45 Years in Retrospect . . . The life of Miracle Distribution Center – Part V

by Beverly McNeff

In celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the Center, throughout the next several issues we will be sharing its journey with you. Even though the Center was founded by Beverly and Richard Hutchinson, it has developed a life of its own. These articles will share the Center’s birth, growth, life, and purpose as it continues to evolve and support students of A Course in Miracles.

“The Holy Spirit is the spirit of joy. He is the Call to return with which God blessed the minds of His separated Sons. This is the vocation of the mind.” (T-5.II.2:1)

Pictured with Beverly are the president and staff of Natural Spirit, publishers of the Japanese translation of A Course in Miracles, when they visited the Center.

The vocation of the mind is to join, to heal the thought of separation, and that has been the vocation of Miracle Distribution Center (MDC). Over the last forty-five years, we have provided services, classes, workshops, retreats, and events that have brought a sense of unity to students of A Course in Miracles, but we have done so in a way that transcends the world’s approach of joining.

The world of the ego sees joining as a form, i.e., bodies joining with other bodies. In a “spiritual” vein, some have thought this “joining” might look like a community in which you live, a group you must join, the need to only associate with people of the same mindset or belief, an organization you must be a part of, etc. But the purpose of the Course is to help us to see that the form of our lives is not our emphasis; healing and joining beyond form is our purpose.

The vocation of MDC may seem to contrast with the world’s view of an organization. On the one hand, we provide a virtual map of groups studying the Course around the world, but we do not necessarily advocate people studying in groups. The Course is self-study; groups may be helpful but are certainly not mandatory and should never become a substitute for an individual’s personal study.

We believe in the transforming teachings of A Course in Miracles and have built our lives and this Center around its principles, but we have no need to convert anyone to its curriculum. There is no membership. The Course is just one version of the universal curriculum, and we are here merely to be of help and support to those who find this to be their path. We have also provided classes, retreats, and conferences with the purpose of offering a forum for students of the Course to join without a need to be the forum.

Throughout the years, we have been blessed to have visitors from around the world make MDC one of their stops. We had an extensive bookstore and a large meeting room where we presented ongoing Course classes. The room’s walls were filled with a pictorial history of Course events and presenters, as well as our international study group maps. Even though there was not much in the way of form at our Center, people seemed to enjoy coming here — I think the spirit of the place had something to do with it!

Since we began live streaming our weekly meetings free every Wednesday evening, we have been able to share the Course’s message around the world. Over the past year, viewers from 130 countries have joined us.

We are a center in the truest sense of A Course in Miracles, for we really redefine the word center. We are a “center” in content and purpose, but we are not the typical worldly definition of a center since we are somewhat “formless.” We are located in Southern California, and yet our work is international. We have close relationships with people across the globe whom we may never meet in person, and yet we feel as close to them as we do to the friend who lives down the block. As the Course reminds us, minds join, bodies do not.

The vocation of the mind is to join, not just to visit bodies, but to join minds and hearts! Don’t get us wrong, we love having those “bodies” stop by to visit, attend a meeting, event, etc., but we realize it is not mandatory that they do so for us at MDC to feel connected to them or them to feel connected to us. God is not found in a place, event, or any one special person. God is found in every heart and mind that wants to remember they are one with their brother — not necessarily in form, but in purpose.

Whenever a service of MDC is introduced, our primary criterion is whether a person — no matter where they are — can participate. This is why we created the international study group map as well as our ongoing study group classes at the Center (which are still recorded and livestreamed for viewers across the globe), the Miracle Prayer Ministry, Prison Project, The Holy Encounter magazine, weekly inspirational emails and updates, Daily Lesson Email and Text services, our online store, and our website at www.miraclecenter.org, to name a few of our offerings. Through these services, people can feel a part of our work and a part of each other without ever having to leave home. For some, this is their only contact with other Course students. MDC can help almost anyone, anywhere, feel a sense of connection and support.

As you know, after the Covid pandemic, many things changed. This change is not bad, but it is different. We no longer have in-person meetings at the Center but continue to offer our weekly meetings free via livestream each week. People are no longer visiting the Center or purchasing their items exclusively through us, as online booksellers are now plentiful. In-person conferences have given way to livestreamed seminars that we continue to offer. We still present a yearly retreat and will do so as long as it is practical and desired. But we are open to new ways and new forms of service and support. After all, it is not the form that matters but the content of our vocation.

All through the Center’s 45 years of life, we have known that our vocation has been “gently planned by One Whose only purpose is [our] good.” (W-135.18) Miraculously, even before the pandemic, we have always had a progressive, malleable approach to our services. We were never stuck in the form of the world, and always focused, and continue to focus, on serving the content of healing in all beings.

What is the vocation of the Center? Well, besides all the wonderful projects and services, MDC’s vocation is joining — a joining beyond the form, a joining with each of you and thereby with God.

Read the previous installment: Part IV: “Divine Decisions”
Next issue’s installment: “2023 and Beyond: A Miracle Odyssey” Part VI: “2023 and Beyond: A Miracle Odyssey”

Respond to Beverly’s Article
Support Our Work
Get Articles in Your Postal Mailbox
Share Your Thoughts on Our 45th Year