ALL ATTENDING IN-PERSON SERVICES MUST BE FULLY VACCINATED (INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE BOOSTER)
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Don’t we often recognize many of the lessons and gifts of our life retrospectively? When we’re experiencing a particular challenge, aren’t we often anxious to get through it or over it as quickly as possible? Poet and author David Whyte writes that we are often drawn to “making false choices: living only in the past, … Continue reading Relentless Gifts
The Tao Te Ching declares, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” This Sunday, we’ll reflect upon “teachable moments” in our own lives. What is it about those moments that made us ready to learn? And what was it about us that made us open to learning? Unitarian Universalists are part of the … Continue reading Teachable Moments
For over a year, we have had to improvise in our daily lives, our work lives, and the life of our Congregation. In the process, we may have discovered some improvisational capacities that we never knew we had. It has been a difficult year (to say the least). Stephen Nachmanovitch’s The Art of Is gives us … Continue reading Improvising Even When We Don’t Have To
The title for this multi-generational service comes from a musical, The Lorax, written in part by Dr. Seuss. We recognize on this Sunday that Unitarian Universalism is a path committed to ongoing personal and spiritual growth. Our Unitarian forebears were committed to what they called “self-culture” that came from an understanding that we can participate … Continue reading Let It Grow: Flower Communion & Faith Development Sunday
Sometimes we may be limited by the stories that we tell and retell—about ourselves, our relationships, or the world. Often, we are not able to step out of our stories. In our personal lives, we can discover alternate stories within us that have yet to be “storied.” In our social and religious lives, we develop … Continue reading Bringing New Stories to Life
When I started to write a spiritual memoir, I was surprised how many of my memories included circumstances with my mother and the stories that I heard from my mother. I treasure these stories as, I suspect, many of you may recall and savor the stories from or about mothers or mother figures in your … Continue reading Stories Our Mothers Never Told Us
In this service, we’ll remind ourselves to experience what Buddhist teacher, Tara Brach, calls “a sacred pause.” She reminds us that when we cultivate pauses we can find a natural intelligence and a wise heart. There are many ways to commit to these pauses. We’ll experience some practical ways to experience them in everyday life, … Continue reading Create a Sacred Pause
This year, I just don’t feel that one resurrection is sufficient. Don’t we need to encourage one another to keep bouncing back, to keep unfolding and bringing forth what we can? Sure, it’s been an exhausting year. Yet, after reclining, I say—resurrect again and again. Mary Oliver offers this image in her poem, “Poppies”: The … Continue reading Time-Released Resurrections: An Easter Sunday Celebration
Bring a Quilt to Church Sunday One of the women featured in Mary Catherine Bateson’s book, Composing a Life, proclaims about her life: “Even if on the surface it looks like some goofy quilt, it really does make sense.” Our lives can sometimes feel like grand and crazy quilts. The odd pieces of our lives … Continue reading Weaving Together the Threads and Pieces of Our Lives
We know that as we compose our lives we hardly ever follow a linear, logical path. Perhaps our lives are more like improvisational jazz. We take bits and pieces of familiar music, and we rearrange them to create the life that we are. Often, we only see the patterns of our life retrospectively. Mary Catherine … Continue reading Our Lives as Improvisational Jazz
