“When we feel joy, we don’t simply feel delight in one tiny piece of the world; we feel welcomed back in – connected once again to the whole.”
Susan Arnold
Joy can be found by opening oneself up to all that surrounds us. For years, I have had a ritual I call my “day-maker”, an image or a sound or a smell that I call up throughout the day as a calming meditation. Each morning I wait for some small delight to capture in my mind –
- a woodchuck scurrying across the field with an apple in its mouth
- the phoebe calling to its mate
- the geese with their long necks stretched keeping watch over their chicks as they chomp on my lawn
- the mist lifting off the lake
- the pungent aroma of geraniums
- the splash of a fish jumping and the expanding circle of ripples
- the young deer looking back at me
- the languorous gliding of the blue heron over the water
- the softness of the cat purring in my lap
Some are singular events, some recur, and some are recalled when needed. But all welcome me and connect me to the joyous whole.
Find joy each day. Happy summer.
Vicki Merriam, Director of Religious Education
RE CALENDAR
6/4 – RE classes – Animal Blessing Day; animal related activities for children followed by an Animal Blessing Ceremony for everyone at 11:30 in side yard. Bring your pet (properly restrained) or a photo or other symbol to represent a pet of wild animal.
6/11 – Chapel Sunday, “Joyful Gathering”, final RE gathering for this year
6/19 – Multigenerational Worship Service, Flower Communion: bring a cut flower to place in our vases for part of the ceremony.
We resume our RE program and regular worship services on September 10th. Check out this space and the Religious Education section for specific details in August.
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