Socially Isolated but Spiritually Connected On Beauty Dear Mayfield, I enjoyed these branches on a magnolia tree down the street earlier in April. They made me think of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting titled Almond Blossom. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam tells us that branches against a blue sky with large blossoms were a favorite […]

Socially Isolated but Spiritually Connected Never Walking Alone The desire to connect, a keen longing for the direct touch we have lost in pandemic time, reassurance around the bonds that animate our life together are present with us. Dear Mayfield, I was raised on theater, often musicals, performed by local and community theater groups, at […]

Dear Mayfield, Here is the link for tomorrow’s bulletin and service. 4.26.20 Easter 3  Let me know if you have any difficulties with either audio or text links. Thank you to Jen for her music. Please keep our Muslim neighbors in your prayers in these early days of their sacred month of Ramadan. Also, this past […]

Socially Isolated but Spiritually Connected Thinking About Little Things The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. (Ernest Hemingway) Dear Mayfield, On NPR this morning I heard an African American Woman, a Christian leader in Cambridge, MA, cite this quote as a steady source of solace and inspiration for her […]

Earth Day On this 11th Day of the Great Fifty Days of Easter, I share this brief quote from the Daily Compass:  “Life—Easter improbably asserts—can come from death. This might seem like an absurd claim, if nature didn’t tell us exactly the same thing.” Encircling Prayer with Earth  AUDIO LINK Earth within me, Earth before me, […]

Dear Mayfield, Here is the link for tomorrow’s bulletin and service. 4.19.20 Easter 2  Let me know if you have any difficulties with either audio or text links. Thank you for the offerings and contributions you are sending to church. Stay safe and well in the week ahead. Peace, Martha

Goodness Connected Let the good in me connect with the good in others, until all the world is transformed through the compelling power of love. — Nachman of Breslov Dear Mayfield, Since late 2003 I have faithfully listened to StoryCorps on National Public Radio (NPR).  First in St. Louis, then in Princeton, IL, Ann Arbor, […]

Pondering the Empty Dear Mayfield, Today is the fourth day of the great Fifty Days of Easter, stretching from Easter Sunday until Pentecost. A year ago today, April 15, 2019, a great fire gutted much of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. On Good Friday there was a service in the fragile remains of Notre […]

Dear Mayfield, Here is the link for the Easter Bulletin. The final linked material is a beautiful song “Rise Up.” The link to YouTube for that song may include some seconds of ads at the beginning.  You can skip most of them after the first few seconds. A skip ads box will appear on the […]

Dear Mayfield, Web Notes provides a series of thoughts and information to keep strong our connections in these days and weeks of physical isolation. Today, I want to briefly write about two things that are important in our pandemic worship. First and foremost, we worship from scattered locations to collaborate consistently with the profound efforts […]