Tree of Life Delaware

The Great Event of Salvation

To live a life in the memory of Jesus Christ means first of all that that memory is a healing memory. How does the memory of Jesus Christ heal? The memory of Jesus Christ heals because it lifts up our small life and brings it in connection with a much larger event. As Christians, we are participating in a memory that goes far, far back to that great moment when God himself entered into history and shared the human condition. When our little history can be connected with the great history of salvation a tremendous change starts taking place because our little pains and our little joys are no longer just little pains and little joys but they point beyond themselves . . . to a great event of salvation of which we have become a part. . . . Our lives can be healed by the memory of the incarnation and the story of salvation. ~ Henri Nouwen

Text excerpts taken from "You are the Beloved"
by Henri J.M. Nouwen
© 2017 by The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust.
Published by Convergent Books.
Photo from unsplash.com.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
LOVE IS LOVE

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Did you know?

We’ll be at the Boys & Girls Club on Rt 40 & Glasgow Drive as usual. See you at 11:30 am!

Deciding to be Grateful

Gratitude is the most fruitful way of deepening your consciousness that you are not an “accident,” but a divine choice. It is important to realize how often we have had chances to be grateful and have not used them. When someone is kind to us, when an event turns out well, when a problem is solved, a relationship restored, a wound haealed, there are very concrete reasons to offer thanks: be it with words, with flowers, with a letter, a card, a phone call, or just a gesture of affection. . . . Every time we decide to be grateful it will be easier to see new things to be grateful for. Gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love. ~ Henri Nouwen

Text excerpts taken from "You are the Beloved"

by Henri J.M. Nouwen
© 2017 by The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust.
Published by Convergent Books.
Photo from unsplash.com

Thought some people we know and love might be interested in this or some people you know and love or that we don’t know yet and still love

Join us on Sunday, November 17th, at 8pm ET / 5pm PT as we gain insight into the science of s*x and gender diversity from three experts - a pediatric internist, endocrinologist and geneticist. This event will empower you to support your gender diverse family members and to respond to the criticism individuals often receive from their own families and church communities.

This session is geared towards parents and families of LGBTQ+ individuals; however, anybody who is interested in learning the science of gender is welcome to attend. The cost to attend this event is $10 per attendee and scholarships are available by emailing [email protected].

You can register at the link below!

https://buff.ly/3U6Z2nv

It’s All How You Look at It

The great conversion in our life is to recognize and believe that the many unexpected events are not just disturbing interruptions in our projects, but the way in which God molds our hearts and prepares us for his return. Our great temptations are boredom and bitterness. When our good plans are interrupted by poor weather, our well-organized careers by illness or bad luck, our peace of mind by inner turmoil, our hope for peace by a new war, our desire for a stable government by a constant changing of the guards, and our desire for immortality by real death, we are tempted to give in to a paralyzing boredom or to strike back in destructive bitterness. But when we believe that patience can make our expectations grow, then fate can be converted into a vocation, wounds into a call for deeper understanding, and sadness into a birthplace of joy. ~ Henri Nouwen

Text excerpts taken from "You are the Beloved"
by Henri J.M. Nouwen
© 2017 by The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust.
Published by Convergent Books.

WHY WE DON'T CELEBRATE COLUMBUS DAY

by Shane Claiborne

Christopher Columbus may have been a daring adventurer... but he is not someone we want our kids to think of as a hero or role model.

A growing number of cities are no longer celebrating Columbus Day, swapping it for "Indigenous Peoples' Day."

While we are thankful for this land we call America, it is important not to romanticize our national history. In his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me," James W. Loewen points out that Columbus and the Spaniard conquerers approached the native Americans and would read aloud what came to be called “The Requirement”, which went like this:
“I implore you to recognize the Church as a lady and in the name of the Pope take the King as lord of this land and obey his mandates. If you do not do it, I tell you that with the help of God I will enter powerfully against you all. I will make war everywhere and every way that I can. I will subject you to the yoke and obedience to the Church and to his majesty. I will take your women and children and make them slaves . . . The deaths and injuries that you will receive form here on will be your own fault and not that of his majesty nor of the gentlemen that accompany me.”

And from Howard Zinn:
"When he arrived on Hispaniola in 1508, Las Casas says, 'there were 60,000 people living on this island, including the Indians; so that from 1494 to 1508, over three million people had perished from war, slavery, and the mines. Who in future generations will believe this? I myself writing it as a knowledgeable eyewitness can hardly believe it....'
Thus began the history, five hundred years ago, of the European invasion of the Indian settlements in the Americas. That beginning... is conquest, slavery, death. When we read the history books given to children in the United States, it all starts with heroic adventure-there is no bloodshed and Columbus Day is a celebration."

Part of what we must do is re-learn our history – so that we do not read the Bible with imperial eyes but learn to read the empire with biblical eyes. We can't get our future right until we get our history right.

Let me close with a quote from our book Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals:

“Our history is different from the history told by nations and empires—our heroes are not the pioneers of colonialism and capitalism like Columbus and Rockefeller, but the pioneers of compassion like Mother Teresa and Oscar Romero. And our holy-days are different from the holidays of pop-culture and the do******ix of power.”

We need new heroes.
We need new holidays.
Happy Indigenous Peoples Day.

Be the church w/us! Faith communities meet up on Zoom Sun at 9am, Mon at 8pm, Wed at noon, and Thurs at 7pm. We also have a community giveaway community in Newark, DE on 4th Fri at 11:30am.

Happy National Coming Out Day, beloveds! May we be ever-preparing to receive the fullness of who you are by the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Two of our favorite people - Kate Bowler and Fr Greg Boyle. Enjoy!

Father Greg Boyle: Unshakable Goodness Sometimes you really need someone to believe that you are good. Unshakably good. Over 30 years ago, Father Greg Boyle started working with gang members in Lo...

Collecting for UMCOR where ever dollar given goes to relief efforts. Donate here (Missions General) https://secure.myvanco.com/L-YS95/campaign/C-ZG49

God Is Mercy

The older we become, the more we realize how limited we are in our ability to love, how impure our hearts are, and how complex our motivations are. And there is a real temptation to want to look inside of ourselves and clean it all out, and become people with a pure heart, unstained intentions, and unconditional love. Such an attempt is doomed to failure and leads us to ever greater despair. The more we look into ourselves and try to figure ourselves out, the more we become entangled in our own imperfections. Indeed, we cannot save ourselves. Only Jesus can save us. That is why it is so important to remove your inner eye away from the complexities of your own broken heart toward the pure but broken heart of Jesus. Looking at him and his immense mercy will give you the ability to accept your own imperfections and to really let yourself be cared for by the mercy and love of Jesus.



I remember how Thomas Merton once wrote: “God is mercy in mercy in mercy.” This means that the more we come to know ourselves, the more we come to know God’s mercy, which is beyond the mercy we know. Letting go of the desire to be perfect lovers, and allowing God to love our people through us, that is the great spiritual call that is given to you and to me. There in the pure heart of God, embraced by his unconditional love, you will find the true joy and peace your heart is longing for. ~ Henri Nouwen

Credit Henri Nouwen Society
Text excerpts taken from "You are the Beloved"
by Henri J.M. Nouwen
© 2017 by The Henri Nouwen Legacy Trust.
Published by Convergent Books.
Photo from unsplash.com.

Thailand becomes first Southeast Asian country to legalize marriage equality - LGBTQ Nation The king of Thailand just gave Royal Assent to a law allowing same-s*x couples to marry and adopt. Siritata Ninlapruek, an LGBTQ activist, said "We are all delighted and excited. We've been fighting for our rights for over 10 years, and now it's finally happening."