Last week, we explored the ancient concept of Jubilee – the radical idea that every fiftieth year, debts were canceled, land was restored, and people were set free. But here is the question that lingers: Was Jubilee ever meant to be only a beautiful idea? Or was it something people were actually supposed to do?

Healing requires release. Imagine holding your fist tightly closed. Now imagine that inside your hand is everything you don’t want to lose: your money, your identity, your certainty, your position, your possessions, your old story. The tighter you squeeze, the safer everything seems. But there is a problem.

A closed hand can’t receive anything new. Jubilee is opening the hand. Release isn’t losing. Sometimes release is simply making room. We release resentment and make room for peace. We release shame and make room for dignity. We release scarcity and make room for possibility. We release the need to control everything and make room for guidance. We release what was and make room for what wants to become.

This Sunday, we are taking Jubilee off the ancient scroll and into our daily lives. We will explore what it means to practice release, restoration, generosity, and new beginnings – not once every fifty years, but as a rhythm we build into our lives and into our spiritual community.

There is a beautiful and radical idea buried deep in the Hebrew Scriptures. It’s called Jubilee.

In ancient Israel, every fiftieth year was declared a time of extraordinary release. Debts were canceled. Land was returned to its original families. People who had fallen into servitude were set free. Even the land itself was given rest.

The message was astonishing: No failure was supposed to become permanent. No debt was supposed to define a person forever.

This Sunday, we are exploring the spiritual principle behind Jubilee and what it has to do with a river that refuses to stagnate.

What have you carried long enough?

On this special Sunday not only did we do a recognition of our new, and returning, 2027 Prayer Chaplains, but there was a special presentation in which two of our members, Mark Camp and Phil Price, received quilts honoring their military service from the Quilts of Valor program. You can view it here if you would like to see it.

https://youtu.be/2N9741sGH1I

Eddie Watkins Jr. started as an elite Detroit studio musician, recording bass lines for legendary icons like Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Diana Ross.

Following his personal recovery journey, he transitioned into producing “New Thought” spiritual music, blending his classic soul and funk roots with uplifting, healing messages.

Eddie will be sharing his music and talk this Sunday! In “Finding the Narrows – Building Bridges”, he will focus on overcoming societal polarization and looking past the illusion of differences. Through recognizing our shared humanity, we can move from conflict toward unity.  “I look past the illusion of division to find the Sacred common ground that unites us all.”

This Sunday, we arrive at the culmination of our journey through seventy years of human consciousness.

We have walked through the foundations of the 1950s, the expansion of love in the 60s, the inner journeys of the 70s, and the connectivity of the 90s. We have seen how each decade taught us something vital about who we are.

Now, we turn our gaze forward – to the future. 

But the question isn’t just about the future; it is about our role in creating it. Are we ready to build bridges? Are we ready to become the leaders who help others discover their own greatness? 

The Divine has always been hiding in plain sight!

If you missed any of the handouts from the series, you can get them all in one file here:

Something changed after 2012. We became more connected than any people in human history – and somehow more divided. We gained access to nearly unlimited information – and found ourselves struggling to know what to believe. Technology advanced at breathtaking speed, while some of our oldest questions returned with new sense of urgency.

But what if the turmoil of these years is revealing something we need to see?

This Sunday, we are going to look beyond the headlines and politics to explore the deeper spiritual story of the last fourteen years: what has been illuminated, what is asking to be healed, and what this remarkable moment may be asking of us.

Maybe we aren’t simply living through an age of disruption – maybe we’re standing between worlds.

The 2000s connected the world. But did we find what we were looking for?

This Sunday, we continue Unity Through the Decades.

We’ll explore:

The 1990s were a decade of questions. 

The Berlin Wall fell. The Cold War ended. The old enemies disappeared. And suddenly – we had nothing to believe in.

So we started looking everywhere – the music, movies and the internet! And the blinking cursor just waited. But what were we suppose to write?

This Sunday, we continue Unity Through the Decades with Week Five: The Blinking Cursor. We’ll explore:

The 1980s gave us a lot. MTV. The personal computer. Big hair. And a question we’re still trying to answer: “What can I become?”

But here’s the thing about the 1980s – behind all that ambition and success, there was a deeper story. A story about fear and division, but also a story about a generation that learned to dream big and then had to figure out what it all meant.

This Sunday, we continue Unity Through the Decades with Week Four: From Success to Significance.

We’ll explore:

By 1970, the dream of the 1960s had soured. The assassinations. The war that wouldn’t end. The counterculture that had turned into addiction and disillusionment. The revolution hadn’t come. And so the question became: “Now what?”

We’ll explore the decade that turned inward – not as an escape, but as a profound spiritual realization. The 1970s taught us that changing governments and institutions wasn’t enough. Lasting change required transforming consciousness.

Whether you remember the 1970s or only know them from movies and music, there’s a place for you in this conversation. Because the questions the 1970s asked are still our questions today.

The 1960s gave us a lot. Bob Dylan. The Beatles. Woodstock. The moon landing. And also – a question we’re still trying to answer:

The 1950s gave us stability. The 1960s gave us the courage to ask if stability was enough.

This Sunday, we continue Unity Through the Decades with Week Two: Breaking Open the Self.

We’ll ask: