A Weekend Review, with Loving Words

What a great coffee house with our youth Friday night! I wasn't there all the way to the end, but it got off to a great start. Very cool to hear Sharon Williams and Daniel Karnes give a reading of CeCe's poem that I posted here Thanksgiving Day. I was inspired by everyone who shared their voices and talents with us. Together, we raised $500 for the youth's trips to Boston, New Orleans and Phoenix ... all coming up this spring and summer! Let's do as much as we can to help all these activities of our young people go well.

I'm still left with a deep impression of the creativity and entrepreneurship of the members and friends of UUCA after Saturday and Sunday's Mistletoe Mall. What beautiful jewelry, fabrics, pottery, photography, painting, crafts ... and the food looked good, too!

There was a lot of love in the air Sunday morning with Rev. Michael's Big Question sermon, "Is Love All We Need?" The music of Hearts of Sound, the youth choir and the Second Street Singers all supported the theme. At the end of the second service, Rev. Michael encougaged each of us to say "I love you" to at least five people during this week. He was inviting us to expand that affirmation from the realm of the our closest and most intimate connections to include all of humankind. As I was greeting people in the receiving line after the service, there were many "I love yous" exchanged.  One person smiled and said, "Everybody's saying their 'I love yous' now so they can get them out of the way. Where we really need them is outside the church!"

I agree. So though I said I love you to maybe 100 people yesterday, I am taking it upon myself to say it to at least 10 people outside UUCA. I'm thinking about people that I know, who I might not see or speak to often, but for whom hearing 'I love you' from me would occur as a gift. And it is the season of giving, isn't it?

Here is a version of the Embracing Meditation from yesterday, which was based on Michael's sermon:

Spirit of Life, in which we live and breathe and have our being, we are grateful for all the love in our lives this day. We are grateful for the love of our families, our friends and our children. We are grateful for the love of our ancestors, and our love for those who will come after us. We know our own flaws full well, and those of the people we love. Help us to be forgiving of ourselves and each other when we fail to be loving, kind and generous. Help us remember the spark of the divine in each of us. May we be teachers of love to all around us. May we find all we need in this present moment. May we help each other trust in this present moment, these present breaths ... these fleeting heartbeats. Help us remember that we are surrounded by love everywhere we may go. And may we embrace our power, our ability to act on our compassion as it expands outward. And so it is.