My goodness, it’s another new year already, and we are on the search process home stretch! The transitions office calls it Phase Five: Mutual Discernment and Selection. This is very exciting and is the perfect time to get grounded in what really matters in your own life and in the life of the congregation. Rev. Claudia and I invite you to join us at 2 PM on the first and third Tuesday of the month for an hour of tea and conversation. Stop by and share what’s on your mind and in your heart. We’ll put the kettle on!
I love the Soul Matters theme for January because it resonates with new beginnings without the burden and guilt of New Year’s resolutions. Finding Our Center is different from making resolutions or making lists of needed improvements; centering is more about listening to what calls us forth. It is about becoming who we really are, aligning ourselves with our true north rather than improving ourselves. That feels so much better! Someone posted a quiz on Facebook a few years ago that promised to discern your New Year’s resolutions for you if you simply answer ten questions. I thought what the heck, I’m game. Mine turned out to be an invitation to make more room in my life for creativity! Creativity! Not lose 20 pounds or go to the gym every day, but make time to read books, write poetry, play my guitar, and more time to knit.
An article in the Business Insider magazine explained why it is important to daydream, and the author references the ‘two-hour rule,’ a habit that Einstein, Nietzsche, and Darwin all shared; it is simply two hours set aside per week to do nothing but think and daydream. Daydreaming opens the door to creativity and new ideas. It is so easy to waste two hours surfing the web or watching television, but it takes effort to spend two hours intentionally doing nothing but think and allow your mind to wander. Try it! No tasks, no cell phones, computers or reading. YIKES! Perhaps you discover what your inner voice has to tell us about what to do with this brand-new year. I’ll try it, because I suspect our inner voice might have more insight than a 10-question quiz on the Internet.
In his wonderful book, Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer wrote, “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.” Listen for those things that inspire you. Notice what makes you smile or laugh or intrigues you. As the poet Mary Oliver asked;
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
“Love Thy Neighbor” Expand Medicaid Postcard Campaign. In 2022, NC lawmakers came closer than ever to Expanding Medicaid to over a half a million North Carolinians. In early 2023, The NC Justice Center needs our help to get this lifesaving legislation over the finish line! They are inviting us to send postcards to members of the NC General Assembly. When you sign up, you will receive a packet of pre-addressed postcards and stamps that you can mail directly to lawmakers, along with some talking points to get you started. You can expect your packet in late January. Sign Up Here.
30 Days of Love 2023! Side with Love’s annual month of spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice, 30 Days of Love will go from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 16) through Valentine’s Day (February 14). This year’s 30 Days of Love is a love letter to our whole beloved community – families, religious professionals, partners and communities that embody our values and work for justice and liberation year round. Each week will feature a spiritual theme overlapping with one of Side With Love’s intersectional justice priorities, and we’ll share an array of offerings to help nourish your spirit and give gratitude and affirmation. Learn More Here
Welcome to the New Year and to this month’s Soul Matters theme: Finding Our Center. What centers you? Your faith? Values? Family? Artistic endeavors?
What practices center you? For some UUs labyrinth’s represent the journey to one’s center through meditative walking in community. Join us for a labyrinth walk January 22, 1PM after service. If you are attending service you may want to bring a bagged lunch. Finger labyrinths will also be available.
Source: Unsplash, Ashley Batz
Below are a few sample questions from our Soul Matters packets to begin your exploration of our monthly theme.
What does “finding your center” mean to you?
What do you know now about “finding your center” that you didn’t when you were younger?
What metaphor or image best captures the idea of “finding your center”?
What kind of creativity helped you center as a child? (Coloring books? Music? Dancing? ….)
What was its gift? (Healing? Calm? Escape? ….) What kind of creativity helps you center as an adult?
What are the values that central to who you are?
If you are interested in being part of a Soul Matters Group please contact our co-coordinator Venny Zachritz. A new group will be launching this month. Also, if you are interested in participating in other Adult Faith Exploration (AFE) programs please fill out this survey from our AFE Planning Team.
My goodness, it’s another new year already, and we are on the search process home stretch! The transitions office calls it Phase Five: Mutual Discernment and Selection. This is very exciting and is the perfect time to get grounded in what really matters in your own life and in the life of the congregation. Rev. Claudia and I invite you to join us at 2 PM on the first and third Tuesday of the month for an hour of tea and conversation. Stop by and share what’s on your mind and in your heart. We’ll put the kettle on!
