Sunday, January 8, 2023
SUNDAY SERVICE introducing soul matters theme “Finding our Center.”
Hybrid: Sanctuary / Zoom
An Interactive, multi-generational service. All ages welcome.
Welcome to the Path of
Finding Our Center
When we talk of finding our center, it’s natural for calm and rest to be the first things that come to mind. Who would expect anything different? After all, the need for calm is everywhere we look. So, so many of us are tired. We’re overworked, over-busy, over-committed, overly scared. We are often so weighed down by responsibility and worry that it only takes one drop of something unexpected to tip us over. So, yes, we long for rest. Yes, we want to swirl to stop.
And yet, helping us find peace and calm is not the only work found on this path of finding our center.
As our faith reminds us, being a “centered person” often involves the opposite of keeping things calm. In order to move toward a balance of justice, we have to upset the current state of things. Oppressive systems need challenged and toppled. And to accomplish that, we need to sacrifice calm and comfort, including our own. We need to remember that achieving a balance of equality requires us to be purposefully off-balance and out-of-step with our culture, or as Martin Luther King Jr. said, we need people who are maladjusted to the way things are.
Add all this up and suddenly “our center” appears to be a much richer place than is often recognized.
It’s not simply a place of peace and calm; it’s also a place of being pushed and launched. What you hear in this deep space within is not just the whisper of “Rest” and “Breathe,” but also “Take a deep breath and jump!” We encounter an invitation there, not just relaxation. It’s a still point, yes. But a still point upon which we pivot and turn to something new.
So as we try to make sense of “finding our center” this month, it’s fine to pull up the image of the Buddha sitting peacefully under a tree, but we can’t let that overshadow the image of a diver balancing way up there on her diving board, pausing to regain her composure and courage so she can leap and go “all in.”
Maybe in the end, instead of only asking each other, “Are you centered these days?” we need to ask, “Where is your center sending you these days?” and “Where is your center calling you to go?”
Join us for a Sanctuary/Zoom Hybrid Service. During a hybrid service, you can attend either in person or virtually. The goal of the hybrid service is to make the experience of attending a service as similar as possible whether you were attending in person or virtually. If you are attending virtually, you will be able to see and to be seen. You will be able to see the speaker, the pulpit, and the surrounding area, you will be able to see the chalice and people who come up to share joys and concerns. You will be able to hear the speaker, music, and questions and comments from those in attendance, and joys and concerns. You will be able to share joys and concerns much as we have done in virtual services, and those attending in person will be able to see and hear you—Zoom will be projected on the screen in the sanctuary. Attending virtually or in person, you will see and hear, and be seen and be heard.
Please review the Indoor Hybrid Meeting Policy. We will take attendance at the door, wear masks, and keep distance. You will also receive a color-coded name tag to designate your comfort level.