Welcome to the EarthCare Module on "Power"
Unit Focus: The concept of power has a lot of layers. There’s physical power, powerful emotions, powerful speakers, powerhouse sports teams. There is mechanical power, solar power, wind power, hydropower, horsepower. The spiritual principle of power is at quite another level than any forms of power commonly highlighted in modern culture. -
Demonstrate understanding of POWER as a spiritual principle.
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Identify links between POWER as spiritual principle and the human interaction with nature and the whole of creation.
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Integrate the spiritual principle of POWER as related to Earth/Creation care into Unity services and teachings.
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Use the wisdom expressed by nature to reveal lessons that will enrich our lives.
Christ awareness reveals Divine Power as me. When I recognize powerlessness, I call upon a higher/greater power, Divine Power, as me. I am energized with unfailing Power to do that which is mine to do as I care for creation. No problem has power over me; God is the one presence and Power at work as me. “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” –Matthew 19:26
We come into the Holy Instant of now, this powerful present moment. We remember the truth of ourselves as powerful spiritual beings. We remember Oneness with God/Source/Creator and all of Creation. We affirm our power to lovingly master our thoughts, words and actions as we shine our lights more brightly into this world. We affirm the awesome power of Nature to heal, grow and expand life. We are grateful for life on this beautiful and powerful planet. We affirm wholeness and peace powerfully expressed and demonstrated. We say thank you, amen, and so it is!
Power and Our Planet
Rev. Kathy Harwood Long
Do we have the power to do what is necessary to create sustainable living for generations to come? Huge and complex discussions are occurring about power and energy across the globe. Ways to harvest it. Ways to store it. Ways to convert it from one form to another. Ways to sell it. The war in Ukraine has pushed many countries to reevaluate and exercise the power to choose new sources for energy. This power to choose is inherent to human life. Even in the great extremes of war Ukrainian citizens have demonstrated their power by choosing their values over fear. Let us learn about power from them that we too can choose our values over self-gratification and profit for a few.
Will we transmit the energy of who we are as unlimited energetic beings into caring, love, and nonviolence, on behalf of all creation? Some of us may be hoping for the power just to get out of bed in the morning, or the power to choose our work in the world, or the power necessary to create funds to pay bills. Divine power as us is revealed as our power to choose to place our attention on Source / God instead of fear, lack or limitation. One mystical instant of reacquainting ourselves with our Source, re-energizes inner calm and assuredness, an inner knowing that power greater than self is alive, real, present in our very circumstance. Sourcing from God, the unlimited, ensures ideas, wisdom, strength and more–converted into choices with our time, energy and dollars for thriving–and improves our power to choose values that benefit creation too.
Lesson Engagement
This pre-recorded talk is available for your personal use or for viewing in your congregation (in-person or online). The speaker is Rev. Kathy Harwood Long and she is available as a guest speaker. She can be contacted here.
Click here to access the video.
Content by Rev. Cylvia Hayes
Content by Rev. Eliasa Sabogal
"Big things can happen if people persevere,” said Mike McHenry, biologist with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, which got the ball rolling on dam removal when it was still thought a crazy idea. The Revelator reporter Tara Loah stated, “It took an act of Congress in 1992 to finally free the Elwha, taking down the pair of dams that had blocked the 45-mile mountain river for a century…It’s as if the whole watershed was waiting…The $325 million Elwha experiment remains the biggest dam removal project ever. With 83 percent of the Elwha watershed permanently protected in Olympic National Park, it offered a unique chance to start over.- "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." ~ 2 Timothy 1:7
- "This too is good, This too is God, This too, is for me. And I demand to see the good in it-With hands on hips and said loudly & powerfully." ~ Emma Curtis Hopkins
- "Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King