Today I met with a few different individuals who have requested membership in my congregation. This is a role I have been asked to take on over the current church year to fill a ministry need. For me it is also a joy and an opportunity to get to know our newcomers and meet people where they are on their journeys. The purpose of the meetings is simply to hear their stories and questions, particularly in relation to spirituality and faith, and to offer them any guidance I might be able to offer in helping them to discern and align their gifts and needs within our UU congregation.
As I've met with people the past two weeks, I am reminded how spiritual conversations play a central role in my life. What is unique about these is less the topics discussed- although lately these have tended toward the deep- but more the space that is created between us, a space of openness and trust. Lately- in local restaurant, coffee shop, a friend's attic, or a UU sanctuary- I have been blessed by encounter, delightful laughter, heartfelt tears, or simple connection in sharing our most meaningful stories. In some of these, I have offered the gift of accompaniment- putting my own story aside for the sake of another's journey; in others I have been listened to and guided; and in still others, we have chatted together as companions. But in all of these I have been delighted by the divine present in each person's uniqueness. These are the myriad ways we dance in spirit- sometimes leading, sometimes following- as human beings on this earth.
As I am now just a few days away from my next visit to Silver Bay, I have been reflecting upon my journey over the past month. At my last visit at the end of October, we were given an assignment to create and follow a daily schedule of contemplation. It has been quite difficult the past month to come up with any semblance of regularity in personal practice, but I think that God has been very present in my relationships both old and new. Other people have been touchstones to finding the holy in my hectic days, and through all the craziness, moments of connection have given me a chance to 'stop short', to 'take stock'-- to listen to what is speaking to me, right before me, in the person I am with: God in the other, and in between.
Perhaps these meetings have been the answer to a prayer I wrote during my last visit to Silver Bay--which I have reprinted here on this page:
O Gracious God,
Spirit of Life and Love,
Holy One-
Lead me on.
Be my heart,
my hope,
my hands.
Open my eyes to see-
You are here always...
your voice ever-present,
as in the waterfall,
where you renewed my soul.
Guide me, help me
to meet you in all I see,
to serve you in all I encounter.
May your presence
always be revealed
even in the most mundane.
I ask of you only-
remove the ego-glaze
that keeps me from trusting,
from loving,
from seeing you.
Amen.
Yes, the answer to this prayer is quite clear to me now: I am blessed by the many unique people who I know and am continuously meeting every day, who reveal to me God's presence shining in the daily mundane.
As I've met with people the past two weeks, I am reminded how spiritual conversations play a central role in my life. What is unique about these is less the topics discussed- although lately these have tended toward the deep- but more the space that is created between us, a space of openness and trust. Lately- in local restaurant, coffee shop, a friend's attic, or a UU sanctuary- I have been blessed by encounter, delightful laughter, heartfelt tears, or simple connection in sharing our most meaningful stories. In some of these, I have offered the gift of accompaniment- putting my own story aside for the sake of another's journey; in others I have been listened to and guided; and in still others, we have chatted together as companions. But in all of these I have been delighted by the divine present in each person's uniqueness. These are the myriad ways we dance in spirit- sometimes leading, sometimes following- as human beings on this earth.
As I am now just a few days away from my next visit to Silver Bay, I have been reflecting upon my journey over the past month. At my last visit at the end of October, we were given an assignment to create and follow a daily schedule of contemplation. It has been quite difficult the past month to come up with any semblance of regularity in personal practice, but I think that God has been very present in my relationships both old and new. Other people have been touchstones to finding the holy in my hectic days, and through all the craziness, moments of connection have given me a chance to 'stop short', to 'take stock'-- to listen to what is speaking to me, right before me, in the person I am with: God in the other, and in between.
Perhaps these meetings have been the answer to a prayer I wrote during my last visit to Silver Bay--which I have reprinted here on this page:
O Gracious God,
Spirit of Life and Love,
Holy One-
Lead me on.
Be my heart,
my hope,
my hands.
Open my eyes to see-
You are here always...
your voice ever-present,
as in the waterfall,
where you renewed my soul.
Guide me, help me
to meet you in all I see,
to serve you in all I encounter.
May your presence
always be revealed
even in the most mundane.
I ask of you only-
remove the ego-glaze
that keeps me from trusting,
from loving,
from seeing you.
Amen.
Yes, the answer to this prayer is quite clear to me now: I am blessed by the many unique people who I know and am continuously meeting every day, who reveal to me God's presence shining in the daily mundane.
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