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.

* This Sunday we invite you to join us for our First Sunday of Advent Eucharist with meditative music and lighting of the Advent wreath.

Dear Holy Ones of The Spirit of Life,

Do you have an economy of scarcity or an economy of abundance?

In my (Ron) own prayer life I am feeling more and more moved to pray, “Loving God, may every breath I breathe be a thank you for all the blessings that you shower on me.” 

You are probably familiar with Oprah’s attitude of gratitude and her counsel to keep a gratitude journal and write down five things that you are grateful for every day. She sees the writing down as being important—that engraves the blessings on our heart. Deepak Chopra states that gratitude causes a biochemical change in the body: the brain responds to positive input and sends life-enhancing messages to every cell. In the Letter to the Colossians (3:12-17) Paul invites us to make gratitude a way of life, a way of being in the world: dedicate yourselves to thankfulness. Whatever you do in word or action, do it with a grateful heart. May every breath I breathe be a thank you for all the blessings You have showered on me. 

I find myself lately being grateful for mystery: how many stars are there out there, many that I can’t even see? how did this event, relationship, loss, etc.) get here? What does it mean? It expands my curiosity, my wonder, my awe. When I don’t know, when I am not in control, it teaches me something about myself, about God. It is freeing…I don’t have to know.

The best way of saying thank you is to use the gift well—to pass it on! Gifts are given for the community. I think that we can have one of two ways of facing life. We can have either an economy of scarcity or an economy of abundance. The people who fear the immigrants at the border and say if we let them in, there will not be enough for us: they will take our jobs, they will take desks in our schools, they will take beds in our hospital—there won’t be enough for us—that is an economy of scarcity—it is based on fear.

God, however, has an economy of abundance. When Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes, there are 12 baskets left over. When Jesus changes water into wine, he changes 150 gallons into wine.  God enjoys lavishing blessings on us abundantly, unconditionally and says the gifts are not just for you, pass them on. When we share our gifts, pass on our life-wisdom, we are all enriched: that is God’s economy of abundance. I find myself lately being grateful for each other, for the Communion of Saints. I don’t feel inspired every moment but when I see Greta Thunberg putting an invitation on the internet: can anyone give me a carbon-free ride back to Europe and an Australian family invites her to ride their catamaran with them to Europe, that inspires me, fortifies my own way of being in the world. I find myself grateful for the Communion of Saints—it’s all part of God’s economy of abundance—passing it on, supporting one another. We bring each other home together. May every breath I breathe be a thank you for all the blessings you shower on me.

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. 

In this week of Giving Thanks, we want to tell you how deeply grateful we are to each of you for your presence in our lives!  We wish each of you abundant blessings and a feast of love on Thanksgiving Day!

Ron & Jean