(thanks, as always, to Carol Wolf for the graphic)
I’m planning “The Joy of Generosity” with these aims: 1) to support our pledge drive, 2) to challenge each of us to give more of ourselves to the project that is USR, and 3) to do it with such a light touch that we leave more joyous than we arrived. The service will follow our familiar outline, WITH SOME DIFFERENCES.
We’ll have Ron’s friend (and ours) guest pianist and baritone Michael Caldwell bringing joyful music. Erin Mickelwaite and her daughter Ellie will be lighting the chalice, elevating the youthful spirit of Sunday. I’ll be inviting a “Time for All Ages” to ask, “What Can You Do with a Dollar?” And there’ll be some serendipitously delightful surprises!
You’ll be asked not just to wear a name tag, but to ask at least one person about their name. Sample questions: What does your name mean? Do you like it? Has it changed? Were you named for someone?
The focus will be a reading on generosity from Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World (pp. 149-51), by the Dalai Lama.
If we had time on Sunday, I’d play this video with Tara Bach interviewing Valarie Kaur. Since we don’t, I’m linking it here for anyone who might be interested: https://www.youtube.com/embed/MhHhwiIlx0c Back in December, in the winter of our discontent, Valarie and Tara set out a vision that can guide us forward with joy! (I’ll be using Valarie’s teaching from her site Revolutionary Love in our meditation.)
The Sunday Order of Service is coming together (click here), and you’ll find links there to learn more about what’s coming. But I confess, I’m holding back some of the best delights. You’ll have to be present (in Anderson or on Zoom).
If you’d like to go even deeper, take 15 minutes to watch this video on Dana Paramita. It is from the last day of the 21-day retreat I attended in 1998 at St. Michael’s College in Vermont. If you’ve ever wondered why I smile so much, you’ll understand that it’s a gift I was given by Thich Nhat Hanh!
The joyous service starts at 10 a.m. in Anderson or on Zoom.
–Jack Lohr
