Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. Many cultures imagined winter as an old woman who brought with her darkness and death, only to be replaced by a beautiful young maiden in the spring. How can we embrace our old woman and learn to love her, wrinkles and all? What wisdom does winter offer?
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. Join us as we usher in the winter holidays! Families and friends gather in the sanctuary for an opening hymn and offering, then split into different groups. Some sing beloved carols, some decorate the church, and some create ornaments. The groups rotate and then we return to the sanctuary … Continue reading “Hanging of the Greens”
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. This multigenerational service will feature a blessing of the animals and a memorial for all those animals who have passed through our lives, blessing them in incalculable ways. Well-behaved and fully vaccinated pets are welcome but should be contained in an appropriate carrier or kept on a leash at … Continue reading “In Gratitude for the Animals”
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. In a time of war and upheaval, how can we find peace through the practice of gratitude? On this Sunday before Trans Day of Remembrance, we also pause to remember the precious trans lives lost this past year due to hatred and violence.
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. St. Teresa of Avila was a Carmelite nun and mystic. Her writings are considered to be classics of the contemplative tradition. In “The Interior Castle,” she writes about two forms of inspiration or transcendence. One is like a basin that is filled from an outside source: this basin represents … Continue reading “Water from the Source: On Mysticism”
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. Gnosticism was an ancient heresy in the early Christian church. Among its primary tenets was the idea that secret knowledge could unlock the “divine spark” within human beings. As a movement, Gnosticism was obliterated by the official Church, yet threads of Gnostic thought persist even now. What insights might … Continue reading “Well, Whaddya Know: On Gnosticism”
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. It is said that at this time of year, as we move into a time of cold and long, dark nights, the veil between the living and the dead becomes thin and it becomes easier to communicate with those who have passed from this life. Many cultures build shrines … Continue reading “When the Veil Is Thin: Remembering the Dead”
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. This week, we continue to wonder about the significance of quiet courage for our own lives. Throughout history, some people have been pushed out of the spotlight because they weren’t the “right kind of person” to play a starring role. But some of us never wanted the spotlight to … Continue reading “Quiet Courage” (Part Two)
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. “There is a quiet courage that comes from an inward spring of confidence in the meaning and significance of life. Such courage is an underground river, flowing far beneath the shifting events of one’s experience, keeping alive a thousand little springs of action.” — Howard Thurman ‘Quiet’ and ‘courage’ … Continue reading “Quiet Courage” (Part One)
Direct link to YouTube stream HERE. This service is co-created with the Radical Welcoming Team in honor of LGBTQ+ History Month and National Coming Out Day. We celebrate the many quiet and not-at-all-quiet, courageous ways 2SLGBTQIA+ people live their authentic lives. Your name is not a song you will sing under your breath. Your pronouns … Continue reading “Your Life” — Coming Out Sunday
