Warm Reminders:

* With the change of the clock, Our Spirit of Life Eucharist time has moved to 4pm on Sundays through the winter months until the clocks change again in March.

* In this month of November, when we our especially mindful of our loved ones who have died, we invite you to inscribe the names of your loved ones in our Book of Remembrance which we will place on the altar at the offertory.

Dear Holy Ones of The Spirit of Life, 

As you may remember, the readings at the end of the liturgical year/beginning of advent are usually about the end of the world . What is the end of your world? For some people the end of the world was Trump being elected. For others, the end of the world was Obama being elected. On a more deeply personal note, for others the end of the world was the death of a beloved partner. For others,

the end of the world was a relationship that failed. For some the experience of suffering abuse ~ physical, emotional, or sexual has brought an end to the world as they knew it. Jan Richardson has a beautiful blessing prayer that whatever burden you are carrying will not “fix it….nor mend you” but will “simply sit itself beside you in the shards….gathering itself about you as the world begins again.” We find it brings a ray of hope, and share it here for your reflection. 

Blessing When the World is Ending

Look, the world
is always ending
somewhere.

Somewhere
the sun has come
crashing down.

Somewhere
it has gone
completely dark.

Somewhere
it has ended
with the gun,
the knife,
the fist.

Somewhere
it has ended
with the slammed door,
the shattered hope.

Somewhere
it has ended
with the utter quiet
that follows the news
from the phone,
the television,
the hospital room.

Somewhere
it has ended
with a tenderness
that will break
your heart.

But, listen,
this blessing means
to be anything
but morose.
It has not come
to cause despair.

It is simply here
because there is nothing
a blessing
is better suited for
than an ending,
nothing that cries out more
for a blessing
than when a world
is falling apart.

This blessing
will not fix you,
will not mend you,
will not give you
false comfort;
it will not talk to you
about one door opening
when another one closes.

It will simply
sit itself beside you
among the shards
and gently turn your face
toward the direction
from which the light
will come,
gathering itself
about you
as the world begins
again.

—Jan Richardson ©
from Circle of Grace

This blessing by Jan Richardson says that in the midst of the world ending, we are not alone. God quietly comes in and faithfully sits with us—the message is: we will get through this together. Others sometimes need for God to have a face, a voice, a hug. Joan Chittister has a wonderful challenge for us: “The point of prayer is not to spend our prayer life begging for ourselves but to turn into the Jesus figures that answer the prayers of others.” Do you know someone who is lonely, heart-broken, worried, despairing? Sit with them, listen to them, value them, let them know that they are not alone. That is how we get through the ends of the world we all experience.

At The Spirit of Life, we work together in prayer and companionship to loosen the attitudes and brokenness which can hold us bound. We believe that God’s desire for us is that we be “Whole” and thus “Holy”… full of life , unfettered by life-destroying prejudices and free to move openly as the Spirit calls us. Our belief in the sacredness of all created beings and loving relationships compels us to respond with care and compassion to all who are marginalized in our church and world. We invite you to come and to pray with us as we “do our own work” in growing into a deeper awareness of our own gifts and ‘growing edges’ and together create a community that invites diversity and honors the uniqueness of each individual and every journey. We are confident that you will feel welcome in the “home” of The Spirit of Life. 

Praying for you the blessings of breathing together, con-spiring as we become what we pray,

Ron & Jean