March 29th - For the Life of the World: Recognizing the Sacred in a Culture of Secularism. Lead by guest speaker Ann Staal.
March 22nd - Dealing with Difficult People
March 15th - The Church and the Death Penalty: Maryland's push to do away with it once and for all. (Scott Reilly facilitating.) See Topic Forum for an informative preview of the issue by Scott.
March 8th - Noah's Pudding: Exploring dialogue in a multi-cultural world.
March 1st - Hunting
February 15th - Love Your Enemies: Maximizing Love (Martha Maxham leads). See article by Chuck Colson: "Love Your Enemies: Forgiveness in Rwanda."
February 8th - Worship: What is it and How Does God Feel About It? (Samson Selvaraj leads)
February 1st - Celebrating Compassion - Feed the Hungry in Montgomery We gathered in a spirit of celebration of the privilege to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We will work together to make 100 bagged lunches to deliver to the Men's Shelter on Gude Drive.We will learn about the face of hunger in America as well as around the world. Think you know about hunger? Take this quiz and find out.
January 25th - "Food Addiction" We heard an outside speaker on this subject. Our speaker, Dr. Naresh Chand, is a research pharmacologist, Phd, and gave us great insight and information on "TLC:" Thereapeutic Lifestyle Changes! He was so encouraging and full of great ideas to help "evolution-ize" our lifestyles to become more heatlhy and treat our bodies like the temples they are :) See his website with his special herbal tea product at www.dadstea.com.
January 18th - "The Inauguration"
January 11th - "Dealing with ADHD: How Can We as Christians Help?" Do you know someone who is struggling with ADHD, or trying to help someone else who is trying to cope? Come at 11:00 to learn about this issue and how to develop coping skills in a Christian context.
January 4th - "The Time of Your Life": How will you spend the next 525,949 minutes? That's how many are in 2009, or any non-leap year. Bring your teens and see what the gift of time can really mean. (In the Gregorian calendar, one year is 365.2425 days long ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar ). So, 60 minutes/hour x 24 hours/day x 365.2425 days/year = 525,949.2 minute/year :)
"Realistic Resolutions," December 28th - Every year millions of Americans make promises about their future behavior that are destined to be broken. How can this year be different? Maybe the answer lies in making spiritual resolutions that let God work in us to make a difference. So many ways to serve.... see this front page Washington Post article about child labor/slavery, then click here to learn more. Here's how you can help:
"The Nativity Story - What the Bible Really Says About the Scene at the Manger," December 21st -There are a number of popular notions about the birth of Jesus that do not exactly line-up with the accounts from the Bible. Matthew and Luke are our only sources. What REALLY happened and how does it affect our faith and Christmas traditions? Come at 11:00 to find out! Go to the Topic Forum and see what Pastor Rick and others say about it. . . See here a YouTube video that highlights how our traditions and symbols generate lots of controversy! And here is how that situation got resolved. (Separation of church and state provides some interesting challenges during the Christmas Season.)
"Christmas Traditions & Memories," December 14th - Come share your most cherished holiday traditions and memories, learn some new ones, and maybe help someone who is missing a loved one to find a new tradition to build that will help promote healing. Click on http://familychristmasideas.homestead.com/ or, click here for a YouTube music video recalling how our Christmas memories help us connect with the real meaning of Christmas. WE WILL ALSO BE COLLECTING YOUR "SPECIAL MOMENTS" CHRISTMAS PHOTOS THROUGH OUR NEW FLICKR WEBSITE TO MAKE AN MCP CHRISTMAS VIDEO similar to the one above and set to the song, "I'll Always be a Child At Christmas," by Dennis Jernigan (worship songwriter of "You Are My All in All.") Come back soon, and click here on the word "Flickr" to upload your holiday pix and clips! (You have to join Flickr and then also join our group: "MCP UMC Crossroads.")
"Coping with Loss During the Holidays," December 7th - This is an especially diffiicult time for those who have lost jobs or loved ones during the last year. See resources below and come discuss how to help those who have experienced loss, or find resources to help you cope with loss yourself. Find hope and healing. See what the experts have to say; find 10 specific strategies, advice from Montgomery Hospice grief counselors; or weigh in on the Topic Forum to enter the dialogue and share your experience. Click here for books suggested by folks from MCP to help support those who grieve.
