Go to Spiritual Practice

I travel back to Buffalo, NY this week, for a visit with friends and family. It’s a time of rest and respite for me, though the Fellowship will not be far from my mind. The weather in Southwestern Minnesota is not very different from that in Western New York, so I won’t be losing sight of where my roots are beginning to grow.
You will be in good hands this Sunday, with Unity-Unitarian’s Hallman Ministerial Intern Kathryn Jay preaching, former Fellowship member JP Flood providing music, and Worship Leader Sue Chambers inviting you into and holding you in sacred time and space. I wish I could be with you!

I will not forget where my roots are growing. I will hold the Fellowship people in my heart while I am away. I am called to serve the greater spirit of Life and Love infusing our world, I am called to serve our Unitarian Universalist faith, I am called to serve spirit and faith through serving with you to foster love and justice among us and through us into our larger community. That call is always with me, something I never forget, something I always remember, something that roots me and anchors me with you.

Our Soul Matters Collective reminds us that “From a spiritual perspective, memory is not just about holding pictures of the past in our head; it’s also about holding on to our core values. There’s a reason we say, ‘I need to remember who I am.’ Indeed, this has long been the way UUs think about church. Church, for us, is the place where we come to remember who we are.”

Once again, this week I invite you into a spiritual practice, something that you remember to do all month long as a way to enact our Third Principle toward individual spiritual growth. I invite you to remind “‘yourself who you are’ by making a simple list of ‘10 Things to Remember.’ Think of it as self-talk, as your better self—helping your forgetful self—to return to your center.” Create a list numbered 1-10, and then spend the next week or so giving yourself 10 bits of wisdom or advice that are important to you but that you also often forget.

Here are some example reminders to get you thinking:

1. Remember that failure stings but regret haunts.
2. Remember that assuming good intentions is not only correct but also often creates good intentions.
3. Remember you’ve already received a death sentence.
4. Remember to always buy the good chocolate and good beer. There will be other ways to balance the budget.
5. Remember that grace and goodness don’t always win, but they also can’t ever be completely erased. They linger in the corners, so never stop looking.
6. Remember that you’ve already “made it” and you’re already enough. So you can put the striving and the proving down whenever you want.

You know what you need to hear and read. And maybe you’ll let me know how that spiritual practice goes for you. Looking forward to seeing you soon, even in church.

Blessings and best wishes, Rev. Rita