Dear Ones,
I actually bristle at that salutation—dear ones. But I can’t help myself; it is the only way I can begin this column. You see, I’m still reeling from a recent experience. After the holiday service, I had to pull over on a gravel road on the way home because I was sobbing. This is rare for me, and not something I expected. It happens when something touches my heart so deeply that I purge a grief or sadness that has been lingering. It heals it all the way through. Was it the haunting music contrasted by the beauty of the dancing snowflakes during a perilous journey of the skiers? Was it the solstice spiral, effervescent with the everlasting green of needles? Was it the conversations or new connections?
The candles spanning from wall to wall at the conclusion? The 2023 holiday service volunteer hours and various contributions are too numerous to list here, but it’s safe to say, this is the power and promise of a spiritual community. Dear ones, I hope this fellowship offers the kind of hope and inspiration for you as it has for me.
I know there is a gap between services and many programs from December to January. May this provide ample time for reflection and to digest some of the connections and insights made in 2023 so they can be transformed into energy and awareness. Sending you blessings for the New Year and all the promise that flourishes when we take that which has been and marry it to that which may be, and find peace in the present moment.
—In communion, Stacy