Previous Service Themes adapted from Soul Matters …
Alice Walker famously wrote, “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” Walker’s words are a beautiful reminder that attention and gratitude go hand in hand. Indeed they are a perfect embodiment of the dominant understanding of attention: that it’s here to … Continue reading Paying Attention (March 2026)
When did we decide that resilience was a solo project? It’s not that we consciously chose to define it that way. It’s just what we were taught, from the time we were little right up to today: “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps”; “You’re stronger than you think.”; “If at first you don’t succeed, … Continue reading Embodying Resilience (February 2026)
Faith, wherever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience. It does not calm the unquiet heart, but is itself this unquiet heart in [all of us]. Those who hope… can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it. [It] … Continue reading Choosing Hope (December 2025)
Welcome to Nurturing Gratitude When it comes to how we should travel through our lives, our culture and religion are clearly at odds. Culture cries, “Accumulate!” Religion counsels “Appreciate!” The mantras couldn’t be more different: The commercials surrounding us scream, “Go out and grab all you can!” The pulpits before us plea, “Learn to want … Continue reading Nurturing Gratitude (November 2025)
It’s tempting to think of this month’s theme as one of our lighter, more pleasant ones. After all, compassion sounds…well, nice. It conjures warm feelings and tender thoughts. Images come to mind of people telling each other they are holding them in their hearts. It would seem to be all about emotional connection and empathetic … Continue reading Cultivating Compassion (October 2025)
Don’t surrender your loneliness so quickly. Let it cut more deep. Let it ferment and season you as few human or even divine ingredients can. Something missing in my heart tonight has made my eyes so soft my voice so tender my need of god absolutely clear. Daniel Ladinsky, inspired by an original piece by the … Continue reading Building Belonging (September 2025)
From our friends at Soul Matters: What if we could listenlike the great salmonwho goes about its ordinary lifewhen suddenly something shifts.It does not come as a thunderousrevelation, but a quiet knowingyou have been preparing allyour life to trust.The path lived until now no longersatisfies but the path aheadseems thousands of mileslong, and your womb … Continue reading The Practice of Freedom (June 2025)
From our friends at Soul Matters: “Imagination’s great gift is improvement. At least that is what we’re taught. Its deep magic lies in the way it can reshape our reality. We are urged to imagine the world we dream of. A world with more justice. More peace. More love. From that, a mysterious magnetism arises, … Continue reading The Practice of Imagination (May 2025)
From our friends at Soul Matters: “It’s easy to get tricked, taken for a ride, convinced that joy is a possession. Something to be caught, contained and controlled just by us. As if it’s a birthday present, waiting for us to unwrap it and keep forever and ever. And who can blame us, … Continue reading The Practice of Joy (April 2025)
From our friends at Soul Matters: In religious circles, talk of trust most often revolves around having faith that life will look after us. For instance, our Christian friends sing hymns about God “watching over us” and keeping “an eye on the sparrow.” Our Jewish friends lift up the Exodus story to encourage faith that … Continue reading The Practice of Trust (March 2025)
