The Coffee House - the UU Fellowship Thread (churches, experience)

[Green Gaia]

Well, as David likes to remind us, Heretic means "one who chooses" so it's all good.

BTW, welcome back David!

[Green Gaia]

For the Unitarian villages in Transylvania and everyone effected in Europe by the recent flooding.

Prayer In a Time of Flash Floods

By Rev. Olivia Holmes

To everything there is a season
The ancient prayer of comfort says.

In the Unitarian villages of Transylvania
This is a time of weeping,
A time of mourning,
A time of dying
It is a time of loss, of grieving, of despair.

A wall of water – sweet life-giving water –
More than the earth can bear or hold
Rises beyond endurance
Sweeps through the valley
And leaves no home unhurt.
It is a time of loss, of grieving, of despair.

Some beloved ones are gone with the water
For mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters
It is a time of loss, of grieving, of despair

The crops are ruined
The livestock have died
Barns and houses are barren
There is no food, no feed
No supplies for the winter
No road or rail for help
It is a time of loss, of grieving, of despair

Great Spirit of Life, O Living Loving God
Bless us all who are left behind
With a will to live, to build, to rekindle
The flame that has died.
Bless us with a spirit of embracing,
There is so much grief to embrace
Bless us with the power to sow
New crops, new lives, new hope.

For everything there is a season,
Let this be a season for love that can heal.

[Green Gaia]

Meditation - by Sam Trumbore

I invite you now into a time of
gratitude, reflection, renewal and hope.

What an unearned blessing
To delight in the calming blue of these walls;
to hear the robin’s song again at daybreak;
to feel the warmth in this room and
to enjoy the promise of summer almost upon us.
Each moment of wakefulness has so many gifts
that offer energy and delight.

Yet, too often they seem unavailable
as the weight of our troubles press down on us.
The threats to our well being, real or exaggerated,
feel like mosquitoes in the night looking for a place
to land.
Minds become captive to rising flood waters
forceful, murky, threatening and ominous.

Even in moments of great danger,
the direction of attention is a choice.
Fear can dominate the mind
binding it like a straitjacket.
Or love can unbind it and open it
to resource and opportunity.
The soil of the mind can be watered with kindness.
The thorns can be removed one by one
to allow another close enough
to appreciate the buds ready to flower.

Great possibilities await us
even if all we can see is the cliff before us.
The grandeur of life, of which we are a part,
scatters rainbows in every direction,
even as the deluge approaches.
Holding reality and possibility together
Is the holy hope filled work of humanity

If … we choose it, again and again, in love.

[Bennettresearch]

Hi Maize. I am from (gasp) Seattle. I don't drink Starbucks! does that make me a heretic? Having a cup of Cafe Vienna here, couldn't make it through the day without it.
I guess I misunderstood what UU was. I though it said Yoohoo. I confess that being a non-sectarian that I am not very knowledgeable about UU. I am not a church goer because I spend a lot of time studying on the subject of prophecies and don't have much time. My viewpoint is however, that any congregation that works to enlighten the spirit and provides a loving atmosphere is a really good thing and I am happy that you have found that.

[Green Gaia]

Hello Bennettresearch! No, Starbucks here! Strictly freetrade (ok, mine is anyway you all drink what you want ). Thank you for your kind words about UU. Working to enlighten the spirit and providing a loving atmosphere for all is what we're about! I'm very happy to have found a place too.

[Davidium]

Hip hip horray, I finally have an internet connection for during the late nights at the RC shelter.

I also drink only Equal Exchange... I assume that is your Fair Trade of choice Maize...

Thank you for your comments on UU. I still thing the church would be better served to change our name to the "Church of All Souls"

David

[Green Gaia]

"Church of All Souls" is growing on me too. But an across the board change seems unlikely. I wonder how many would support the change?

[Green Gaia]

I Look to Thee in Every Need

I look to Thee in every need, and never look in vain;
I feel Thy strong and tender love, and all is well again.
The thought of Thee is mightier far than sin and pain and sorrow are.

Discouraged in the work of life, disheartened by its load,
Shamed by its failures or its fears, I sink beside the road.
But let me only think of Thee and then new heart springs up in me.

Thy calmness bends serene above, my restlessness to still;
Around me flows Thy quickening life, to nerve my faltering will.
Thy presence fills my solitude, Thy providence turns all to good.

Enfolded deep in Thy dear love, held in Thy law, I stand;
Thy hand in all things I behold, and all things in Thy hand.
Thou leadest me by unsought ways, and turn my mourning into praise.

Samuel Longfellow, Unitarian