During session six, on Sunday, March 23 at 11:30, we will focus on covenanting with Interdependence and Pluralism. We will learn about processes of reconciliation as methods of strengthening our covenants around these UU values. Being in Beloved Community is not easy, but the good news is that the work to repair and bring peace to the world can begin with your willingness to engage in the process of reconciliation.

Reconciliation is a healing process of strengthening connections. As we expand our sense of interdependence, we will explore how the rifts of separation and exploitation affect the protection of the Earth and all beings. As we expand our understanding of pluralism, we will explore how to weave our lives together through the metaphor of a web.

As we continue to explore, I invite you to envision weaving a larger web. Connect to your inner wisdom as a path to embracing a wider expanse of communities. Feel your heart softening and allowing in these connections to nature and one another.

Resources:

  • Read at least one of these chapters from Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World by Karen Armstrong.
    • Chapter 1: “Mythos and Logos” begins on page 20.
      Chapter 2: “Sacred Nature”  begins on page 29. 
    • Chapter 10: “Concentric Circles” begins on page 146.
  • Read at least one of these chapters from Beyond Welcome: Building Communities of Trust edited by Linnea Nelson.
    •  “Built Through Trust” by Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti p. 1.
    • “Beyond the ‘Both/And’” by Rev. Leslie Takahashi p. 43.
    • “Ecstasy in Arab Musical Spaces” by Rev. Summer Albayati  p. 69.
  • “Wherever You Are, Find A Trail” by Ingrid Goff-Maidoff from her website “Tending Joy.” Ingrid attended the UU society in Vineyard Haven when she lived nearby. Permission granted by the poet to print.
  • “Spending Time in a Forest Can Boost Health and Lower Stress” NPR, October 24. 2023. Both text and audio are available through the link. 
  • “FORUM 2021 Keynote Address: Indigenous Wisdom Regarding the Future” by Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan who also serves as a Member Chief of the Onondaga Council of Chiefs and the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Haudenosaunee Peoples