Our Third Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations
I started in a covenant group when the practice first came to TJMC. I was eager to participate in the topics and make new friends. The challenge for me was to make “I” statements. I could easily rake through my family’s oral history to find worthwhile contributions, but my own life experience seemed rather barren to me. I came to realize that I didn’t see my own life as a story worth telling.
With the experience of speaking from my own experience, I began to see a shape to my journey and my own life as a full human experience. When I said something heartfelt or difficult, I felt support and often saw my feelings reflected and amplified by others in the group.
As I learned to reveal myself in the small group environment, I grew in my sense of being worthy and whole. Then I could open myself to new experiences and learnings in our church home and elsewhere in my life. Covenant groups have continued to be a major part of my spiritual journey.
–Ann Salamini
Dream Quest was something I had wished to do and had not been able to pull off attending in prior years. This past year was an extremely challenging year for me in many areas of my life. In 2015, I made Dream Quest a priority.
I needed the opportunity to care for myself in the presence of other women and have time for reflection, creativity, tears, and laughter. Dream Quest far surpassed my expectations and I have told others that while it might not have saved my life last year, it certainly saved my soul.
Dream Quest was awe inspiring. The church was magical with quiet meditative spaces, labyrinth walking, singing in the sanctuary, creative experiences, and small group gatherings. The small groups were based on which spirit animal we each chose. The idea is that the spirit animal chooses you—you get what you need. My spirit animal was certainly what I needed as a guide in my life over this last year. When things got rocky, I would remember the Turtle’s strength and ability to be grounded and protective. The duality of the turtle who can live in land and water was a lesson I learned over and over again—learning to accept and embrace “both—and” instead of a “yes—but” thinking was key in providing acceptance for the good and bad in my life. It was the best worst year of my life. Dream Quest and TJMC gave me some of the best moments of growth, strength and clarity.
–Anonymous