Unless you know me personally, you probably don’t know that from September through the first week in June, on alternate Sundays, I am the children’s Relegious Education Coordinator for the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of the Chesapeake. Am finishing up my third year. I love it!
The thing about the UUs is that they believe that each person is free to choose his or her own spiritual beliefs and practices. That leaves it wide open for me to teach. We base our teachings on the 7 Principles: last year, “each person is important” (the first principle), and this year “we care for earth’s lifeboat (the 7th principle).
This past Sunday none of the kids showed up. What are the chances? So my associate RE Coordinator and I got to stay for a lovely service. We have never had that opportunity and of course it made me wonder what message I was receiving that this special opportunity arose.
I’m not sure the message was for me (although I absolutely love what I”m sharing). So perhaps it is for you, something you’ve been thinking about or searching for. Or maybe it’s just chance. How does one every know?
These are responsive calls….said in unison, they become very powerful and meditative.
First “Responsive Call to Worship:”
One: These are the days that have been given to us.
All: Le us rejoice and be glad in them.
One: these are te days that have been given to us.
All: Let us live them well in love and service.
One: These are the days that have been given to us.
All: Let us make of them stories worth remembering by those who come after us.
(isn’t that a lovely concept? Making of our days stories worth remembering?)
Second “Responsive Reading”
One: All our lives we are in need and others are in need of us.
All: We need one another when we mourn and would be comforted.
One: We need one another when we are in trouble and afraid.
All: We need one another when we are in despair, in temptation and need to be recalled to our best selves again.
One: We need one another when we would accomplish some great purpose and cannot do it alone.
All: We need one another in the hour of success, when we look for someone to share our triumphs.
One: We need one another in the hour of defeat, when with encouragement we might endure and stand again.
All: We need one another when we come to die, and would have gentle hands prepare us for the journey.
One: All our lives we are in need and others are in need of us.
If you read here much, you know about the ArtGalPals that I hang out with who support each other in our art and lives. Well, in the last several months I have grown close to two amazing women whom I know only from on-line. We support each other in our daily lives – and p.m. daily. It’s like being a teenager and attached to the phone (ok, my phone was also attached to a wall which dates me) but better. We have so many life experiences to draw from and share for problem solving and brainstorming. And we all (I hope) have that one special friend who is also our mentor (I am blessed with so many friends – I truly am!)
For business (and personal)there is Southern Maryland Women in Business – an amazing group I’ve been participating in for close to 3 years now. They heard my first declaration about being a real estate mogul (I’ll have to write more on that later) and have seen that dream blossom. They believed it for me when I could just say it with a giggle, thinking : What am I thinking? Who Am I Fooling?
This is community. It is high on list of absolutely necessary things for a life that is full and serene.
Need to find your community? Check out “13 Ways to Find Your Tribe” and earlier blog of mine.
Here’s to girlfriends – may we long be connected!
