Leia Durland-Jones,
Director of Faith Development
Last Saturday May 2 was World Labyrinth Day! The church’s Labyrinth Ministry often joins this annual celebration by holding a walk on our outdoor labyrinth. This year, we could not gather. The pandemic, of course, altered our plans as well as the plans of many labyrinth enthusiasts around the globe.
The Labyrinth Society created an online experience and there were many wonderful offerings available virtually. World Labyrinth Day was celebrated in a new and different way even if we couldn’t walk our labyrinth together. And, it was sad that those of us who wanted to share this day could not gather together.
There have been and continue to be many significant as well as everyday events that are now postponed or canceled. The disappointment is real. The sadness is with us. There is also a general fatigue that comes with our day-to-day living during a pandemic. While we know that death, illness, income loss, food insecurity, and other facets of this time are truly devastating, it is important to remember that it is okay to acknowledge our own losses whatever they may be. It is also okay to grieve losses that we may feel are insignificant in light of what others are carrying or facing. Give yourself and those you love permission to grieve the large and the everyday losses. Give yourself and those you love permission to grieve the milestones not celebrated in the ways we might have planned for or dreamed of.
For those missing being with grandchildren in real-time, for those whose graduation from high school or college will have no official ceremony, for those who had planned a special trip that is canceled, for those who are missing playing with friends, for those who have had to make hard choices or decisions, for those who are not able to gather with family and friends to mark the death of a loved one, for those who cannot be with those they love, for those who miss learning in person, for those who had to give something up, for those who are feeling lost and need help finding their way. For each and every loss we are facing, no matter how large or small, how significant or insignificant, may we know that we are held in a larger circle of care and concern and that the joys and sorrows we carry in the sanctuaries of our hearts truly matter. We can feel them, name them, know them, share them if we wish, embrace them and then, if we choose, let them go to be held by the larger love that is holding us all. May you feel the love surrounding and holding you every day.
In faith and with love,
Leia
Leia loves to hear from you. Contact her here.
Words that Nourish, Hymns that Heal
When I was a younger person, I had a spiral bound notebook that I filled with handwritten sayings, quotes and poems that spoke to me. I started this practice in eighth or ninth grade and continued it through college (filling several notebooks.) I would turn to my notebooks whenever I needed a little courage, inspiration, solace or spiritual nourishment. This was, of course, in the days before smartphones and apps that allow so many us to access sources of inspiration with just a few clicks!
As we find ourselves in this difficult time filled with uncertainty, change, grief and loss, I am reminded of the practice of keeping quotes/poems and think it might be a helpful thing to start again. There is something about writing the words in my own handwriting and collecting them in one place to have and read that is soothing. I find it is also helpful to have a quote, poem prayer or hymn that I carry in my heart and can speak aloud or silently when I need a little something to help me through a tough moment. Teaching our children prayers, poems or hymns that they can carry in their hearts can be gifts they call on throughout their lives.
One prayer that I turn to often is a classic that many of us know—”The Serenity Prayer” by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. I find this to be an especially helpful prayer to carry in my heart and say when I am feeling overwhelmed:
God*, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Singing hymns or chants is also something that helps me re-center myself. I find the hymn “Mediation on Breathing” to be very grounding and also I often sing to myself “Spirit of Life.” There is a hymn that I find deeply moving, helpful and healing that is not in our hymnal entitled “There is a Love.” It is written by Unitarian Universalists Elizabeth Norton and Rebecca Parker. We were learning it this year in Children’s Worship. I want to share it with you via this link where you can hear members of the UU Musicians Network singing and see the music and lyrics. My hope is that this hymn might be a balm for all of our souls. We will be singing “There is a Love” in our online Family Worship services this spring.
In this time of stress and challenge, may you and those you love find sayings, poems, prayers or hymns that help sustain, nourish and heal you. If you would like to share these words and songs with me, I would love to hear them and add them to my new notebook.
In faith and with love, Leia