A Message from Rev. Telos

On Waking, by John O’Donohue

I give thanks for arriving
Safely in a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world,
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life,
The waves of possibility
Breaking on the shore of dawn,
The harvest of the past
That awaits my hunger,
And all the furtherings
This new day will bring.

Dear ones,

 

Nurturing Gratitude is our SoulMatters theme for November, which we will weave into and explore in our worship services and religious exploration workshops.

As the season of dark returns and the days get colder, I spend time looking for light wherever I can find it. I am comforted by candles in the windows or tiny lights twinkling away. I am heartened by stories of local heroes or good neighbors, creative solutions. I am reminded that there are forces of good larger than our individual selves at work in the world. Most of the time, people are pretty decent to each other, and it seems like someone doesn’t have quite enough change in their pocket at the counter, and the one behind gives them the 50 cents. A car is stopped by the road and someone stops to see if they need a hand. A tree falls in a neighbor’s yard and might need clearing away…. the list of ways to lend a hand goes on. Or you might need some help but be afraid or uncomfortable to ask. We are a community of helping hands, and it is our connections with each other as a community that will sustain us. It is our wondering about how someone is doing that we haven’t seen in awhile, and just picking up the phone to call them. It might be our willingness to see the light in someone – their unique talent or contribution and point it out to them. It is taking the risk to reach out to someone and stepping beyond what is familiar into unknown, uncharted territory.  Like the song Lean On Me, we all need somebody to lean on; we need each other. So it is that we find ways to nurture gratitude, reach out to support each other, and be willing to ask for help. 

These are challenging times when being part of a community becomes even more essential. The work of justice needs to be done, yes, and the caring, too. Finding time for joy, a story that brings a laugh, an unexpected connection. We support those of us who have experienced a loss; who are grappling with a medical diagnosis; struggling with challenges. May our community be a place where people feel held, seen and heard, a place where there is abundant gratitude.

Blessings,

Rev. Telos