West Hills Friends

Nathan Meckley shares a message about the woods he grew up around and how we come to love nature through paying attention and personal connection, and how this invites us to reflect on our relationship with creation and how we should live.

Mica Coffin shared a message about what tools or doorways have not been helpful or not helpful for her spiritual growth.

Nathan Meckley shares that “Mark doesn’t give us a classic happy ending, all tied up in a nice Easter bow.” The resurrection story continues to challenge everything we consider an ending. Is there anywhere in the world, is there anywhere in your life, that God’s redeeming work of love still needs to touch?

Nathan Meckley shares that when we follow the story of Jesus, we take hold of a different hope, a different revolution that doesn't arrive through power and might, but through the paradox of strength through weakness, through vulnerability, hardship, pain, loss, and yes, the surprise of resurrection — the love which cannot die.

Nathan Meckley shared a message about hunger and the MLK Jr quote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.” Right now, in the U.S., there is more than enough food to feed everyone. People go hungry not because of scarcity, but because human practices and policies designed and implemented by human beings go unchallenged and unchanged.

Nathan Meckley shares a message about comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. While offering comfort is usually welcomed, afflicting the comfortable can be dangerous and costly as seen in the example of Jesus. Yet we are still invited to embrace this calling fully. Image: Dooley (right) and Hennessy, by E. W. Kemble (1900), created by Finley Peter Dunne

Nathan Meckley shared a message he title: “Nathan's Random Thoughts on Showing Up in Spiritual Practice; Hope in Spiritual Practice, Revisited.” Because at this time in the world, and in many of our lives, don't we just need to always revisit what can possibly give us hope?

Nathan Meckley shares the story of Esther, Malachi and Haman concluding with the message that we may not choose the time in which we live, but we do discern how we live and who we will be.

David reads from Ezekiel and reflected on prophesy, “Son of Man,” and the early Quakers prophesying in a time of oppression. In silence, we listen for the divine impulse not knowing who will speak, only that the message matters more than the person.

Leslea Logan shared how hearing Sweet Honey in the Rock sing “Made for the time I’m in” opened a spiritual shift that became a God-sent message to her heart and spirit to share with others, that it is no accident that we are here at this time to face this crisis as God's hands and feet.

Susanna Ballard shared a message about grief and resilience and having the courage, humility, and faith to do that one thing, whatever it is, our "next right thing."

Nathan Meckley read the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) and spoke about how, according to one scholar, the Aramaic translation of “Blessed” could have meant “ripe.” Instead of bestowing from on high, Jesus is calling it as it is and telling his poor and oppressed listeners, “You are the ones who are most ready for what God is doing.”

Nathan Meckley read from John 15:12-14 and gave a message about how the reenactment of the ancient story is happening right now. This is showing us Emmanuel, God, with us, here and now. The Passion is playing out in real time. Photo by Nathan Maduta on Unsplash

Nathan Meckley gives a message on fear as a real part of being human in this increasingly terrifying world. He read from 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear,” and spoke about how courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of fear. He also read from the introduction of the book: How Not to Be Afraid by Gareth Higgins. Queries: How has fear impacted your faith or spirituality? How has your faith shaped your experience of fear? Are you being called to something that makes you afraid, and when you hold that fear in the Light, what is revealed or transformed?

Nathan Meckley reflects on Epiphany as the manifestation of light that both illuminates God’s presence and exposes the deep shadows of power, fear, and violence in the world. Nathan read the story of the Magi and we spent some time reflecting on the line “they left for their own country by another way.” Queries: How do you address the reality of shadow in the presence of light, both spiritually and practically? What can influence you to “go another way,” to choose a different path? Would you do so even when the outcome is uncertain?

K. D. Novak Burnett shares “The Magnificat,” a short-story style reflection drawing from one of her childhood memories.

Nathan Meckley reads the first several verses of John known as the prologue, where rather than talking about a birth and childhood, the author casts the coming of Jesus into the world in cosmic and eternal proportion. We reflected on the passage using the practice of lectio divina.

Laura Simmons talks about confronting the temptation to write off those who write us off.

In his message, Nathan Meckley spoke about how rather than joy being manufactured, it visits us. We receive it as a gift. Have your experiences of pleasure, of happiness, and of joy been similar emotionally or spiritually or how have they been different? From where does the gift of joy come to you, especially during difficult times? And, to borrow from C.S. Lewis, have you ever been surprised by joy?

In her message, Kay Ellison asked the question how did Jesus handle living under a regime? And can I learn something from what Jesus did?