Full Church

Joy. Rage. Love. Despair. Ecstasy. Hope. Anxiety. Shame. Grief. Attraction. Curious. Playful. Peace.

Emotions are sneaky, inefficient, disruptive–they can pull us under or allow us to fly – and feelings are real. You have them, and so does every single other person around you. So many of us have learned that emotions need to be denied or controlled – that emotions do not hold value or meaning. But what if just the opposite were true? Showing up in our bodies – the tightness in your stomach, the heat in your palms, the openness in your chest – emotions are some of our closest teachers waiting (and sometimes demanding) to be acknowledged.

The irony of this age of e-connectivity is that people are more isolated than ever. Social fragmentation is on the rise, just when we most need one another. In this service, we'll use a Buddhist story to explore the various 'roles' we humans play in troubled times, and how essential our willingness to risk being vulnerable with one another is to our very survival.

Relationships are hard.  Relationships in community can be harder still. When being invited into richer, more vulnerable connections with one another, hurts inevitably happen.  Finding our way back to real repair requires more than a simple apology.  In her book, On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg explores the writings of the medieval philosopher Maimonides. Maimonides laid out a very specific process for moving from brokenness to repair -- a process, she says, that could help untangle the most challenging of interpersonal struggles and international disputes.

Heidi Todd, Amy Self and newcomer Joshua Robinson will explore the transformational relationship of art and spiritual experience. Movement, Music and Poetry will be the themes, with participation by the congregation. Jack Doggett will serve as worship leader, with music by Austin Skeffington, Paula Staffeldt and Clint Brown.

Are borders helpful or a hindrance? Can we see beyond what divides us to what makes us whole?