Tonight I had the privilege of preaching once again at Mission Bay Community Church. And, as always, the people gathered there rose to the occasion and had a really great discussion. We talked about things that hold us back from being in community with others.
As I wrote my sermon, I was afraid I was asking a question that no one would want to answer publicly. Turns out, I was wrong. There is such a great spirit of trust and acceptance among the community that people were very willing to own up to their own biases and offer great suggestions about how to overcome them with God's help.
If you're interested in my side of the conversation, you can read it here. I wish I could share the full conversation with you because it was incredible. If you're in the SF area, you should come and join in!
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a.k.a. Technology done right
Today I was reading a piece in the New York Times online edition about fashion for lawyers. I was only a couple of lines in when the writer used a word that I didn't know the meaning of. I decided not to just pass over it but was going to copy and paste the word into dictionary.com, my dictionary of choice these days. When I put my cursor over the word a little icon popped up with an "?" in it. When I clicked on it, a small window opened displaying the dictionary entry for that word! I am impressed.
I love it when technology is done right. It really can make learning and doing things easier.
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It seems like I've been thinking and talking about riding my bike in the AIDS/LifeCycle ride forever. It hasn't really been forever, but it has been over 6 months since I first got the idea into my head. That's long enough. But finally, tomorrow morning, I along with almost 2,500 other riders will begin our week-long journey to L.A. by bicycle.
I originally got the motivation because I wanted a significant way to celebrate my 40th birthday year. And that is true. But the idea of participating in this ride had been planted long before last fall. I began to think about participating in it years ago when people I knew and with whom I worked died due to AIDS related illnesses.
So while this ride is a way for me to celebrate the beginning of what I hope will be a great new decade in my life, it is also in memory of several great men whom I had the pleasure of knowing for much too brief of a time. Memories of their vibrate lives in the face of this horrible illness will help me as I pedal my way south through the beautiful state of California.
May we find a way to end this pandemic. And soon.
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