I ask the Holy One to guide me in my sharing today. Help me to open my heart, my soul and to support me in risking being real in this faith Community that means so very much to me. Spirit God move my body as it needs and wants to move.
I grew up Catholic and from that 2 things stand out for me how much rituals and being in community matters. The honor of being on the transition team and doing our talking circles I witnessed how much these pieces also mean to this corky and wonderful faith community. Whether it’s our beautiful music, our desire for unending sharing of peace among us, or how Kayla and Elly took pride in sitting our alter table from the clothes, candles, flowers or stones with special, loving, powerful words painted on them. I told Rebecca Voelkel being Catholic I never read the Bible growing up. I have read the Bible doing Sunday school with the SpringHouse children. We would read, explore, and create as we took in God’s messages. So I asked instead of scripture which I did try to find one but asked for a contemporary reading instead. I asked for a reading of what I believe is a children’s book that I got from our beloved Kayla the Old Turtle by Douglas Wood. So much of what many of you shared in the talking circles is in this book.
Who is God? Or as our beloved Elly would ask who is Goddess?
Is he/she a wind that is never still?
Is she/he a rock that never moves?
Is he/she high above or here among us?
Being a member of and active with the green team I love the power of the environment in this book. That all the beings of the earth could speak and understand one another. So many here value our environmental ministry. Thank you to all who make this happen for us. Our contemporary reading addresses reparations and relationship in that. When the old turtle finally spoke, they affirmed every being, every creation. They affirmed our gentleness, our powerfulness, our dreams and hopes. All that we seek. The other day when I was doing my morning walk I looked up just as an eagle flew overhead. God, the Spirit IS!
This community, SpringHouse community, our children and youth, our pastors past and present have supported my journey and my listening to God, the spirit within and around. Some of you may remember the service that Pastor Don Portwood and I had the privilege of feeling the spirit pushing, pulling, stretching, and stillness as we danced in front of our alter. That was so very powerful for me. I felt God. The spirit filled my eyes. For someone who as a child learned to disconnect and not feel. I felt so very blessed that day. You supported me in being with God and community.
I am listening to, I am hearing, I am seeing Old turtle, our children, our youth, our varied generations in our faith community our message of love, our prayer from the earth, our prayers for others, our prayers for safety, for home, and for heath.
Who is God? Or as our beloved Elly would ask who is Goddess?
Is he a wind that is never still?
Is she a rock that never moves?
Is he/she high above or here among us?
Venerable Old Turtle answers quietly: God is all of these things.
Let’s move, dance, sing, pray, play, and be in loving, growing, caring faith community.
Old Turtle Smiled and so does God, the Holy Spirits among us.
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