Memo from MAM September 20

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On Sunday, we explored the topic of belonging together during the worship service.  For our time of Meditation and Prayer I included this blessing from John O’Donohue’s book “To Bless the Space Between Us.”

          A Blessing For Belonging

May you listen to your longing to be free.
May the frames of your belonging
be generous enough for your dreams.
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing
whispering in your heart.
May you find a harmony
between your soul and your life.
May the sanctuary of your soul
never become haunted.
May you know the eternal longing
that lives at the heart of time.
May there be kindness in your gaze
when you look within.
May you never place walls
between the light and yourself.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world
to gather you, mind you,
and embrace you in belonging.
O’Donohue was a prolific writer, priest, philosopher, and generous spiritual teacher. He spoke native Irish and helped introduce the concept of the Gaelic Anam Cara, soul friend, to many of us.  He understood that friendship is an act of recognition and belonging.
 

When you have an anam cara, your friendship cuts across all convention and category. I do believe our feather and furry friends have that capacity.  In today’s divisive and lonely world for many, may we each cultivate more soul friends in our lives.

(shown: Rev. MAM and Hodor)
 

Belonging and Caring
As part of our worship service, Patty Kanapple shared the powerful research she was involved with before retiring in 2023. As Patty stated, “It turns out that there is a large body of research that shows how important connectedness and belonging is to our own mental health and the health of our communities.”  Her research focused on military members and families but is translatable to all community situations.  Please note, that this research addresses difficult behaviors such as suicide, domestic violence, substance abuse and other destructive behaviors. However, this research also highlights, like no other, the absolute power of belonging and community.   Here are the words she spoke from our pulpit. Words of Belonging

Also, for those of you who are more detail-oriented, here is the larger research report. (The full set of protective factors we identified can be found in the report on p. 22, Table 3.)
Thank you Patty for sharing this proactive report that underscores our basic human need of belonging.

We will continue our exploration of belonging in next Sunday’s worship service.

Blessings, Mary Ann
Reverend Mary Ann Macklin
B4: Break Barriers, Build Beliefs – A Virtual Workshop
Saturday September 21, 2024 9:00 -10:30 followed by a 90-minute break, and finish the last session from noon-1:30.  Click here for more information.
Animal Blessing
On Sunday, October 6, we will have the First Unitarian Church of Louisville annual Animal Blessing Worship Service.