From the Minister, Apr 29

The joint Earth Day service that brought all five Westchester UU Congregations together in our sanctuary was wonderful! I loved the energy -- the choirs and other music, the togetherness, the sharing of worship with other ministers.

I expected that it would be a great service. I have to admit, though, that it took more work to organize and plan than I expected. I was all, like, "Everybody come! What could possibly go wrong?"

It turns out there were a lot more things than I was imagining that could have gone wrong. None of them did -- and that's because our CUUC Board noticed better than I did all the matters to which would have to be attended. A special telephone-conference board meeting raised a number of concerns, and, to make sure they were addressed, Chris Kortlandt, Paula Meighan, and Adine Usher stepped forward, volunteering to constitute a Board Subcommittee to coordinate with the other congregations and certain of our own members. They put in tremendous work to make sure everything went smoothly, and I am deeply and humbly grateful.

In the service, my homily focused on "Attention" as a spiritual path. But it was the attentions that had already been given by Chris, Paula, and Adine that made it all possible. Thank you!

So what do you think? Shall we do it again next year?

Yours Gratefully,
Meredith

In case you missed it . . .

Our Earth Day service -- a gala joint service with all five Westchester UU congregations -- was live streamed through Facebook. The video remains up on our CUUC Facebook page: CLICK HERE

The Liberal Pulpit. The Liberal Pulpit is a YouTube Channel HERE! Videos include the sermons starting on Feb 25.

New this week: "Market Harms and Market Benefits"
"Earth Day Attention"
"Practices for Paying Attention to Money"
"The Pleasure and Pain of Wandering"

Index of past sermons: HERE. Index of other reflections: HERE.



Practice of the Week. Exercise. A spiritual practice is any regular, intentional activity that serves to significantly deepen the quality and content of your relationship with the miracle of life. For me, running is a spiritual practice that connects me in deep, satisfying, and enriching ways with myself, other people, my world, and the day.






Zen Practice at CUUC: Sat Apr 28
One afternoon, after the Tallspruce group hiked over to Lowridge for berries, Black Bear said to Raven, "This is my last get-together before I retire for the winter. There is something I want to ask. I dream a lot when I'm hibernating. Do Zen masters dream?" Raven said, "Higgledy-piggledy." Black Bear chuckled. "My dreams are like that, too -- all confused!" Raven said, "Not...READ MORE...





Minister's Tuesday Coffee Chat. I'm at a coffee shop (almost) every Tuesday from 3-5pm. I invite you to drop by and chat.
May: Red Mango, 1924 Palmer Ave, Larchmont. (A departure from coffee -- let's try a fruit smoothie!)







NOTES

• The two Common Reads for 2017-18: HERE.
• Of particular note, regarding Centering: See recommended reading HERE.
• On the Journey, April: Faith. HERE.
• Sun Apr 29. A SPECIAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING HAS BEEN CALLED! See details HERE.