Thanks to everyone who collaborated in yesterday’s worship service by choosing hymns and readings. Many folks were delighted with the outcome of this participatory gathering. Of note, one hymn we sang was part of the wedding ceremony for a couple who celebrated their 49th Anniversary last week.
This was one of the inspiring readings shared:
The prayer of our souls is a petition for persistence; not for one good deed, or single thought, but deed upon deed, and thought upon thought, until day calling unto day shall make life worth living.
W.E.B Dubois
It was lovely to sing with all of you, including our children. On Sunday night I went to the Jeffersonville movie theater to Wicked (Part One). It was wickedly good. Although one of my favorite parts of that experience occurred when we were all walking back to our cars in the chill of the night and some young woman started belting out “Defying Gravity” and she had the gift to do just that. Nothing like live singing to stir the soul.
Speaking of singing, I mentioned the following on Sunday. And while I have shared the this teaching with many of you before, I find myself wanting to revisit it for this holiday time and the year ahead, 2025. This teaching comes from my spiritual mentor of many years, Angeles Arrien:
When we are experiencing a type of emptiness, like a small depression or free floating anxiety, it can sometimes be named as Soul Loss. When experiencing Soul Loss, my mentor suggested that we ask ourselves these four questions, both literally and figuratively:
- When did I stop singing?
- When did I stop dancing or moving creatively?
- When did I stop being enchanted by stories?
- When did I stop being comforted by sweet territory of silence?
Again, it was great to sing with you all on Sunday. Let’s see what the next three Sundays bring.
Peace, Mary Ann
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin