MUTUALITY WORLD COMMUNITY CHURCH

THE WRITTEN WORD CHURCH
It is Written!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
 was with God and the Word was God.  
John 1:1 KJV

Jesus answered, It is written. Matt 4:4 NIV

Then the Lord said:
Write down the vision and make it plain on
tablets so that a herald may run with it.
Habakkuk 2:2

"The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message."
Acts 15:31: NIV

THE MUTUALITY WORLD COMMUNITY CHURCH
is intercultural, interracial, interreligious, nondenominational,
international, interplanetary, interfaith (including Creator
endowed faith that transcends all acculturated faiths)

What is true in any religion is in the religion
because it is true; it is not true
because it is in the religion.
- Howard Thurman

Yearning to be one with God,
Fallen from grace, yet in need of grace;
Lost, restless, heart broken,
Pleading daily for the Master's touch
Praying in hope while he sings the song
"God is our refuge," this is man.

Religion par excellence in a world of
Religion mediocrity is attainable.

*********************************

The
Name
Jesus
And you shall call his name Jesus;
for he shall save his people from
their sins.*
His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.**
At the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven
and things in earth and things under
the earth. And that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God.***
Matt. 1:21*   Isaiah 9:6**
Philippians 2:10-11***

We are One
My people are your people and
your people are my people.
We are one. We always were
but didn't know it until ...
Come on my people and
express yourself;
We are one.
This is a celebration of
life and beauty;
We are one.
Each is in all and all is in each,
Each is for  all, all  is for each;
We are one.
We embrace, we sing, we dance,
we love, we enjoy;
We are one.
In bad times, in good times,
in all times we care;
We are one.
Come on my people;
We are one,
We are one,
We are one.

Life is Delectable
It's a great day to be alive;
I will rejoice and be glad in it.
It's enough to be alive;
To have meaning in survival,
To see the sea and sky,
and watch, and even be a part
of the Creative Process;
To eat, talk, walk, play, work, sleep;
To love and  be loved.
To feel pain and joy and the breeze
of an invisible wind.
To be free to be self and not have
to be somebody else.
To embrace full life
and live just for today.
For this is the eternal now,
the delectable state that it is.

Peace of Soul Is Mine Today
Peace of soul is mine today,
Sweet peace,
beautiful peace floods my soul.
I have learned how to have
peace in the storm and in
difficult times.
For there is a peace that
transcends every challenge
and circumstance.
Peace of soul, sweet peace,
beautiful peace.

In my soul there are calmness,
stillness,
satisfaction and delight.
I have no greater desire than
to totally be a
peacemaker.
Oh how the world needs
peace that makes living a
marvelous delight.
Peace of soul, sweet peace,
beautiful peace.

I Will Bless the Lord at All Times
I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 34:1

I will bless the Lord at all times
I will bless the l Lord at all times
With my mouth I will give praise,
With my  life I will proclaim Him.
I'll go where He wants me to go
And I'll do what He wants me to do
I'll  trust  and  obey  Him 
every  step  of  the  way.
(Lyrics by Uriah J. Fields)

O Lord My God, Open Unto ME

Evidence:
Once you read MWCC, you'll come back!

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www.facebook.com/uriah.j.fields
and
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Table of Contents

1* Mutuality: The Full Life Process
2* A Universal Thank You Litany
3* My Intention in Encounter  
  4* Take Care of Yourself
5* The Loudest Scream
6* We are the Children of the Universe
7* You Did it God
8* Religion Par Excellence
9* But For Grace
10* I Am a Child of God
11* The Power Paradigm
*12 Self-Love
13* Loving
14* Kindness
15* Saved and Didn't Know It
16* Silence
17* Some Call it Et cetera; I Call It God
18* Consciousness of Scarcity
19* I AM THAT I AM
20* How I Begin My Day
21* Praise, Praise, Praise
22* A You and Me Celebration
23* Practice Community
24* Grace is Not Enough
25* Count It All Joy
26* Lifetime of Love Songs
27* You Can Count on the Lord.
28* Courage to Be
29* Peace of Soul is Mine Today
30* The Lord Bless You and Keep You
31* Prayer Empowerment
32* Coda: Good-bye for Now
33* Prayer Request and Appeal

                            O gracious and holy God, in your presence and with thankful
                            hearts we offer to You this Sacrament of gratitude.
                            We acknowledge You as the Giver of all good things and the
                            bestower of our manifold blessings;
                            We are aware that your goodness is great and your blessings
                            are numerous, too many for us to enumerate one-by-one.
                            Yet, O God in this prayer of thanksgiving, at this particular
                            time, we want to thank You for some specific gifts You have
                            showered upon us;
                            We begin with life, our lives, we are still among the living,
                            The health and strength that we possess,
                            The food, clothing, shelter and safety we enjoy today and
                            have enjoyed in days gone by.
                            For all these we joyfully proclaim, not just with 
                            our mouths but with our lives, Thank You God.
                            We are mindful of the compassion we have known:
                            Our mothers' tender-loving care expressed in more ways
                            than we can say,
                            The strength, provisions and protective eyes of our fathers,
                           The knowledge and wisdom we have received from
                            teachers in schools and beyond the school walls,
                           The ministers and spiritual leaders who proclaimed good
                            news to us and by their examples let us know how to be
                            responsible and live righteous lives,
                            Our playmates who helped us to know the beauty of
                            laughter and how to be spontaneous,
                           The moving stories we have heard, sometimes sad
                            but mostly happy ones, that helped us to better know
                            the storytellers and understand ourselves,
                            Those from many walks of life who revealed to us the
                            power of faith and prayer,
                            The tears we have shed, both tears of joy and tears
                            of sorrow,
                            For the suffering that has empowered us in ways that
                            only suffering can, making us strong and able to
                            endure life's challenges;
                            For all these we joyfully proclaim, not just with 
                            our mouths but with our lives, Thank You God. 
                            We have confidence and assurance that you who
                            have brought us this far is not going to leave us 
                            now or as long as we exercise faith and hold fast
                            the gift of salvation.
                            We know Who You are and Whose we are; You
                            are our Father,
                            In your presence we will abide and with eternal
                            hope claim victory;
                            For all these we joyfully proclaim, not just with
                            our mouths but with our lives, Thank You God.
                            And so it is.

                                                  <<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

                                                              3* Today

                                  Today, I acknowledge my true self, accepting
                                       myself just as I am now;
                                  Today, I welcome this day with a warm heart
                                       and open arms;
                                  Today, I let the presence within me bless the
                                       presence within others and the presence
                                       within others bless me;
                                  Today, I take time to smell the roses, look at
                                       the sky and listen to the birds sing;
                                  Today, I surrender fully to the Cosmic power
                                       that is in everything;
                                  Today, I am a new person doing a new
                                       thing, something beautiful and eternal.
                                  Today, the only business on my agenda
                                       is today's business:
                                  Today, I am free, happy, and at peace
                                       with God, myself, and all creation.

                                  (From "A Celebration of Poets," A Showcase
                                  Edition; Submitted by Uriah J. Fields)

                                     <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

  3* My Intention in Encounter 
                
It
is my
intention
 that the lives  
of people I relate
with will be impacted
                                    meaningfully as a result of                                    
                                    our togetherness, or they will                                    
remain where they are, but that
nobody  will experience harm as a
 result of his or her encounter with me.

<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

4* Take Care of Yourself

Take  care  of  yourself;
That is the most important
thing that you can do for
yourself;
Be your own best friend;
Do not let the desires of
your heart, the dictates of
others, or default deny
you the good that is
rightly yours.
Take care of yourself,
Be positive, follow your
heart and enjoy life.
You are precious and the
epitome of beauty.

Take care of yourself,
Nature desires above
all else that you may be
in good health.
You rank with Angels,
Your body is the Temple of 
God and your soul is Spirit 
that connects you with Him,
Who loves you eternally.
Take care of yourself,
Be positive, follow your
heart, and enjoy life.
You are precious and the
epitome of beauty.

<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>

5* The Loudest Scream

There may come a time in a person's life
when he has to scream loudly "fire! fire! fire!" Sometimes
this happens when a person recalls and reacts to a particular disturbing 
past experiene, guilt, repressed anger, frustration, violence and imagined fears.

The screams of desperation are numerous and they can be heard nearly everywhere. They are voices and fears of pain. The screamer's plea for help, even when from a single person, may seem to be overwhelming to the person who cares.

It may be the scream of an abandoned child, a soldier being tortured by his enemies, a woman fleeing from a serial killer who is determined to destroy her, a lonely person in a crowd who feels alone, a fear-stricken person sensing imminent danger that may be real or imaginary. These screamers have one thing in common: they are crying out for help - for someone to rescue them.

Sometimes other people hear their screams and respond humanely; sometimes others ignore them, sometimes their screams are out of quiet desperation and are too quiet for others to hear. But most times their screams are loud and sound as if they are from hysterical people. Yet, "the loudest screams" - come from those who cry out for love, those who can scream in rhythmic cadences, often reaching a crescendo pitch that is so high that it goes off the proximity audio odometer.

What are their lyrics? Two words: They scream "Love me! Love me! Love me!" That's all they ask, just love me. The loudest scream is from the soul-broken person who expresses the most excruciating and severest pain of all screamers. Even when his screams seem faint to others, they are not, they are always very loud to the screamer whose soul is broken and who may be too weak to give a raised voice to his pain. Most times it is somewhat like unto Jesus crying out in a loud voice while on the cross: "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" - which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Out of desperation the loudest screamer asks, as if demandingly, "Love me!" He may say, "Love me or I am out of here." And even add, "before I am destructive to others or myself." This may mean that he will commit homicide or suicide suddenly or by a somewhat prolonged process that involves the use of drugs, overeating or some other life-abusive substances to affect his premature demise.

How tragic it is that the "loudest scream - the primal scream" - very often falls on deaf ears, or, if heard, be ignored, perhaps by someone who does not have empathy for hurting people, or who is just too proud to help a broken human being. Yet, those who refuse to help people in desperation may themselves become screamers and it is because they to never learned to love. There comes a time in the life of a person when he needs help and out of desperation he may scream loudly for someone to help him.

The ultmate cure for a screamer is to find someone to love. The ultimate prevention for the person who turns a deaf ear to a screamer and is himself in danger of becoming a screamer is to love himself. Then he will love others and God even as he loves himself. Love, although efficacious, it is reality-based. Love connects the temporal and eternity.
                           "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard 
                             him, and saved him out of his troubles"
                                                  - Psalm 34:6

(Note: I, Uriah J. Fields, read this Scripture, Psalm 34:1-6, on December 5, 1955, during the first mass meeting of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Some 3000-plus people gathered at the Holt Street Baptist Church, A. W. Wilson, pastor, to greet Rosa Parks who had been found guilty by City Court Judge John B. Scott earlier that day of violating Alabama's segregation laws - for refusing to give her bus seat to a white person. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered a rousing address at the mass meeting and the people voted to continue the one-day old bus boycott until, as Ralph David Abernathy, announced during the meeting, "Until some other arrangement can be made with the city officials of Montgomery." E. D. Nixon who paid Rosa Parks' bail following her arrest stated with enthusiasm "For years I have looked forward to the day when we (African Americans) would unite to fight injustice in Montgomery.")

 <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>  

6* We are the Children
of the Universe

                                                                We are the children of the Universe.
                                                                Our Father has given the Earth to us
                                                                And we will care for it just as we care
                                                                for our souls.

                                                               We are the children who are playing
                                                               and laughing,
                                                               We feel free to be ourselves
                                                               and live our lives as we choose.

                                                               We are the children who are working
                                                               and helping,
                                                              We are glad to be useful and able
                                                              to serve others.

                                                              We are the children who are learning
                                                              and loving,
                                                              We are growing each day we live
                                                              in knowledge and in wisdom.

                                                              We are the children who are singing
                                                              and dancing,
                                                              We are happy as we can be
                                                              Life is a celebration.

                                                              We are the children of the Universe.
                                                              Our Father has given the Earth to us
                                                              And we will care for it just as we
                                                              care for our souls.

                                                              (Lead sheet music for this song
                                                              is available.)

                                                                   <<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>

7* You Did It God

Who created the earth and the Heavens,
vegetation, all living things, including
man the masterpiece of Creation,
the stars, moon and sun?
You did it God.

(Refrain)
It's not what I did; It's what you did.
You did it God

Who saved  me  and  made  me whole,
gave me  a new  name, a  new song to
 sing, and a life to proclaim Jesus  Christ 
as my Savior, my Lord and my God?
You did it God.

Who showered the Earth with rain,
graced it with wind, caused thunder
to row, lightning to flash, mountains
to tremble and sea overflow?
You did it God.

When I observe nature and the beauty
that surrounds me and feel the spirit
moving  within me, I rejoice  and
praise Him as I proudly declare
You Did it God.

<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

8* ReLIGION PAR EXCELLENCE

The seven realms of the nature of man are: physical, mental, emotional, economic, social, political and religious. In this discourse the focus is on the religious component. Man cannot avoid responding religiously to life anymore than he can avoid responding to life physically or emotionally. As a soul being man has a God-connection, a spiritual yearning for enlightenment and salvation. Therefore, personal happiness and social well-being can be achieved only through applying vital religion to living. It is the religious force that compels and impels man to ceaselessly pursue the ideal, create, serve with compassion, grow and, for some people, become enlightened human beings.

By nature, man is a religious being. When we refer to religion in the broadest sense, i.e., as a system of orientation and an object of devotion, then, ideally, every human being is religious. There has never been any people yet disclosed in history; whether they were primitive or modern, loutish or sophisticated, who did not have some form of religion. An understanding of what life is all about, however personal or limited it may be, is our religion. Everyone has a "weltanschauung" - a world view. This in and of itself is sufficient evidence that man is a religious being.

Not to have religion would mean disorientation for man, hopelessness, a lack of any sense of direction and the inability to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil. For man to be nonreligious would be much like having the innocence of a child embodied in the cruelty of a tyrant, utter chaos and total victimization. In a word, for man to be nonreligious would mean the catastrophic loss or destruction of human personality, soul despair and the end, not merely of his innocence, but of human evolution. Indeed, it is better for man to have a negative religion than for him not to have any religion at all, notwithstanding the fact that he cannot choose to be nonreligious. For man to be without religion is a guarantee that he will take his place with the dinosaurs. Man will not perish from the earth because he is religious. Given all other factors minus religion man should have and would have long time ago gone the way of the dinosaurs.

To repeat, man who was created in the image of God as a free being does not have a choice as to whether or not he will be religious. That choice has been made for him from the beginning of time, perhaps before time, by the Creator whose eternal nature is characterized by timelessness. Therefore, even though man has "free will," to repeat, he is not free to choose to be nonreligious anymore than he is free to choose not to be physical or mental and remain in mortal existence.

What is religion? Religion is a spiritual power which resides entirely within the individual. At the same time, it is the recognition on the part of man, whether he denies it or not, of a controlling superhuman power entitled to obedience, reverence, and worship. In religious experience there is relationship with a superhuman being or beings which involve the unseen world, the world of spirits, demons, gods, and God. Having a belief in spiritual beings is a minimum definition of religion. Religion is a way of life which emphasizes "salvation," translated meaning health, especially spiritual health. A normative definition, rather than a descriptive one, is: Religion "ought to be" characterized by the faith-feeling or dependence on a personal God and dominated by the will to cooperate with God in the conservation and increase of values. "Ought to be" indicates a "higher consciousness" approach to existence.

A significant function of religion is to enable man to find meaning in the universe which all too often is hostile toward him and his interests. Think for a moment of the natural disasters that plague man. Effective functioning involves the quest for the values of the ideal life, practices for attaining those ideals, and the formulation of a world view which relates the quest to the environ universe.

It is apparent that religion is intertwined with magic or the mystical which is something more than a man-centered condition. It is, in fact God-centered and aims to bring the human element under the control of the sacred. The feeling and conviction that certain things are sacred is religion in its most primal or naturalistic state. Those things held by religion to be sacred are concerned primarily with human destiny and the forces it encounters.  

Religion is of many types, including "pre-animistic" and "animistic," characteristic of primitive religion: "monotheistic," faiths which subscribe to one Supreme Being in contrast to the pluralistic religions which say there are many gods; "ethnic" religions, generally practice by a group which excludes people of other ethnic groups; "prophetic religions" which are  futuristic and the founded religions which have been established by one person such as Christianity, as opposed to a faith such as Hinduism that recognizes no single leader.

It is not an exaggeration to say that religion has given birth to all that is essential in society. The idea of society which Jesus referred to as the "Kingdom" is the soul of religion. Perhaps this is the reason He said "The  Kingdom of God is within." The real function of religion is to motivate people to act, to aid them, as nothing else can, to live healthy, fulfilling and actualizing lives. Indeed, it is action that makes religion something more than belief. The Apostle Paul declares "We walk by faith not by sight." The religious function can be described as the "religious experience." In religion, as in life in general, it is experience which is the test of reality and milieu where meaning is engendered in living.

Suffice that  we only mention but not discuss certain important religious terms which relate to the nature of religion and may, in fact, be considered to be components of religion and, at the same time, elements which are objects of religion. These religious terms or their equivalents in religion are: God, soul, word of God, faith, truth and love.

Forms of Religion

Now that we have emphasized the religious nature of all humans we turn our attention to forms of religion that are practiced in religious faiths, more correctly, by religious people. There is one form of religion, "a religion of transcendence," being presented that is a "religion par excellence." All other forms of religion discussed in this discourse are destructive or insufficient to enable a person to achieve spiritual maturity and experience full life. It is not the religious faith, but the form of religion that determines the quality of a person's religious experience and spiritual life.
            "Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said:
       "Men of Athens! I see that  in every way you are very religious.
         For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of
         worship, I even  found  an altar  with  this  inscription: TO AN
         UNKNOWN  GOD.  Now  what   you   worship  as  something
          unknown I am going  to proclaim  to you. The God  who made
          the world and  everything in it is the Lord of  heaven and earth
          and does not live in temples built by hands." Acts 17:22-24 NIV

Like Paul I will now expose three forms of religion that are destructive and proclaim the truth about one form of religion that is transcendent and spiritually healthy.

1. A Religion of Acceptance

A religion of acceptance is a "second-handed," "hand-me-down" and "pass-it-on," religion. Parents, religious leaders, school teachers, notwithstanding the "separation of Church and State" rhetoric, and the police are foremost "socializes" of those who embrace a religion of acceptance. They too are usually adherents and defenders of a religion of acceptance. This form of religion stands in need of defense even though it offers no defense for those who embrace it.

The person subscribing to a religion of acceptance accepts what he has been taught, driven to believe, perhaps out of fear or guilt, or coerced into or seduced into accepting without making a personal examination of the religious form. This form of religion can in found in all faiths. It is not the faith but the form of religion that matters. It is important to state however, that some faiths make it more difficult for a person of that faith to reach his religious potential.

2. A Religion of Conformity

There is a kind of religion that can correctly be called a "religion of conformity." In this religious form a person follows "good" religious people or the religious majority, some of whom are so heavenly good until they are hardly any earthly good, at least as far as living the good life is concerned. A religion of conformity is an attraction for many - people who seek the path of least resistance, people without personal convictions or courage, people who need papas and mamas (not just to be like them, but who want to be taken care of by them), people who seek to avoid pain even when doing so means surrendering their souls, and people who crave benefits or positive enhancing contingencies that have been arranged for them by the religious agency.

Adjustment is a key word in a religion of conformity. Adherents of this form of religion are control by religious controllers who saturates their minds with beliefs and reward or punish them according to how well they adjust. The Controllers work ceaselessly to make certain that adjustment living will be the only kind of living permitted for them. Having the herd instinct they fall easy prey to religious enforcers' influence and become fodder for the grinder, i.e., creatures of adjustment.  

A religion of conformity breeds mediocrity. There is a correlation between the rising curve of religious conformity and the falling curve of spiritual bankruptcy. Apostle Paul's admonishment is: "Be not conformed to this world." There is a better way which will be presented later in this discourse.

3. A Religion of Rejection

Let us begin our comments on a religion of rejection by simply reaffirming that a person cannot reject religion anymore than he can reject his physical body or mind  since he is by nature, indeed, no less a religious being than he is a physical and mental being. A person can reject a set of beliefs and ideas about a form or forms of religion, especially those pertaining to the existence of God. When this happens, he knowingly or unknowingly embraces a "religion of rejection." Having done so, he may go on to acquire a belief system in support of or  rationalize, his religious posture. The religious rejecter finds much opportunity and he may have a strong desire, if not need, to defend his so-called "nonreligious" position which, in this case, itself is a misnomer. Like other religious people, the religious rejecter is apt to defend his faith, especially when he feels threatened.

The religious rejecter may be a person who - after coming of age, chronologically speaking, being old enough to make rational decisions of a worldview proportion - rejected a religion of acceptance or a religion of conformity. Having been previously involved in one of those forms of religion he may rebelled against the destructiveness he experienced while embracing one or more of those forms of religion or he may have perceived them to be unhealthy for human beings, especially for himself. Usually, when this happens, the rebellious religious rejecter rebels against the God of his experience.

Religious rejecters, be they so-called agnostic or atheistic, have a religious belief system and while this writer is not prepared to list all their "gospels," he has observed that one of their major gospels might be called "the gospel of blasting religion." And, since they too are religious, sometimes they blast themselves, even without knowing it. But for the most part, their preachments and indictments are reserved for lamblasting traditional and status-quo religions and the God or gods they despise. Religion is a major, if not ultimate, concern for religious rejecters. This is especially true in the case of the political atheist or agnostic. 

Next we will present an alternative to a religion of acceptance, a religion of conformity and a religion of rejection.

4. A Religion of Transcendence

Having discussed three forms of religion that take man out of the process where the true religious experience can be found, we now turn to a fourth form of religion; one that is in fact, more than a form of religion. It is a viable alternative to the aforementioned forms of religion. Unlike the forms discussed earlier, a religion of transcendence conforms to the nature of man and the nature of God.

There are numerous theories on the nature of man. The theory subscribed to here, certainly by adherents of a religion of transcendence, can be stated as follows: "man was created good by God and he is good." While there is no such thing as the natural depravity of man, evil - the opposite of good - exists and, because it does, man may at times, find himself estranged from God. But man is never without a choice that will enable him to experience God's presence. It would appear that this choice can only be actualized by what Kierkegaard calls a "leap of faith."

Knowledge, feeling and good behavior are not sufficient to bring a person into God-consciousness. The nature of man and the nature of God are not naturally opposed to each other, as many religious people claim. To the contrary, man's nature and God's nature are complementary.  Man's nature is rooted in the nature of God. It is in God that man exists and only by recognizing this is man  able to become fully human.  A religion of transcendence is rooted in the nature of God. Even though it is of the "essence" of God, as much as any "attribute" possessed by God, it is at the same time the innermost and most natural way of man himself. One does not receive a religion of transcendence from external agencies but discovers it internally. It is like being "born again," - not of another person, but born of oneself. A religion of transcendence is a divine process which is in harmony with man's own essential nature. It summons man to be what he was meant to be and enables him to transcend the human situation while at the same time being in the human situation. The meaning of this point is reflected in this statement made by Jesus "I am in the world but not of the world."

A person may be a Protestant, Catholic, Jew. Hindu or Atheist, in the customary sense of these terms, and still have a religion of transcendence. We are now prepared to say that an atheist may be saved by faith. His atheism may arise from his honest skepticism and commitment to know the truth. His dedication to truth constitutes a relationship with God who is the ultimate and at the same time the whole truth. The atheist is a liar not in the classic or nominal sense, but in what may be called a semantic sense.

A religion of transcendence has no dogmas or creed, except for one, and it is not really a creed but personal affirmation which requires no external validation. The affirmation is: "I have faith in God." A religion of transcendence has no idols or graven images such as a cross, flag or statue. It has no sacred places, inferring that other places are not sacred, such as a church, temple or holy city, because every place is especially sacred and  good.  God made it so. Therefore, one does not have to go to
church or to a special place to worship God or to have a religious experience. This is not to say that a person should not go to church, temple or mosque. One's life may be greatly enriched by going to these places. Different places may not only serve different functions, but be more conducive to a given type or quality of experience. However, what happens to a person often depends on his level of consciousness and his karma, and what he wills, a personal response force at any given time rather than the place. This is another way of saying time is more important than place or if the time is right any place will do. Some people who go to their church, temple or mosque weekly have graveyard-like experiences. Some other people go to neither and experience spiritual health. Some people who attend church, temple or mosque are trapped by tradition, fear, guilt or something equally controlling. This can be called the religious trap. A mighty trap it is. Breaking free from it can be difficult.

To those who would attain oneness through enlightenment and experience a personal transformation - who embrace destructive forms of religion, and all forms of religion except a religion of transcendence are destructive, to the degree that they do not enable a person to reach religious maturity or his spiritual potential, including people who deny that they are religious, but without provocation admit that they need God's help; to everyone who by nature, yearns for spiritual power - health, peace and happiness - ponder, understand and accept this message from Monolimus which is the also the message of a religious transcendentalist: 

                             "Cease to seek after God (as without thee)
                             and the universe, and things similar to these;
                             seek Him from out of thyself and learn who
                             it is, who once and for all appropriateth all
                             in thee unto Himself, and sayeth: "My God,
                             my  mind, my  reason, my  soul, my body."
                             And  learn  whence is  sorrow and  joy and
                              love   and  hate, and  walking  though  one 
                             would not, and sleeping though one would
                              not, and getting  angry though  one would
                              not, and falling  in love though  one would 
                              not. And thou shouldest closely investigate 
                              these things, thou wilt find Him in thyself, 
                              one   and  many,  just  as  the  atom,  thus 
                              finding from thyself a way out of thyself."

                                                  Faith Can Do It
                                 What experience, skill and perseverance
                                        cannot do, faith can do it;
                                 What wisdom, knowledge, and understanding
                                          cannot do, faith can do it:
                                 What popularity, connection and privilege
                                          cannot do, faith can do it;
                                 What wealth, power and possessions
                                           cannot do, faith can do it;
                                 What love, hope and truth
                                      cannot do, faith can do it;
                                  Faith is the principal thing to be applied
                                       in achieving that which appears
                                          to be impossible;
                                   Nothing is more idiosyncratic and
                                          strictly personal than a person's faith;
                                   It's your faith;
                                   Faith can do it.

With these two songs I bring to a close this discussion on religion. When a person can sing these songs purposefully and with the conviction that they express the nature of his own relationship with God he does not only know what a religion of transcendence is but he possesses and is possessed by a "religion par excellence." Sing with me:

                                               Praise, Praise, Praise

                                     Praise, praise, praise; It's praising time.
                                     I will give praise and I will do it now. 
                                     Praise God the Creator, giver of every
                                        good gift and the Supreme attraction
                                        of my affection. ...
                                      I resolve to praise, praise, praise;
                                      It's praising time;
                                      Give all to praise;
                                      It's praising time.

                              If Anybody Here Want to Know Who I Am

                                   (Refrain)
                              If anybody here want to know who I am,
                              listen to my story and you will hear me say
                              time and time again "I am a child of God.

                              God is my Father and Savior too,
                              And I am His and He is mine.
                              I've been adopted into the family of God
                              I am an heir to the Kingdom of love.

                              My Father is awesome and mighty God;
                              He accepts all who comes to Him.
                              So if you're up for adoption you need not wait; 
                              Come on now and be saved today.

                              (Portions of this discourse are excerpted from
                              "Religion Par Excellence: Actualization of the 7-Story 
                                    Nature of Man" by Uriah J. Fields, pp: 71-112)

{{Please note: There are three other articles posted on this Web Site that extend this discussion or religion. They are "The Cosmic Source," "Et Cetera or God?" and "Love Loves: A Love Story." Access them from the Menu (in green and black) at the top and to the right of this page.}}

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9* But For Grace

"But for Grace." Grace is a gift that God extends for the purpose of nurturing human beings. It consists of love and serendipity. Serendipity is the vehicle that delivers nurturing fruits. Webster's Dictionary defines serendipity as "the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for." However, grace may produce good that we seek. Seek grace not, yet it will find you. The paradox is that we both choose grace and are chosen by grace.

The focus here is on my personal encounters with grace, i.e., experiences I have had when grace alone, rescued, supplied, protected, saved or catapulted me into obits of delight. Below I will cite four of the too numerous to mention situations and times when if it had not been for grace I would have been consumed in ways that would have rendered me debilitated, helpless or lifeless. In these situations grace was sufficient.

My first encounter to be highlighted when served by grace occurred shortly after my father died. I was fourteen years old. My mother was left to raise two daughters, sixteen and eighteen years of age and four children younger than myself with miniscule resources. Surely, it was grace that enable her to somehow and someway keep the family surviving. But here I am writing about my own encounter with grace. The year my father died was the first year I had to walk or thumb rides, in the hope log truck drivers would pick me up, to attend school six miles from my home. Sometimes I had to walk the full distance. I was determined to continue my schooling. Two months after my sixteenth year I graduated from high school. Also in my home food was in short supply, much less than was adequate to nourish members of my family. "But for grace... ."

 A second encounter when I was served by grace involved my military experience. About a week before my eighteenth birthday I enlisted to serve three years in the Army. I had served about two-thirds of my enlistment when the Korean War was declared. In the interest of National Security, more correctly, in the interest of defeating Communism, we were told, the Govenment extended my enlistment for one year. Less than a month later most of the soldiers in my Regiment were sent to Korea. I received orders to report to a newly reactivated Army camp to train, for the most part, conscripted recruits even though my MOS in artillery warfare prepared me to be sent with other soldiers to fight in the Korean War. "But for grace... ."

A third situation in my life where grace abounded occurred in Montgomery. While in the Army I promised myself that because of segregation I would not return to Alabama or the South to live. However, after living in Chicago for about six months, I returned to Alabama and enrolled at Alabama State College (now University) where two of my sisters had attended. Not only was I elected president of the Freshmen Class, two years later I was elected president of the Student College Council. Thanks to the Gi-Bill that was enacted during my frist year in college I received two degrees from Alabama State College. I became the pastor of Bell Street Baptist Church in Montgomery and a leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. (I was the youngest pastor of a church in Montgomery). I served for one-half of the bus boycott as original secretary of the Montgomery Improvement Association that provided organizational leadership for the bus boycott. While still living in Montgomery I matriculated for three years at the Gammon Theological Seminary (now one of six constituent seminaries that comprises the Interdenominational Theological Center) in Atlanta and graduated cum laude with a Master of Divinity degree. "But for grace... ."

The fourth encounter of my being rescued by grace involved my experience as a defendant in the courts. I have been involved in four significant court cases, including one as a plaintiff in a housing discrimination case in California. Here I will only mention two of these cases.

The first case occurred during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, when there was an attempt by some disgrutled members and several African American
pastors to remove me as pastor of the church I had served for two years. During the trial the judge refused to issue the injunction my opposition had sought. He orders that under the supervision of two masters a vote be taken. By a majority I received a vote of confidence. I remained pastor of that church for another five years. Later this church was bombed by die-hard segregationists in the wee hours of the morning, as were three other churches and two parsonages. Taylor Branch writes in his book, Parting the Waters "Bell Street Baptist Church, suffered the most destruction on the night of the bombs." (p. 200). Under my pastoral leadership sixteen months later the church was rebuilt.

The second court case occurred in California where after leaving Montgomery I lived for the next thirty-three years. The City of Sierra Madre denied missionaries of the American Missionary Society, an auxiliary of the American Christian Freedom Society, an organization which I was the chief founder, permission to perform our ministry in that city. I and three of my fellow-missionaries were arrested. The trial was held in the Municipal Court of Pasadena. The four of us were represented by Beverly Hills attorney George Baltaxe who had successfully handled my housing discrimination case. In a 19-page decision Municipal Court Judge Henry W. Shatford stated in his ruling:
                 "The Sierra Madre City Code as construed and
             applied to the  defendants  are  unconstitutional." 
             Continuing  he  stated, "The  shotgun  attempt to
             cover totally divergent  matters by the monstrous
             abuse of constitutional liberties  which cannot be
             tolerated. The defendants are ordered discharged."

The City of Sierra appealed the decision. The District Court of Appeal
refusing to hear the appeal stated:
                  "Now therefore, it is hereby ordered that such
              transfer (to the Court of Appeal) be and it hereby
              is denied."

"But for Grace... a thousand times... ."

Sing with me But for Grace...

1. But for grace I would have yielded to temptations
and caused my own destruction. But for grace,
but for grace, but for grace.

2. But for grace I would not have believed in myself
and discovered my own potential. But for grace,
but for grace, but for grace.

3. But for grace I would not have known the power of
love and how to love and be loved. But for grace, 
but for grace, but for grace.

4. But for grace I would not be able to sing the
song that says grace is sufficient. But for grace, 
but for grace, but for grace.

|: O how amazing, how awesome 
and how marvelous is grace. :| Fade 3x

(To obtain lead sheet music for this song
send 7 postal stamps to: P. O. Box 4770
Charlottesville, VA 22905)

10* I Am a Child of God

The noblest and most intimate relationship a person can have with God and God with him is a "Father-child relationship." A Father-child relationship is available for everyone of accountable age and faith capacity but each person has to take responsibility for being adopted into the family of God. This discourse reveals how one person did that and how anybody so predestined can do likewise.

Right now, never mind who I am. Focus on "Who God is." There is no better way to answer the question Who God is? than to accept Who He says He is. To do this, however, requires a person to reject or disregard whatever else he has learned about Who God is. Right now, you are asked to do just that while reading this discourse.

When God sent Moses to the children of Israel Moses inquired of God, "Who shall I tell the people sent me?" God said, tell them "I AM THAT I AM." (Ex. 3:14). In this statement God defines and describes Himself more profoundly, inclusively and limitlessly in words than at any other time in recorded Scripture. What has been a well kept secret about "Who God is" need no longer be a secret.

Whether we hear "I AM THAT" or "THAT I AM" the message is unmistakably clear. God is THAT. THAT is all and THAT is enough. God is THIS only for Himself: First Cause, First Person and the Creator. For humans God is THAT which is creation, (not the Creator,) earth and heaven, day and night, light and darkness, vegetation, bread, water, healing, wisdom, Spirit, and so on. God is All and in All. With regards to humans and their relationship with God this constitutes the highest and most noble relationship that can possibly exist. No other entity can have such a relationship with God as the human-God, hence Father-child relationship.

Father-child relationship is the matter of this discourse. God sent His only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to declare and demonstrate the nature of the Father-child relationship with God and how it can be established by a human being. Jesus frequently referred to God as his Father and declared that "My Father has sent me." The model prayer offered by Jesus, sometimes referred to as the "Lord's Prayer," begins with "Our Father." Significantly, "our" is synonymous with people and "Father" is interchangeable with God. The prayer begins with man's relationship with God. The Apostle Paul writes: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear; but you received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, "Abba! Father!" It is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Rom. 8:14-16).

Consideration of the nature of an earthly father-child relationship sheds some light on the nature of our Heavenly Father-child relationship. To this we emphasize family, house, provider, protector, present helper and lover. And much more could be added.

Now I want to speak personally about the Father-child relationship that exists between God and myself. In my book "God With Us," I write, "Succinctly stated, the nature of my relationship with God is 'I am a child of God He is my Heavenly Father.'" (p. 94). It is my conversion that brought me into a Father-child relationship with God. Before my conversion, that is my second conversion, I did not have a consciousness-honored Father-child relationship with God. Prior to becoming an adult I felt like a nobody, inferior, and afraid, especially of myself, and also of other people. Just about everyone else I saw was my superior, better than myself and deserving of me doing their bidden when they requested that I do so. I didn't like myself. I had low self-esteem or no self-esteem. On and on this litany of self-abrogating and self-defeating characteristics had me bound. I was in a crucible.

The change in my life came when I was converted or "born again" the second time. This was my third birth. I was born again the first time when I was in my mid-teens. Five years later, as a young adult, I was born again the second time. It was then that I could declare first to myself and later confidently and proudly to others "God is my Father" and with equal candor "I am a child of God." Upon reflection I began to see that God had been my Father all the time and especially since I became earthly father fatherless at the age of fourteen. Since becoming aware of my Father-child relationship with God my life has never been the same.

My conversion transformed, empowered and enboldened me. Moreover, I became keenly aware that my Heavenly Father is always present with me and that I do not have to know all the answers, bear burdens alone, or fear anythng or anybody because my Father is present to help me.

Overnight, so to speak, I experienced a leap in self-esteem. For the first time, I was able to look into the eyes of people when I talked to them and express my thoughts and feelings as if I had a right to do so. I recognized no human being as being greater than myself and that nobody had greater access to God than myself. Truly, I came to know who I am when I came to know Whose I am.

If anybody here want to know who I am listen to my story, my testimony, and you will hear me say time and time again "I am a child of God."

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11* The Power Paradigm

"The Power Paradigm" is composed of three "power points." They are:
"The Power of One," "Take Care of Your Power" and "Recuperative Power."
Together they provide a proof-positive approach for recognizing power, increasing power and using power effectively and lovingly.

11-A* The Power of One

Personal power is inherent. Each person has power. How to develop, expand and use one's power is an ongoing process. In this succinct statement Martin Buber provides insight, particularly, into using power:

                                   "We cannot avoid
                                   Using power,
                                   Cannot escape the compulsion
                                   To afflict the world,
                                   So let us, cautious in diction
                                   And mighty in contradiction,
                                   Love powerfully."

The power to exist is power to impact. The cry of a newborn baby demonstrates the power he has to cause his mother to act on his behalf. Physical presence alone is power that is like unto the axiom, "a picture is worth more than a thousand words." Indeed, this is true in certain situations, but words, preceded by thought, can be of greater power than what the eyes see, given credence to another axiom, "the word is more powerful than the sword." Thoughts expressed in words and propelled by feelings produce action that is power manifested.

The power of an individual is inextricably tied-up with the power of others. Each is in all and all is in each. No each without all, no all without each. Beyond that each person is connected with the Cosmos and the Cosmic Source. This connectedness empowers the individual. Only the individual can express the power he possesses. The power of the individual is personal and non-transferable.

Because power can be use for good or evil, to produce health or destructiveness, it is important that the individual be guided by the wisdom offered by Martin Buber, particularly, with regard to being "cautious in diction" (words) and to "love powerfully."

The individual has autonomy. Do not allow the actions or inactions of others to cause you to abuse your power or behave as if you are powerless. Use your power wisely. You have power to make a positive difference. So, be bold and humble in exercising your power and always be aware that your power can and may be increasing. Accept the responsibility that comes with having more power that requires you to be more cautious and love more powerfully.

                                             +++++++++++++++                                         

11-B* Take Care of Your Power

                               Imagine what would be without power.
                               Even imagination would not be possible

                      You are a power person. Your power is inherent.
                      It is in your DNA. You have power to affect, impact,
                      and  influence, persons, places  and  things. As
                      Martin Buber said, "You cannot avoid using power
                      or the compulsion to afflict the world." The latter
                      can be minimized by applying or turning-up love.

                       Love will do no harm intentionally. Because you 
                       are the embodiment of power your existence and 
                       presence make a  Mutuality difference, that is a
                       difference that has redeeming value. You can 
                       decrease or increase your power but you cannot
                       negate or make it void. Your power is centered
                       in your  soul  which  is indestructible. Mahatma
                       Gandhi  called  this power "Satyagraha" which
                       means "Truth force" or "Soul power." 

                       You can take care of your power by taking care 
                       of your  soul. Be  your  own best friend. Do not 
                       give  others  power to  make  you  angry, weak,
                       frustrated, or cause you to lose your joy. Frequent
                       acknowledgment  of the Source of all power will
                       help you to  take  care  of your power. Use your
                       power to create, heal and love. In  these  power
                       acts  you  will  add  to  the  consciousness  of
                       humankind. Take care of your power.

                                              ++++++++++++++

11-C* Recuperative Power

                     Everyone has power. Nobody can avoid using
                     power, destructively or constructively. So let us
                     cautiously and lovingly use our power.

                     Personal power consists of various kinds and
                     and nuances that include "recuperative power"
                     which is power to return to health or strength                    
                     and recover  from losses, both  tangible and
                     intangible. It is in recuperation, i.e., restoration,
                     the process  of  restoring  stability  or  balance.
                     The result is like glue that is stronger than the
                     wood it  holds together. Recuperative  power 
                     ranks  at  or near  the  top  of  the  personal 
                     power hierarchy.

                     While on life's journey's a person is confronted
                     with and sometimes plagued by problems and
                     difficulties,  which   give  credence  to  these 
                     assertions: of Job, "Man that is born  of a woman 
                     is of a few days and full or trouble," and Apostle
                     Paul's, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death."

                    Not least among the needs of a person is his need
                    for recuperative power - power to restore his health,
                    physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. During
                    sickness and when joy has ceased to be are some
                    of  the  times  when  recuperative  power  is  most 
                    essential. Without it only deterioration or worsening 
                    of a sordid condition  is possible. At  such  times a 
                    person's hope of gaining equilibrium  rests  solely
                    with his  recuperative  power.

                    There are times when external aid is required, such
                    as medical treatment, giving credence to the axiom,
                    "the physician can treat you but only God can heal
                    you." Ultimately, it is  internal efficacy  soul-power -
                    that affects recovery. Jesus said,"...the kingdom of
                    God  is  within you." Recuperative  power  can  be 
                    enhanced  and  propelled  with prayer, meditation,
                    contemplation, silence/listening to God and above
                    all else, faith. Never underestimate the power of faith.
                    What wealth, popularity, knowledge, truth and love
                    cannot do, faith  can  do it; Faith  is  the  supreme
                    essence  of  recuperative  power. With  recuperative 
                    power the  weak   can   say, "I am   strong,"  and    
                    when it seems that there is no way out and escape 
                    passage appears.

                    Recupeative power is acknowledgment that a person
                    is not alone, even when he is without family or friend.
                    Regaining or restoring stability or balance may even
                    mean receiving  not just  what  was  lost  but "thirty,
                    sixty    and    a    hundredfold"   proportionately  or
                    exponentially in relationship to what existed before
                    the  sickness  or  loss  occurred. It  can  mean that 
                    "curses become  blessings"  and  what was meant
                    for evil becomes good.

                   It is important for a person to not allow his 
                   recuperative power to be reality-prescribed          
                   but to make sure that his recuperative power
                   is faith-attuned and Spirit-directed and that
                   he  possesses an "all  things  are  possible"  
                   awareness  and  conviction  that  beyond 
                   death, after "the  last  enemy is destroyed,"   
                   he will receive higher compensation, health, 
                   happiness,    abundance   and   more  as 
                   expressed in the promise:
                                    No eye has seen,
                                    No ear has heard,
                                    No mind has conceived,
                                        what God has prepared  
                                        for those who love him.
                                             (1 Cor. 2:9)

                                      <<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>

                 I came to the keeper of the gate and I said to him,
                 "Give me a light that I may venture out into the darkness."
                 And he said to me, "Put your had into the hand of God and
                 it shall be for you better than light and safer than a known way."
                 And I put my hand into the hand of God and He is a lamp to my 
                 feet and a light for my path."
                 May the Lord bless you and keep you in your lying down and
                 in your rising up; in your going out and in your coming in. May
                 He make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
                 And may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give
                 you peace now and forever. Amen.

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                                      31* Prayer Empowerment

                                                  "More things are wrought|
                                                  by prayer than this world
                                                  dreams of."   - Tennyson

                                                  Prayer changes things;
                                                  but more importantly it
                                                  changes people's lives.

                                    Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all
                                    kinds of prayers and requests. With this in
                                    mind, be alert and always keep on praying
                                    for all the saints. Eph. 6:18 NIV

                  The above statement clearly enunciates the meaning of prayer. Whether
                  exegesis, drawing the  meaning out of this passage, or isisgesis, reading
                  the meaning into it, the reader is highly likely to understand much about
                   prayer and praying. Below is my interpretation of this passage.

                   "Pray..." is a verb denoting action just as as go and teach. We pray
                   prayers addressed to and converse with God, the Source, Creator,
                   Sustainer, Father of human beings and the "I Am That I Am," the latter
                   referring to God's  relationship to anything and everything. He is "That"
                   healer, provider, etc.  We pray to God as we speak and listen to a friend.

                  "...in the Spirit..." This is how we pray, in the Spirit. That is with God-
                  consciousness. God is Spirit, the immaterial and Supreme Intelligence.
                  Spirit is the sentient part of a human being. That's what it means to have
                  a soul. We pray with an attitude of gratitude. 

                 "...on all occasions..." All occasions refer to anytime and all  times, with
                 any happening and all happenings, great or small. And with all that occurs
                 on " the day the Lord has made," today, every day.

                 "...with all kinds of requests..." Our requests to God are of many kinds.
                 Some are for ourselves and some may be for other people and conditions.
                 Even our thanks and praise are requests. We ask God to accept our
                 thanks and praise. Underscore "all kinds of requests."

                "...with this in mind..." We are to be mindful of the aforementioned
                prayers and requests, the Spirit and occasions. We are to bracket {.....} 
                them so that only these things can now occupy our minds.

                "...be alert..." To be alert is to be aware and in a state of readiness.  Fear
                which limits a person's perspective is the greatest enemy of alertness. To
                be alert is to be ready for anything, the expected and unexpected.

                "...always keep on praying..." This means that we are to "pray without
                ceasing," which means to keep our minds in an attitude of  prayerfulness
                that is filled with humility, gratitude and beauty.

                "...for all the saints..." All God's children are chosen and the chosen are
                saints. In my book, The Saint Troubadour: Speaking and Singing truth
                and Love," I  refer to myself as a saint.

                It is appropriate that I end this discussion as I began:

                                   Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all
                                   kinds of prayers and requests. With this in
                                   mind, be alert and always keep on praying
                                   for all the saints. Eph. 6:18 NIV
                              
                                         <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

                              32* Coda:* Good-bye For Now

                               A Benediction

                              We are leaving here with hearts inspired;
                              Our lives have been enriched.
                              As we depart let us shake hands...
                              shake hands... shake hands...shake hands... 
                              Let us shake hands and bless others gathered here.
                              Good-bye for now, we've shared our hopes and dreams;
                              We ask in faith that we may share again.

                              (Refrain)
                             The time we spent here was time well spent,
                             It showed us how love can meet our needs;
                             Good-bye for now... Let us go away rejoicing,
                             Good-bye for now... Let us live life in all its fullness:
                             Good-bye. (2. Good-bye.)

                             Now before we leave this hallowed place,
                            To go our separate ways;
                            Let us extend a warm embrace...
                            a warm embrace...embrace...embrace.
                            Let us embrace to express how much we care.
                            Good-bye for now we've leaned, we've lived, and loved:
                            We now depart better than when we came.

                                           <<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

Your special invitation:

To select from either the Menu on this page (upper right in green column) or from the Menu at the bottom  of this page these three award-winning commentaries by Uriah J. Fields. They are: "Love Loves: A Love Story,"  "Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr." and "The Greatest Mountain in the World." 

The people who read them were glad for their encouraging messages.
May your experience be likewise. 

                        <<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>

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33* Prayer Request and My Appeal to You

If the Mutuality World Community Church has meaning for you, I request two things of you: (1) Please forward this Church Web Site to your email contacts, and (2) make a financial contribution to assist this ministry. Make your check or money order payable to: Uriah J. Fields (At the left bottom of the check write: MWCC). Mail to: Uriah J. Fields, P. O. Box 4770, Charlottesville, VA 22905.

Comments? Questions? Prayer Request? When requesting prayer, please write in the subject area of your email: My Prayer Request. In your message indicate what you are requesting prayer for. You may also contact us for prayer at our Charlottesville Address listed a few lines above. Email: uriahfields@embarqmail.com. - Tennyson was correct when he said: More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of. You may be assured that  MWCC Prayer Warriors will prayerfully consider your prayer request.
Uriah J. Fields, Encourager and Chief Prayer Warrior.

                                    OUR PRAYER TO GOD

                                    O gracious and holy God...
                                    Thank You for your presence, power
                                    and gift of life.
                                    Thank you for your love and beauty
                                    that are revealed in humans and in
                                    all Creation throughout the Cosmos.
                                    Thank you for the opportunity to be
                                    your children and to have all the rights,
                                    privileges and responsibilities granted
                                    to members of your family.
                                    We pray for the full indwelling of the
                                    Holy Spirit, for guidance and discernment.
                                    We pray for healing and peace, and for
                                    the motivation individually and collectively
                                    to be healing and peace.
                                    We pray that we may practice silence that
                                    sometimes speaks more profoundly and
                                    meaningfully than words.
                                    We praise You, not just with our mouths
                                    but with our lives, with all that we are.
                                    We praise You in the Eternal Now.
                                    This is our prayer in the name of the One
                                    who has a name above every other name.
                                    Amen.
                                                            <><>
                                    "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with
                                    all kinds of prayers and requests. With
                                    this in mind, be alert and always keep
                                           on praying for all the saints."
                                                      Eph. 6:18 NIV 

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Copyright 2011 by Uriah J. Fields