Ponderings of our Spiritual Life Director 7-8-24

I really enjoyed our breakfast cereal worship yesterday! The conversations were grrreat!

I’m sorry so many of you missed out, but it seems that between folks traveling, so many of you getting COVID (and other viruses), and whatever else life has thrown at you, we are down quite a few people! In fact, the entire tech team and the hospitality team were out. Thank you to the worship team for pulling it all together! Please take care of yourselves, and let me know if you need anything. We are a caring community!

If you missed out, here is an excerpt from the breakfast cereal service:

New Article II wording: Love is the power that holds us together and is at the center of our shared values. We are accountable to one another for doing the work of living our shared values through the spiritual discipline of Love.

What can a spiritual discipline of Love look like? Love, of course, requires others. And it requires more than just feeling like we love others, a spiritual discipline of Love requires action. Love shows up in the ways we are understanding and compassionate towards others. Love shows up when we are supportive and walk the path of justice together. Love especially shows up when we weave our lives together, learning and creating a more harmonious beauty, a more joyful way for all of us to be together.

The ways of love will show up as we Cocreate and joy will weave its way into our hearts.

The assignment:

Welcome to the Adventure of the Universe,

where there are many ways of being and knowing!

Today is a fun exploration of different ways to live and love.

Pick one of the options below. Then find that table (and your fellow travelers), have a seat, relax, and contemplate how the path of fill-in-the-blank with the cereal slogan you chose can help you create a spiritual discipline of Love.

  • Snap, Crackle, Pop (Rice Krispies)
  • Brings out the Tiger in you! (Frosted Flakes)
  • Find the Loopy Side (Fruit Loops)
  • Back to Nature (Grape Nuts)
  • Always Heart Healthy (Cheerios)
  • Magically Delicious (Lucky Charms)

Today is all about having fun and being creative.

It is about imagining the ways of love together.

It is about faith, love, and possibility.

It is about engaging in Spiritual Play and Co-Creating the Sacred together!

So what did we come up with?

Snap, Crackle, and Pop are the holy trinity of breakfast cereals! We have to listen closely to hear the snap, crackle, and pops, just like we have to listen closely to one another to make a connection! And maybe all those snaps, crackles, and pops are the sounds of the universe bubbling up and letting us know we are all connected.

Frosted Flakes “bring out the tiger in you” and that’s what we need in this world to raise our voices of love and do the work of justice!

Finding the loopy side while enjoying those Fruit Loops means being our authentic selves so we can connect with others in the community.

Getting back to nature means getting back to Co-Creating because that’s what nature is all about!

Always keeping our hearts healthy can mean taking care of our physical selves so we can better help others. It can also mean keeping it healthy with love so that we can connect with others in compassionate ways.

And finally, our littlest ones (Cali and Presley) say eating Lucky Charms is magically delicious because they are yummy and they make them happy : ) Happy kids, happy congregation!