This month we reflect on where we have come from as individuals, as a Fellowship, and as a community of communities. Heritage is more nuanced than history: it is the story we weave when choosing ancestors and claiming their legacies — both beautiful and vexing — as our responsibility. As said so well by atheist philosopher George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We can remember the past, and we are committed to building a different future in many regards. So what specifically from our past do we choose to lift into the light for inspection, appreciation, conversation, and reconsideration?

On Sunday mornings this month, we will first ground ourselves in the here and now. However we came to be here, we remember to take a breath of appreciation. And then we’ll listen for the stories passed down from family and chosen family that remain alive today in our hearts and minds. We’ll listen, too, to the land of our ancestors and the ancestors of this Kansas land — alive today in our hearts and bodies. Please read our newsletter or our website for a full description of our weekly Sunday Services.

If you would like to participate actively in this remembering, we are creating an altar throughout the month for items and mementos related to your heritage. Building an altar may feel uncomfortably churchy, or even Pagan, to some of you. For me, an altar is simply a physical place that we set aside to help us focus on what is important. This month, our altar is a visible representation of the diversity of our backgrounds and life experiences, as well as our commonalities. In the final service of the month, October 29th, I’ll reflect on how “altaring the past” helps us see our origins so we may consciously “alter the future.”

Participating in “altaring” is optional. Read below for detailed suggestions by week. Near the beginning of each service, there will be an opportunity to bring your item forward. You may pick up what you brought again at the end of the service, or leave it on the altar through November 5th. You are welcome to bring items anytime throughout the month, even if they relate to a previous week’s topic. 

I’ll close with my excitement about the October 1st service. Likely, you are reading this afterwards — so if you weren’t able to make it, I encourage you to watch the video when our Office and Communications Coordinator Hannah posts it on Thursday. We have an excellent history of the Fellowship from 1957 to 1997, written by Brock Dale with the support of Charley Kempthorne. I’ll be sharing some of the brilliant gems they polished for us, arranged for our current era, and then turning to our members to fill in the gaps — particularly over the past 25 years. We need to know where we came from, but then… let’s talk about where we’re going!