Today was a special day at the Unity Church of the Hills. Well, come to think of it, every Sunday is, but how else can I differentiate this particularly wonderful day? We had guests, five Muslim men: engineers and computer people (all PhDs) employed in Austin who came to represent the Institute of Inter-Faith Dialog of Austin.
(This is their mission statement.)
Mission of the IIDThe Institute of Interfaith Dialog is a non-profit organization whose primary goal is to help bring together the communities in order to promote compassion, cooperation, partnership and community service through interfaith dialog and conversation. The IID is dedicated to encouraging the study of the global communities' spiritual traditions from the vantage point of respect, accuracy, and appreciation.
http://www.interfaithdialog.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
The congregation responded with one huge heart, greeting them warmly and applauding several times. Afterward, in the lobby, everybody wanted to shake hands with the visitors and thank them for coming. Hooray for Unity Church of the Hills!
And, the music was especially magical today, but then I also say that every Sunday. The singers performed a beautiful version of “I Believe I Can Fly”, a pop song by R. Kelly that came out in 1996, sung here by Yolanda Adams and the Soul Children of Chicago (2002):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBPBfNlCHio
The harmony and blends of the Unity singers couldn’t have been any better. Why is it that every Sunday with their very first song, my eyes begin to well up with tears? My husband and I are finding our emotions lying much closer to the surface these days.
Walking out of the church with the lady who usually sits in front of us, we all marveled at the incredible service and said we just wanted to stay and not go home! But since we were hungry, we decided to go to Fresh Choice and have a terrific salad.
It’s amazing that the church wasn’t just packed like it usually is. Neither was the restaurant. And then, we remembered, Super Bowl Sunday!
Thanks again, Steve, Unity Church, and Austin for another memorable time!
Love, P
