R is for Ritual

We might light a candle in memory or protest, or blow them out with a wish.
We might bow our heads and close our eyes, or open them wide and drink in the presence of those sharing a table with us.
We might belt out a favorite anthem in our sanctuary… or at the seventh-inning stretch.
We might dance in an ancient ceremony… or in our kitchen, amid a sink full of dishes.
We might toss dirt into the grave of a beloved, watering the earth with our tears, or laugh in comedy club basements, eking out joy amid life’s absurdities.
We might put dreams-to-paper at daybreak, or review the day’s joys and sorrows at dusk.
We might join our voices in rhythmic prayer, or a nightly whisper of love as we tuck-in and turn off lights.

Rituals, however we practice them, fill the texture of our days with meaning, punctuating the ordinary with practices that offer windows into transcendence and “connect head and heart” (as Dr. Lisa Miller put it in her book The Spiritual Child, which a group in the church recently read together).

Throughout October, we’ll explore “Ritual” as our worship theme. Our community church is alive with a veritable smorgasbord of rituals – some thousands of years old (think communion or baptism, which will bookend this month’s worship services), others being created together anew (kids making art out of nature! new groups forming new connections!). What a gift to do life together in a community with a rich symbolic vocabulary, a treat for the senses, mind and soul.

What ritual rhythms are guidings your days, or are you longing for? What makes your spirit sing, or dance, or breathe a little easier? No matter how you greet the holy, whether in meditation or practice rooms, quiet walks or group trips to UU Urban Ministry (Oct 6!) or Farrington Nature Linc (Oct 26!)… we hope you feel held by the holy, body and soul.

Blessings,
Kit and Nate

Women Mystics

February 25 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Atheists & Other Seekers

February 27 @ 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

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