“For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: Deuteronomy 10:17-19 (NRSV)
Contemplation Corner for February 5, 2026
“The tyranny of this dictatorship isn’t primarily the fault of Big Business, nor of the demagogues who do their dirty work. It’s the fault of Doremus Jessup! Of all the conscientious, respectable, lazy-minded Doremus Jessups, who have let … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner for February 5, 2026
Contemplation Corner – Hope
I almost think that hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism. Where hope is lacking the soul dries up and withers.” -Gabriel Marcel by Pastor Donnie BrooksMarcellus UnitedMethodist … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner – Hope
Contemplation Corner: ‘the business of philosophy. . .’
“The business of philosophy is to teach man to live in uncertainty…not to reassure him, but to upset him.” -Lev Shestov (All Things are Possible) by Pastor Donnie BrooksMarcellus United Methodist … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: ‘the business of philosophy. . .’
Contemplation Corner for January 15, 2026
“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner for January 15, 2026
Contemplation Corner: Of the Change of Seasons
Of the Change of Seasons by Pastor Donnie BrooksMarcellus United Methodist Churchpastordonnieb@outlook.com Autumn steadily flows into this night As the light steadily descends from the day The air becomes cooler as the green of … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: Of the Change of Seasons
Contemplation Corner: It’s a wonderful life. . .
“Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.” – Clarence Odbody (It’s a Wonderful Life, Paramount) by Pastor Donnie BrooksMarcellus United Methodist Churchpastordonnieb@outlook.com It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my favorite … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: It’s a wonderful life. . .
Contemplation Corner: “do not think we must be solemn in order to meditate.”
“Please do not think we must be solemn in order to meditate. Whether or not we are happy depends on our awareness. When you have a toothache, you think not having a toothache will make you very happy. But when you don’t have a toothache, … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: “do not think we must be solemn in order to meditate.”
Contemplation Corner: “We can’t try hard to relax. . .”
“We can’t try hard to relax, just as we can’t use a lot of strict effort to be mindful. When we practice together as a community, our practice of mindfulness becomes more joyful, more relaxed, and steady. We are bells of mindfulness for … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: “We can’t try hard to relax. . .”
Contemplation Corner: “To be surprised. . .”
“To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand” – Jose Ortega y Gasset by Pastor Donnie BrooksMarcellus United Methodist Churchpastordonnieb@outlook.com Ortega is an early 20th century Spanish philosopher, essayist, and … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: “To be surprised. . .”
Contemplation Corner: Oppression involved a failure of the imagination
“Oppression involves a failure of the imagination: the failure to imagine the full humanity of other human beings." - Margaret Atwood by Pastor Donnie BrooksMarcellus United Methodist Churchpastordonnieb@outlook.com … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: Oppression involved a failure of the imagination
Contemplation Corner: All that is living, all that we see about us, is one body. . .
“The Roman philosopher Seneca asserted that all that is living, all that we see about us, is one body; even as our own hands, feet, stomach and bones, we are all members of one body. We have all been born alike, we all alike seek our own … [Read more...] about Contemplation Corner: All that is living, all that we see about us, is one body. . .