The Healing Power of Prayer

Question: My friend has been given a serious diagnosis and a grim prognosis. I believe in the healing power of prayer and I want to encourage my friend to not give up. I’m praying, but he isn’t getting better. How can I help him have more faith and how can I pray more effectively?

Answer: First of all, it’s not up to us to persuade our friends to believe one thing or another. If your friend has a short time left, he probably doesn’t want to spend that time hearing that he doesn’t have enough faith! Remember in Job’s time of distress, his friends tried to give him the answers they thought he needed, but really they only made him more miserable. He didn’t need their theology; he needed their love and support and he didn’t get much of that. I think there’s a lesson there for us.

That having been said, I too believe that prayer is a powerful force in our lives and that miracles happen every day. So, you can continue to pray for your friend. See him bathed in God’s loving light. Imagine him sleeping peacefully at night and enjoying his meals throughout the day. Hold a picture in your mind of you hugging him and telling him you love him, and imagine him smiling with joy as you share that tender moment. Give thanks for the medical care he is receiving. Pray for angels (cosmic or human) to minister to him. Ask God to bless him. And then detach from the outcome. You can certainly wish for him to feel better, and you can hope for his disease to go into remission. And you can trust that your love and hope are making a difference in his life. But don’t add to his stress by telling him how he “ought” to feel or what he “should” believe. You can believe in miracles and affirm that one is possible for your friend, and then let things unfold as they will, trusting that God is in the process and that nothing will ever separate your friend from God’s love.

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If you have questions about faith, the bible, the church, or sexuality & spirituality, you can email your questions to durrell@sunshinecathedral.org, or go to the Ask the Reverend Durrell Watkins page and click on the link there. Rev. Durrell Watkins will answer your questions and publish the answers here and in the weekly SunBurst. Your name will always be withheld, so only the actual question and the response will be published.

Ocean of Life

“Whether I am a small or a big wave of being, the same Ocean of Life is behind me.” Paramahansa Yogananda

Oceans are vast. Oceans are deeper that one can tell from looking at the surface. An ocean is a home for all kinds of creatures, and it provides food for even more creatures. Oceans are life-giving. The ocean connects all life within it, supports life within it, interpenetrates all life within it. The ocean is one with all the life it houses and sustains. No matter what a crab or a star fish or a sponge knows about the ocean, no matter what those creatures believe about the ocean, no matter how they understand their relationship to the ocean, the ocean remains faithful to them, inseparable from them, nurturing and sustaining them always. Isn’t the Source of our lives, the Substance of All That Is, the All-in-all… no matter what we call It (and most of us probably call It “God”), isn’t It as faithful, as present, as nurturing as the Ocean? Isn’t God the Ocean of our Lives in which we live and move and have our being? Doesn’t God surround us and fill us and connect us with all Life? Isn’t this Good News?

Yours in shared service,

Durrell+

Cathedral Survey Results

On March 1, 2009, Sunshine Cathedral participated in the US Congregational Life Survey. The results from the survey will be part of a national database and gave us good baseline information for how a typical day in the life of Sunshine Cathedral looks. This snapshot shows us our strengths as well as areas where we can improve. Here is a brief summary of the survey results:

• Out of 524 people who worshiped with us on March 1^st, 319 took the survey (an excellent response).
• 92% of survey respondents indicated they attend Sunshine Cathedral worship services 2 or more times per month.
• 16% of the respondents had attended less than 1 year, while 40% had attended from 2 to 5 years. 43% attended for 6 or more years.
• 54% of the respondents were between the ages of 45 and 64.
• 12% of the respondents were women, 4% were Black / African American, and 7% were Hispanic. Because of the way the question was framed, however, we actually believe the number of Hispanics to be higher than reported.
• 89% of respondents said they usually or always experience inspiration and joy in worship.
• 91% of respondents said that church activities help them with daily living.
• 89% identified as progressive (either very liberal, liberal, or moderate… with liberal being the largest group).
• 75% agreed that “all the different religions are equally good ways of helping a person find ultimate truth.” 12% were neutral or unsure.
• 87% said their spiritual needs were being met at Sunshine Cathedral.
• 91% said “there is a good match between our congregation and our pastor.”
• 89% felt the congregation had a clear vision, goals, and direction for ministry (and 79% indicated they were personally committed to the vision and goals).
• 72% of respondents indicated they travel less than 20 minutes to get to church.
• About a fourth of the respondents indicated they were involved in group activities in the church, and compared to two years ago, 25% of congregants are participating MORE in activities of the church while 48% are participating at the same level they did 2 years ago.
• Almost a third of respondents claimed to have leadership roles in the congregation.
• More than two-thirds of respondents said they have close friends in the congregation.

We want to thank everyone who participated in the survey for helping us get a clearer picture of what we are doing well and what we still need to do better. You can read the full reports and analysis of the reports by clicking here.

Sowing & Reaping

Healing Rays: A Progressive, Positive, Practical Weekly Reflection
by Durrell Watkins

“Often we hear someone say, ‘I will do it when my ship comes in.’ And I always like to ask, ‘Did you send one out?’ In other words, as you give, you receive; as you serve, you benefit.” Irwin Gregg

We are already well into autumn. Soon, the Liturgical Year will begin again with Advent and not longer after that there will be the Season of Lent. Advent and Lent both remind us about service, stewardship, worship, and daily prayer. But the truth is those disciplines benefit us year round! When we volunteer for ministries or social service, when we contribute generously and consistently to the place where our spirituality is nourished, when we give to other good causes, when we gather with others for a shared experience of worship, and when we enter into the Silence each day to commune with the God of our understanding, we are sowing seeds of love and hope, and those seeds are bound to take root and return to us an abundant harvest of fulfillment and joy. As we give, we receive. As we serve, we benefit.

Following Our Star

Healing Rays: A Progressive, Positive, Practical Weekly Reflection
by Durrell Watkins

"...the star is seen to be our star. It is the star of Jesus but he came that we might see it as our star." Albert Grier

Magi, the story goes, saw a star and followed it to a life-giving and life-changing experience. In ancient times, it was believed "new stars" appeared when special people were born. We may not take the story literally. After all, we must surely have doubts that an actual star rested only a few feet above a dwelling place like the Texaco star sign elevated near a gas station! But as an allegory, the story may be very true. The story tells us that as we seek and follow the light of Truth, wherever it may come from and wherever it may lead, we will find ourselves discovering what is empowering, life-giving, nurturing, and joyous for our lives. The magi represent the divine Wisdom within us, leading us always to seek and follow signs that point toward our greater Good. The star of Jesus, the Epiphany star is our star...the symbol of our spiritual growth and evolution.

Sharing the Light: Does positive thinking really work?

Sharing the Light is an Internet talk show where Reverends Durrell Watkins, Robert Griffin, and others discuss theological questions of interest to our community.

In this episode of Sharing the Light, Sunshine Cathedral’s Senior Pastor Durrell Watkins speaks with Light University Academic Dean Robert Griffin and Michael Diaz, Volunteer Coordinator / Miami Outreach Coordinator. We invite you to join us for an enlightening conversation on Sharing the Light.