We are all longing to go home to some place we have never been – a place half-remembered and half-envisioned we can only catch glimpses of from time to time. Community. Somewhere, there are people to whom we can speak with passion without having the words catch in our throats. Somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power. Community means strength that joins our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. 

A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free.   ~ Starhawk

Dear ones, 

We are living in an intense and complicated time, but perhaps it has always felt like that for those who have lived before us, long before us. As long as there have been human beings, I imagine there has always been loss and struggle balanced with joy and kindness, and community. There has always been community and beyond the human family, there are communities that exist within the animal and bird, fish and reptile worlds, the living world of plants and trees, oceans and stone. Relationships that evolve and move and change. What does it mean to be part of a community? Starhawk offers that “somewhere a circle of hands will open to receive us, eyes will light up as we enter, voices will celebrate with us whenever we come into our own power.” 

Community is a place to find and remember our own strength, to extend and share our own compassion and a place where we can be free. This freedom she writes of, freedom to find and be our true selves; a freedom to discover what is uniquely ours to offer, and what might our community be able to offer and share. And she is offering a reminder that here might be a place to come into our own power. This power, to speak from our hearts, to exercise our strength, to support each other and to move beyond All Souls to be the embodiment of community, this is power we can nurture.

Soulmatters theme for November invites us to explore “The Practice of Repair” and I imagine that along the journey to finding our own freedom, and power, a practice of healing and repair aids in this exploration. What relationships, perceptions or fears need to be repaired and how might we engage in this practice? 

My dear mother died a week ago, and I grieve her physical presence, her smile and the quiet “I love you” she could still say. The journey of caring for her and grieving who she had been as dementia claimed more and more of her mind has been a long one. But I feel grateful that I was able to care for her, to love her, to have moments of joy and laughter. This time is one of healing and repair, healing memories that might still hold pain or regret, mending images that were harsh, bringing into my heart for both my father and mother, the teachings they gave me. Grieving is repairing. I am deeply grateful to this dear community that I serve for your companionship on this journey of these past two years. This is a time of giving thanks, and offering gratitude for our community, our dear earth which continues to nourish and sustain us, and to use our strength to offer healing, to nurture peace and to embrace precious moments we are given every day. 

With Love, Rev. Telos

Today, we’re thankful for you and what you bring to our church.

Your spirit, talents, generosity, imagination, and dedication reaffirm our fellowship and create our Beloved Community. Our heartfelt thanks to you on this day and for all days to come.

For those who embrace Thanksgiving as a day to honor the gifts of family, friendship, abundance, security, we celebrate with you and join our voices to hold aloft all sacred blessings.

For those who hold Thanksgiving as a day of sadness, who mourn for the hurt and loss of native peoples, who are lonely, who grieve the loss of those dear and beloved, we hold your heartache and sorrow so you do not have to carry the burden alone.

Blessings be upon you. 

~ Gwen Matthews