respond.  We become channels for that Grace when we become participants in the giving.  As we give ourselves away, we find that no one is in need; in fact there are leftovers.  Would you like to live that way?  Are you willing?

Base Community Questions

Even though we sometimes feel alone when going through difficult times, the Spirit of all Life journeys with us. 

In a story from Daniel 3: 19-25, three men are thrown into a furnace to die, but a fourth being, with the appearance of the Holy Spirit, is seen in the furnace with them.  They came through their ordeal unharmed.

In addition to this Spirit's presence in our lives, we also have special people who journey with us.  Think about those who have been there for you when you have needed support, guidance, a friendly deed (thanks for the firewood, Dave) , fellowship and love.  They may be people from your past or present, living or dead.  

What have these people done for you?  How has their support enabled you to be a better person?  How have you been able to help others be cause of that experience?

Base Community Questions

Esther 4: 10-14

During the time when Esther was Queen, the Jewish people were under attack by one of the king's advisors.  Esther was Jewish, but the king didn't know that.  She was faced with a decision between protecting herself by being silent about who she was, or speaking out to help her people.   Her uncle called her to account by telling her that being silent wouldn't necessarily protect her.  He suggested she may have even become the queen so that she would be in a position to take action to save her people.  "Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this." (Esther 4: 14) 

For what purpose do we find ourselves where we are?  What is unique about your situation?  What is the Spirit urging you to do that will make life better for yourself and others?

Base Community Questions

The truth that All is One is both Comforting and Challenging.  It feels good to be in harmony with the Universe and to understand how we are related to every creature and aspect of nature.  It is challenging because this means that we each have responsibility for how we affect the whole.  It also means we are connected with people and situations that we would rather not be related to at all. 

Questions:  How do we embrace the truth of Oneness which makes demands on us beyond our personal preferences?   What things happening in the world, challenge your understanding that All is One?   Which of these things inspire you to take action toward creating better situations?    (Read Ezekiel 34: 16a, 18, 19, 28-31 - St. Francis in the Foothills, Tucson, AZ)

Base Community Questions

Put off thoughts about tomorrow - what you shall eat, what you shall put on.  Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.

The reading, Matthew 6: 25-34, represents a foundational picture of the harmony of the Universe - a harmony that all are part of, save human-kind, which chooses to exclude itself from this Divine Harmony.  Why do you suppose we do that?  What must we do to get back in harmony?  Would you like to try it?  What is the first step you will take this week? 

Thanks Again to M. Foster - St.Francis Base Community (c) questions:
Read Matthew 22: 34-40

"Love God!  Love neighbor!  Love Self!  Within this is all the Law, the Gospel, the Prophets, the Truth.  Yet, I was taught to love Jesus first, others second and self last.   'Put yourself last', went the song, 'and spell JOY' (Jesus, Others, You).   Today, with our narcissistic tendencies, we usually put ourselves first.   Doing our own thing, tending to our own needs, defining our own boundaries, being kind to ourselves.  So, this scripture can be a challenge.  The fact is, we cannot love God nor our neighbor any way other than the way we love ourselves.  If we are insecure, needy, fearful and guilty, that is the kind of God we will have and the kind of neighbors we will perceive.  If we begin to awaken to the 'Image of God' that is the ground of my being . . . my true identity . . . then I begin to see myself as God sees me and I begin to see my neighbor as an extension of me."

How do you see yourself?   Confession time.  Who are you?  Who are you?  Who are you? (ask every one in your Base) This is the question for in-depth sharing.

Thanks to M. Foster - St.Francis Base Community (c) questions:

Luke 6:43-45
Can you pick figs from a thornbush or grapes from briar patch? Can bad trees bear good fruit? This passage of scripture might lead us to believe that a bad tree can only bear bad fruit. Your heart is filled with one or the other? Not both? Is it really that black and white?

What responsibility or opportunity do we as individuals in this community have to help fill the hearts of kids with goodness? Our kids at home, next door, at work or wherever we come into contact with them. Whose job is it to fill the hearts of our young people with good? It's the job of parents, schools, churches, coaches and everyone else. It's up to all of us at every chance we get, small or big. Let's all pick a fig from a thornbush this week!

And from this morning's service (8-30-98):
Psalm 37:1-11
We know from a very early age that it's not fair when someone does something wrong and they get away with it. As we grow older, we notice that some people who do awful things seem to get rewarded for it. They may get the better job, higher income, fancier house, etc. On a deeper and more troubling level, we hear the news of awful things that happen in our community and world, and it seems as if evil is growing.

It's easy to feel anger, fear and despair in the face of these things. While anger and fear are very important emotions (they tell us that something is wrong), if we continue to dwell in those feelings we only add to the problem. In fact, the writer of the Psalm reminds us that by
doing this we actually add to the evil. It is far better to respond to the unfairness and injustices with the energy of Divine Love.

What are the things that make you angry or afraid? How can you convert this energy into positive action toward changing what is wrong? If you can't change something, how can you allow Divine Love to change your relationship to what makes you angry or afraid?

The Invitation - by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.  I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.  I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.  I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals, or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.  I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine and your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it.  I want to know if you can be with joy, mine and your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.  I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.   I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.  I want to know if you can see beauty even if it is not pretty everyday, and if you can source your life from its presence.  I want to know if you can live without failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon.   " Yes! "

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.  I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, or how you came to be here.  I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.  I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else fails away.  I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Questions:  Do you dare to dream?  Will you take the risk to try your dreams?  Have you held back from fear of further pain?  Can you sit with sorrow and accept it?   Can you Jump for Joy no matter how old or how wise you think you are?  Are all children, your number one priority?  Can you stand still when it's time to pay your debts?  Do you like yourself?  What can you do to improve?  Are you too easy on yourself?  Are you too hard on yourself? 

Read Psalms 30 Together - Have you been able to praise God in the midst of crises? Or rejection by the very people you assumed would help?

Bev Milton (c) 1998

Read Mark 6:24-56

Getting into the boat - If you don't, what are your reasons?  "I can't swim!"  or "I get motion sickness!"  or  "I am afraid!" 

Questions:

What boat are you being called to get into today? What is holding you back from getting into the boat? What will you need for your journey?

Read John 5:1-9

A thirty-eight year paralysis is the handicap that has plagued the principal character in this scriptural episode.  It is the story about each one of us.  You are asked an abrupt and unanticipated question:   "Do you want to be made well?"

Questions:

What has paralyzed you from moving when the waters are perturbed in your life? What are the reasons you give for not moving? What are the reasons for remaining immobilized / paralyzed?

Read: Luke 15:1-3a, 11b-32 The Prodigal Child. 

Questions: 

1. What does the forgiving love of the parent in this story represent?  Have you ever experienced this kind of forgiveness in your own life?

2.  How does this reading remind you of your own story?  What are the roadblocks you have faced or still face on your way 'home'?

3.  What has brought you the most joy as a parent?

4.  What causes us to harbor resentment when mercy is shown to someone else?

5.  What patterns for resolving family conflict are typical of you and your family?  How would you like things to be better?

Symptoms of Inner Peace

A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears of past experiences.  An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.  A loss of interest in conflict.  A loss of the ability to worry.   Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.  Feelings of connectedness with others and nature.  Frequent bouts of smiling.  An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others, and the uncontrollable urge to extend it. 

Questions: When was your last time?   When will be the next time?   Have you missed any chances recently?   Will you miss the next opportunity?

Base Community Questions - Read John 1:1-18 "In the beginning was the word.....What has come into being.....is life, life that is the life of all. The word becomes flesh and lives among us. We have seen the glory, full of Grace and Truth."

Questions:

Have you listened long enough, looked intently enough, sat quietly enough to perceive the glory in every hand and face, in every circumstance, in every experience?

On occasion we sing "I see the light in you, the shining light comes through and I am blessed to be with you." You are urged to practice such awareness this week and with your Base Community.

Please use the Guest Book to write us with your ideas and experiences.