I continue to feel that it is so important for our spiritual lives to stay connected to the “good news” in the world; especially when it is so easy to become immersed in the prevalent negativity that seems to surround us.
That’s why our church is so important!
There are many good things happening at our church, what with a positive Winter Congregational Meeting coming up this Sunday followed by the Chili Cook-Off, plus a New Member Sunday under our belts with another on the way!
It’s good to remember, however, that it isn’t all “bad news” beyond the walls of our church. As a consequence, every so often I like to share a few headlines from The Good News Network in order to continually remind folks that there really is more light than darkness in the world. So, without further ado…
- The recent Super Bowl 58 made history by being the first Super Bowl to be 100% solar-powered.
- In a recent survey, 82% of U.S. Adults Are Hopeful About Their Own Future and Their Community’s Future.”
- Dinosaur Evergreens, Thought Extinct for 2 Million Years, were Discovered by Park Ranger–the Grove is the “Find of the Century.”
- The IRS Collected Half a Billion Dollars in Back Taxes from Delinquent Millionaires in 2023, Sentencing Some to Prison.
- A New Prosthetic Hand Allows a Man to Sense Temperature: “I could feel the warmth of another person.”
- Singing or Playing Music Throughout Life is Linked with Better Brain Health While You Age.
- The Largest US Solar Storage Project has gone Online in California – Enough for a Quarter Million Homes–Offering 875 megawatt-hours of solar capacity, and 3 gigawatt-hours of storage.
- 353,000 U.S. Jobs were Added in January; the Monthly Report Smashes Expectations.
- The Rate of Deforestation in The Amazon Rainforest Halved in 2023.
There are, of course, many other good news headlines out there and we need to grab onto them and add to them! Our church does just that. I like to think of the steeple of our church as the opposite of a factory smokestack. Instead of pumping out pollution, we pump out positive energy into God’s creation through the ministries we undertake and the lives that our people lead.
And the world becomes a still better place.
See you in church,
–Rev. Dominic
First Congregational Church in Melrose, UCC 