On atmosphere during the service

This thought has been going through my mind for a few years now but just in the last two days I realized I have thought enough about it to tell or ask other people as well. I would actually love to hear from others how they perceive the so called "intangible" aspects (in terms of the five senses) of our Services whether they are sitting in the Congregation, celebrating the Act of Consecration of Man or serving at the Alter on either side. For myself I do not "see" something other than what is before me every time but sometimes I do very strongly. It could be an elaborative dwelling of thoughts on something mentioned in the Sermon or in the reading of the Gospel or it could be a general perception of a different kind of "light". Before I ever served a few years ago I would sometimes see different forms of "light atmosphere" off and on (no, I am not talking just about how the wisps of smoke from the Censor waft around the Chapel space!) but now while I do try to serve at least once a month I sense this light quite often. It does not even have to be sunny out but if the combination of mood of the day, the floral arrangements and pre-service conversations with other people is good I am often perceptive enough. Then, while serving, the reflections of the candles off of the Chalice and Censor can really heighten the effect. Plus by the time Christmas rolls around and it happens to be one of the late night services, look out, I am prone to get goose bumps! I have heard others talk about how they have sensed a strong Presence, sometimes in connection with a friend or a loved one who has crossed the Threshold. Also, just yesterday, one of my co-workers mentioned how she was sure a certain person I was close to in my family was present during our conversation and even if this person was not strongly connected to our group in Vancouver there was bound to be a higher connection in the current revealing of space and time. She definitely mentioned the feeling of light and mood during the Services in the way it comes to her. So if one of you has more to share on this topic it would be a great way to connect before or after our Celebrations and especially if we happen to have Potluck on that day too!

Movement

The picture above is of a cloud formation called a chinook arch. Note the stunningly beautiful colours, which occur at sunrise and sunset. A chinook is a special wind experienced particularly in southern Alberta, but can be felt as far north as Fort St. John, and as far south as New Mexico. It's warm air coming in from the Pacific Ocean, dumping precipitation on the west side of mountain ranges, and resulting in warm dry air on the east side. A rapid change in temperature results, as much as 100 degrees difference (-50 to +50, recorded in the Black Hills of South Dakota), with winds gusting up to 106 mph. One of the reasons my brother loved Calgary was that they enjoy 30 days of chinook on average over the winter months. They know that unlike the east coast, they do not have to resign themselves to 6 to 8 months of cold weather. Sooner or later, there will be a chinook, melting snow and bringing a feeling of spring if only temporarily. I used to tease him, though, that on the other hand they can also experience a dump of snow pretty much any month of the year, including high summer. In other words, they live in an environment of constant change. In Alberta, the joke goes, if you don't like the weather, just wait a moment.

This is an extreme example of constant movement, involving the 3 elements of wind, earth, water.

Here's a wonderful quotation (from a tango website) I found recently with regard to movement:

Movement is life. Stillness is only a perception. Movement is everything, sound is movement, light is movement, love is movement. To move is leaving a state in order to seek another. It is believing that there is no end, following a path, forever. If we move, our horizon moves, reaching distances we could have never even imagined. In all of us, something always moves. Movement is the essence of being alive, the deep manifestation of living. Where there is movement, there is life.

Through meditation and contemplation, we create stillness, which in turn creates an opportunity for movement.

I am looking forward to Thomas Meyers' lecture tomorrow on meditation and the call of Michael.

Sparky

Invitation to...

Watch your mailboxes in the next week or two, as your board of directors is sending out a very special invitation. Some of you may already have noted it on your calendar. We will be marking the 40th anniversary of the founding of our church on November 5th. This celebration will also be an official fundraiser for the Living Gold 2012 international conference next July. We are very pleased to be able to combine these two events together in such a way.
I noticed that my last blog was called "Giving Birth".
For this one, I would like to talk about the word, "crowning". This is one of those words in the English language that can have a variety of meanings. It can be either an adjective or a verb.
Let's take the adjective first:
Over the past 40 years, we have so far had 4 priests: Rev. Hegg, Rev. Grimm, Rev. Kientzler and Rev. Locey.
I would like to point out that of the 4, Rev. Werner Grimm has served our community for 32 years now, and I feel that our 40th anniversary could be considered his "crowning" achievement, to a great extent. We are very fortunate to have both Werner and Dietmot still participating so actively. Without Dietmot, we would not have home made bread for communion, or flowers gracing our altar so often.
As a verb, particularly on the subject of birth, you also have the term "crowning", which is when the baby's head first makes its appearance. This is the moment when all of a sudden that baby is a living reality. You still don't know anything else about this baby, but you know it is going to be here any minute! This picture can be applied to the 2012 conference. It's getting closer and closer, and one day we will wake up and know that it is almost upon us.
We have our anniversary on the one hand, celebrating all the hard work and support with which our church has been blessed over the years, and on the other hand, the 2012 conference: heralding the beginning of something new for our community.
There is usually a lot of preparation and excitement in a family when a new baby is coming. Friends, relatives, and co-workers all want to get involved. Maybe it involves fixing up a nursery, or helping the mother so she doesn't get too worn out, or making sure all the necessities will be on hand to help the family with unavoidable costs.
As we look back on the 40 years that have already passed, we can also ask ourselves, is all in readiness for what lies ahead? What kind of legacy are we leaving for those who will be coming after us? Is everything neat and tidy and in good repair, or is it all falling apart?
By now you may have noticed the bolding of the number 40. This is because coincidentally, it takes about 40 weeks from the time of conception the birth of a baby, and come to think of it, as of the middle of October, we will have 40 weeks left before the conference!
Let's get ready for that baby.

Sparky

Giving Birth

This week in Washington, DC, the Dalai Lama is hosting a very special 10 day event called a kalachakra, or consciousness raising. The image above is painstakingly created in sand at the beginning of the event, and then dissolved at the end. It's a very solemn, yet at the same time joyous, occasion, filled with hope and promise.

What does raising your consciousness mean, and how do you go about it?

To me, it means breaking through an invisible barrier. We all have things that hold us back: fear, pain, anxiety, anger, the desire or need to hold on to things that are familiar to us, or just stuff in general. That little voice inside your head that tells you, don't do it! We all have stored memories and feelings this little voice brings up when you are faced with making a decision - it's part of who we are up to now. You can suspend or dampen this voice for brief periods of time, but not forever.

But there is another voice that speaks from the heart. It will always tell you the truth. It will always tell you the right thing to do. Being able to examine and transform negative thoughts, memories and feelings helps you to listen more to what is in your heart, waiting to be brought forth. The more you can do this, the more you are able to "raise" your consciousness.

Some people describe it as being "reborn". In a very similar way, it's like being pregnant and giving birth. A baby is a symbol for hope and promise for the future, but to get there, you have to go through a whole lot of changes, some painful, some not. Sometimes that baby just doesn't want to come out! (That would be my first child - 3 weeks late, and 36 hours of labour.) The good news is, you are filled with such gratitude and euphoria when the baby finally arrives, that you forget all about the pain. You forget that by the time you're ready to deliver, you just want to pack up and go home - that's the little voice inside your head. You know it's about persevering and pushing through, because something unimaginably wonderful is waiting.

It's a joy that everyone wants to share in and be a part of.

Do you know the song, I Have a Dream, by ABBA?

Art exchange

Sometime late last year my daughter and one of the companions at Cascadia engaged in an exchange of original art created by themselves. I will give initials only here to respect their privacies. It started out one day with AFL telling me he had made a drawing that he wanted to show me. Then he opened a cupboard door, produced the mixed media drawing shown above and continued: "I made this for your daughter." I'll tell you, I was floored and so was my daughter when I brought the art piece home that evening. She absolutely loved it and right away hung it on the wall at the head end of her bed. Then I got to thinking if my daughter could give something to AFL in return and I thought of a poem she had written a few months before. She didn't think it was that great but everyone we showed it to thought otherwise so we produced a copy and I gave it to AFL the next chance I got. I'm telling you, he was so happy I could see his eyes moistening up on the spot! So here now is the poem which my daughter JAS wrote:

                    Memory
Somewhere out along the sea,
Lives a lonely Memory.
I've seen this Memory once before,
Wading near the ocean's shore.

It glides about just like a bird,
It never stops, or so I've heard.
Folks only know to believe it exists,
Some place far into the mist.

Just last week I stood alone,
Waves rolling in; a bluish tone.
I swear I saw, upon the sea,
A familiar sight, the Memory.

I'm not quite sure if it was that,
But at one time it was here that it sat.
So live a while, and possibly,
You'll come across this Memory.

JAS 2010

from feeling to thought to paper

Here at the Christian Community I think it is fair to say that creative Spirituality is a good part of our social aspect. Past festivals come to mind where we had various workshops of many kinds, poetry contributions from more than several people and a whole assortment of artistic presentations brought forth also with people from Cascadia and the Waldorf School.
Almost exactly two months ago I had a sudden flood of ideas for this poem while I was at work at Cascadia, I had gone down to the creek to wash my hands I believe. By the time I got home that evening I had it pretty well worked out on paper but I have to admit I tweaked a few words just before I got ready to type it out here today. I am calling it:


Water trail, woodland grows

We went down to the creek today; my childhood came with me and held my hand for awhile. Invisible, nearly silent and not quite so noiseless beings came to murmur almost secret goings-ons of Spring's gradual but ever faster explosion along the water banks. My childhood smiled and spoke softly:
" These are the kinds of places you used to play in, among Nature's peaceful roots popping out of the ground and the wide spread of green boughs and different coloured blooms." The spaces between trees were calm as Sun unfolded it's golden blanket and elsewhere a woodpecker hammered on a metal furnace chimney. "Still looking for bugs?" I wondered. I thought to myself: "The woods are almost nicer now than in mid-Summer because every thing is so suddenly fresh and not over burdened." Don't get me wrong, I like most things about every season by the time it comes along. Then I went back to my work and to write this down later so I could think of it again someday and to share it with you.

(That woodpecker was heard a few times this Spring on the North Shore and I would be amazed to see who responds to say they heard it too. Once, during a Thursday morning co-worker biography presentation, it began a very loud rat-a-tat-tat on the Cascadia chimney and most everyone had a good chuckle about it!)

Vespers Tomorrow Night

If you are a parent or a teacher, by this time of year, you may be feeling frazzled, fatigued, frayed, or if you're watching the Canucks, just plain frustrated.


Tomorrow night, Rev. Locey is offering something very special for Whitsun, a vespers service. Now I may just be getting old, but I don't recall ever having a vespers service here in Vancouver before, especially not for Whitsun.


It's a very special way of being able to detach yourself from the events of the day, perhaps even dating back to the Essenes, especially when it is preceded by a community meal.


In my own limited experience, I have found it to be renewing and re-enlivening - but you'll just have to come and "see" for your Self.


If you can't make it for 6:00 for the potluck, I recommend "shooting" for the service at 7:00.


Hey - it's been 40 years - it's our turn for the Cup!





Sparky


Song for the day: Stompin' Tom Connors' Hockey Night in Canada