One Universal Law Governs All of Nature

by Robert Atkinson,

In 2016, a leading scientist wrote an essay in a leading journal entitled, “What is the Most Astounding Fact About the Universe?” His answer: “The entire universe, on all scales, in all places, and at all times, obeys the same fundamental laws of nature.”

On the one hand, this is astounding. But, on the other hand, how could it be any other way? Could you imagine living in a universe that wasn’t held together by the same laws of nature? Would life in a random, unpredictable universe even be possible?

We understand now that the laws of nature are constant, can be observed, and allow us to identify patterns in all realms of existence, since the physical and spiritual realms are mirror reflections of the same reality.

In 1904, Abdu’l-Baha, son of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, and interpreter of his teachings, had already explained this “astounding fact” this way: “Nature is subject to a sound organization, to inviolable laws, to a perfect order, and to a consummate design, from which it never departs. To such an extent is this true that were you to gaze with the eye of insight and discernment, you would observe that all things—from the smallest invisible atom to the largest globes in the world of existence, such as the sun or the other great stars and luminous bodies—are most perfectly organized, be it with regard to their order, their composition, their outward form, or their motion, and that all are subject to one universal law from which they never depart.”

Perhaps the revealed scripture of religion leads to the discoveries of science. With both having their source in Divinity, both would be part of the same unfolding process of that one universal law.

Robert Atkinson, Ph.D., developmental psychology, is the author of nine books, including the 2017 Nautilus Book Award winner The Story of Our Time: From Duality to Interconnectedness to Oneness, from which this excerpt is taken; Mystic Journey: Getting to the Heart of Your Soul’s Story (2012); The Gift of Stories (1995); and, Year of Living Deeply: A Memoir of 1969 (2019). He is an internationally recognized authority in the techniques of life story interviewing, personal mythmaking, and soul-making, professor emeritus at the University of Southern Maine, board member of the Abbey of Hope, a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle, and director of StoryCommons. www.robertatkinson.net.

Beauty & Wonder

by Ilari Oba Adeola Fearon,

It is in beauty and wonderwhere meaning is revealedWe stand in melodioussilencenaked and exposedunashamed

When we rushwe are robbedof the passagethe knowingDesigned to discoverthe subtle embraceof a transparent lake

We callfor our dancesgraceful and surein praiseof the awakeningA full-bodied leapinto conversationour heartsunderstand

Adeola is an artist, sacred activist and life coach who practices Yoruba Traditional Spirituality.  She is the author of Soul Whisperings…Messages to Activate Compassion, Chair of the United Religions Initiative North America Leadership Council, and Ambassador for the Charlotte Red Bench Garden, an interfaith Cooperation Circle of United Religions Initiative. uri.org Adeola serves as a catalyst to empower, restore dignity and raise consciousness by revealing our common connections. As a servant leader, she has a legacy of advocacy in interfaith understanding, humanitarianism, cultural preservation, arts education, behavioral and mental health.

Adeola has served Charlotte through Leadership Charlotte, Mecklenburg Ministries, Arts & Science Council, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Communities in Schools, Center for Community Transitions, Charlotte Literary Festival, Mecklenburg County Domestic Violence Advisory Board and various local community groups.

“Together...we can renew communal understanding, empower those forgotten and reveal the simple to be the miraculous!”

Poem and lake photograph © 2019 Ilari Oba Adeola Fearon

Midsummer’s Eve—The Summer Solstice

by Mary Gelfand.

Three months have passed since spring equinox when day and night were equal.  Every day since, the Sun has moved higher in the sky and the amount of daylight has slowly increased. We have arrived at June 21—Midsummer’s Eve—the Summer Solstice—the longest day, and shortest night of the year.

In the song lyrics of my youth, it’s time to “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.” The song goes on to enumerate some of the pleasures of those lazy, hazy, crazy days—picnics and cookouts, days at the beach, time spent with family and friends, summer romance. The days seem to last forever, creating ample time and light for leisure activities in the warm summer sun.

Among the Celtic peoples of northern Europe the Summer Solstice was also a time of celebration and relaxation. By now, crops were planted but it was not yet time for the labor-intensive work of harvest. Plants were taking full advantage of the sun’s energy and abundance and growth was everywhere. Celebrations were held to honor the Sun’s fiery potency and solicit blessings for an abundant harvest.

Midsummer’s Day and Night were considered very magical times. Often herbs were harvested during this time to take advantage of that energy. Fairies were said to dance in the forest during this night—the source of many myths and legends.

The fiery energy of the Sun during Midsummer is transformative, stimulating growth and illuminating creativity among all creatures who know how to receive it. Now is the time to open yourself to this energy and invite it to nourish the physical and metaphorical seeds you planted in the spring. May you grow strong and well in the brilliance of summer energy.

Rev. Dr. Mary Gelfand is an ordained Interfaith Minister, a gifted teacher, and Wiccan High Priestess. She teaches and writes on the topics of feminist spirituality, Tarot, and Earth-centered spiritual paths. She resides in Wells with her husband Mark, two cats, and a forest full of birds, chipmunks, and other mysteries of life. You can see more of her writings at  weavingthestars.blogspot.com.

Photo of Stage Harbor by Charlotte Gifford

Recollecting Joy

By Khenmo Drolma

June is the month of Sagadawa, the most significant of the four major Buddhist holidays in the Tibetan tradition. It combines Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and paranirvana* into one. It is considered both a specific holy day (June 17) and a holy month. During this month, major teachings are given. On the day, prayers and vitreous deeds are nonstop as every action is considered greatly magnified.

All the world is on fireAll the world is burningAll the world is ablazeAll the world is quaking

That which does not quake or blazeThat to which worldlings** do not resortWhere there is no place for Mara***That is where my mind delights.

—Bhikkunisamyutta Sutra

The Enlightened Buddhist Nun, Cala, wrote this in the 5^th century BCE. It is a pithy and fresh description of anxiety and stress, just as evocative of our time as hers. It feels like our world is quaking some days. She then inspires us to look at our minds closely; there is unshakable peace within it and we can delight in it.

Often, in our day to day existence, we are caught up in chaos, in hope and fear. Thoughts, a claustrophobic barrage of illusory information, entrap us. What if? What did? Living in the past or future consumes our present. We do not see what is actually here, in this moment.

Joy opens with the barest shift of perspective. Now, the present fleeting awareness of life as it is, unadorned by elaboration, is always available. We remember to gaze at the sky. Vastness and clarity open as a vista, an expanse. This spaciousness of now is accompanied by peace and a tickle of joy, like a mental smile. The mind has peace and it is accompanied by heart’s delight. Rising joy, an eternal spring, independent of thoughts or senses, it simply is.

We may not have had direct experience of this treasure yet or we may have forgotten a rare fleeting taste, but it awaits us. Steadfastly, we begin again and again, calming distracting conceptuality. Trusting, because as Cala reminds us, in our quaking, blazing world, peace also is present. Meditation is our mind simply coming home to now and that home is joy.

* Paranirvana is entering the state of Nirvana after death.** Worldlings refers to those with no spiritual training.***Mara is a personification of worldly ignorance.

Abbess of Vajra Dakini Nunnery, Ven. Khenmo Konchog Nyima Drolma has studied with the foremost Buddhist teachers of our time. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1997 after a distinguished career at the Maine College of Art as a professor of sculpture. After completing philosophy studies and solitary retreats, she was given the responsibility of abbess. She teaches the Buddha Dharma internationally, with an emphasis in the practical application in daily life. In addition, she has created a Tibetan Nun Leadership Program and is the International Chair of a historic monastic gathering in India in 2020. www.VajraDakiniNunnery.org

Photo of tree by Christine Racine.

Together Again: Day of Pentecost Acts 2:1-21

by Rev. James A. Weathersby

The life of the Christian Church, like all living entities, has developmental markers. Those developmental markers are celebrated by observance of the Liturgical calendar; times of the year to celebrate the anniversaries of the church. The Day of Pentecost, 50 days after celebrating Easter, is a significant remembrance.

We find recorded in the New Testament Book of the Acts of the Apostles this experience in chapter 2, “’In our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’” (Vs.11-12). Luke wrote the Gospel accredited to his name, and he is the author of this second work and the Book of the Acts, is the continuation of His work through the lives of His followers. These Disciples/followers of Jesus Christ are called Apostles, because they were hand-picked and selected personally by Jesus to ‘carry on’ the work.

Pentecost coincides with a Jewish festival after Passover. There were gathered in Jerusalem devout men of the Jewish faith (Vs. 8-11) when they each heard a commotion—Galileans glorifying God, but in their own language! These men (apologies for the patriarchal system of the time), were wealthy enough to afford the travel expenses. Devout Jewish men always praised God, but in their own native language. Now, for the first time, they were able to listen together, at the same time.

There are always divisions and distractions that separate people. We use these to preserve our way of life, but the result is status quo. We stay separate and apart as peoples of the same planet. However, at Pentecost, people come together in a common faith, hear about the same God for us all, and participate in an event that unites everyone. This is the inauguration of the church of Jesus Christ. The old divisions are gone, and a new unity of purpose and mindset returns home throughout the Roman Empire. Their new leader is alive and empowers everyone to share the Gospel (good news); Jesus Christ is alive! Pentecost is welcoming new people, sharing experiences of the faith and perpetuating the stories of Gods’ love among people. The best of the church, today, is living out that Pentecost event in a divided World.

Pax



The Rev. James A. Weathersby M.Div., BCC was born in Chicago, product of a dedicated single mother and the Public-School system. He is a genetic Baptist and a historic Democrat; spirituality in his veins for generations. His family valued Education and the Black church; there are four generations of ministers in his family, serving as Pastors of congregations and Chaplains in Institutions. His Bachelors of Arts came from Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois from the Reformed Churches of America tradition. His Masters of Divinity Degree (specialty in Pastoral Care and Counseling) came from the southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Louisville Kentucky, from the Southern Baptist tradition. His professional career as a Chaplain includes serving populations in Hospitals, Hospice, both Men’s and Women’s Corrections (Death Row Chaplain) in several Midwestern states. His time in Maine has included Chaplaincy at a Youth Development Center, Pastor to an island congregation and lately, Chaplain (II) of the State Forensic and civil Psychiatric Center. He has been honored to be married for 27 years and enjoy writing, yoga, and reading.

Original watercolor by Valerie A. Clemons.

Shavout

by Chaplain Joel Grossman

“Shavout, the Jewish ‘Festival of Weeks,’ starts the evening of June 8. The ‘weeks’ refer to the seven weeks, and one day, equaling 50 days, from the second seder of Passover to Shavout. The ritual of the omer, the offering of a sheaf of barley, the earliest of the new cereal crops, marked the harvest season. The grain ripened 50 days later, thus the beginning of the harvest was marked on Shavuot with the offering of first fruits.” (From the website, My Jewish Learning)

“After the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, offerings could no longer be brought to the Temple, and the focus of the festival shifted from agriculture to the receiving of the Ten Commandants at Mt. Sinai. It is customary to gather at synagogue and read the Book of Ruth and Exodus Chapters 19 and 20. The term ‘Pentecost’ is one of names for the Festival of Weeks.” (from Wikipedia)

A Kabbalistic custom is to count each day of this period, called the “Counting of the Omer”, by combining the lower seven “sefirot” (energy centers) on the “Tree of Life”. The Tree of Life is a symbol of Divinely inspired energies that we can work to incorporate into our lives. Each of the seven weeks focuses on a different energy and each day addresses another. For example, day two is a combination of “Chesed”, loving kindness, the first of the lower seven and the sefirot of week one and “Gevurah”, judgment or structure, second of the lower seven and sefirot of day two. The goal is to reflect on what this combination means to you.

The greeting for Shavout is the same as used for all Jewish holidays: “chag someach”, “Happy Holiday.”

Rev. Joel Grossman is one of the founders of the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME), and was the Director of ChIME’s Massachusetts campus. He has been a hospice chaplain for over fifteen years. Joel has been a president of his local synagogue, Ahavas Achim, in Newburyport, MA, and has led Kabbalah and Jewish meditation sessions there. He is the leader of the “Spiritual Breakfast Club.”

Image of barley by kangbch

Living in The Season: Spring

by Susan Weiser Mason & George Mason,

We observe the seasons using the lens and practice of five element acupuncture. By drawing attention to how every season has an energetic texture that presents opportunities and tasks, we can come to know what living in harmony looks like throughout the year.

Spring’s clarion call is to begin!

This is a wonderful time to initiate. When we’ve made the decision to plant, we go ahead and put the seed in the ground, literally or metaphorically. That is exactly what Spring is asking of us. To postpone or forget this task will have a ripple effect throughout the entire year. There may not be enough time for the seed to grow and mature in the fullness of summer, or to adequately ripen by Fall. If that’s the case, there may be no harvest so it will be difficult to let go into Winter as we are called to do. Lack of reserves will undermine our ability to embrace the opportunity Winter offers, which is to rest and rejuvenate. Therefore when Spring finally does come, many of us will feel depleted and challenged to marshal the reserves to meet the explosive upsurge of energy so evident this time of year.

Spring comes alive through our relationship to place. We see Great Salt Bay flowing towards the open ocean. The Damariscotta River animates our world and orients our comings and goings. We see buds swelling mile after mile along her banks announcing Spring in one masterful gesture. We are all called to participate in this unfolding; it is a birthright. To be distant from this cycle of renewal only confirms a legacy of estrangement from the land.

Wake up to our true Home! That is the call of Spring, and the voice of Earth’s great longing.

Susan Weiser Mason and Traditional Acupuncture are located in Damariscotta Mills / Nobleboro. She has been practicing since 1986. For more information go to www.susanacupuncture.com or call 207-563-1571.

George Mason is a visual artist. He is a licensed acupuncturist, and no longer in practice. www.georgemasonart.com

Consider the Raindrop

By Lisa Steele-Maley

Consider the raindrop,

falling to earth, singular and newly formed,

carrying millennia of history, information, and form in its molecules.

Consider the raindrop,

nourishing soil, growing plants and animals,

creating, feeding, and cleansing all life.

Consider the raindrop,

tumbling into cracks and crevices,

following millions of raindrops through

unmarked paths carved into the landscape over centuries.

Consider the raindrop,

giving itself in communion with a trickle before

tumbling into a river that

rolls into an estuary and

co-mingles with the ocean.

Consider the raindrop,

entering your body

as water, food, creation or inspiration,

filling you with life and possibility.

Consider the thousands of raindrops that are in you.

---

After growing up in small towns of New England and Wisconsin, Lisa developed a strong connection to the affirming rhythms of the natural world while working in the mountains and coasts of Alaska and Washington. She currently lives in an aging farmhouse on the coast of Maine with her husband, two teenage sons, and a handful of animals. Lisa is a student in the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME)’s Interfaith Ministry program and will be ordained on June 2! She is the author of, Without A Map: A Caregiver’s Journey through the Wilderness of Heart and Mind. Lisa shares reflections regularly at lisa.steelemaley.io

Leaf photo by Duncan Steele-Maley

For Mother's Day

by Robin Jellis

In the beginning there was the Word… I love how collective memory lives deep within us, as the oyster burrows deep beneath the sea. I love how—before we had any other way to record them—stories have been passed down through the generations, spoken in our native languages, each “mother tongue.”

Every couple of years, my birthday falls on Mother’s Day. I learned to sing my Mother’s music before I learned to speak words. My Mom loves to play with words. One of my favorite simple pieces she wrote is this acrostic poem.

The

🌎

is your

OpenYourSelfToEarth’sRiches

As I celebrate another journey around the sun, on this planet from where we all have come, I find myself learning how to speak anew, finding my voice again and to sing without my cello’s bow, fascinated by each syllable other than “do-re-mi.”

I find art within the shape of each written letter, the connecting points turned sideways or upside down (downside up?)… Like star constellations, or notes on a page of music. In our mother’s womb we inherit this collective memory, and we hear into our BE-ing. Then, we listen from the moment we are born. We are each given a name, a call to be here, like the Holy One, I am. And our response is to BE-COME.

A few weeks ago, the Christian tradition of Easter was celebrated in the resurrection of Christ. Last year, I was not yet ready to embrace this rebirth, still mourning things past. This year, I continue to celebrate the season of Easter and Spring anew. As the light returns, another day is born. I sing now and celebrate our home, on the Earth’s turning. Each day the sun rises, as do we. As a dear friend of mine called out: Rise up WOMAN! And, taking my mother’s advice, I’m beginning to riff with my words, like new constellations all scrambled up. I rise, NOW I AM.

Mother Earth. Earth Mother. Wow, Mom! Our birth, each day, our being, is this life, here on Earth, each year, in A-W-E. To my Mom and all our mothers on this Mother’s Day, I offer my love and gratitude.

Robin Jellis has been a professional cellist and music instructor for more than 20 years, performing with the Bangor Symphony, both Maine State and Portland Ballet Orchestras, jazz ensemble Ocean Sol, Medieval ensemble Trobairitz! and for several different musical theater productions. Robin was a featured composer for the Yarmouth Contemporary Music Days in 2011 and has collaborated with several recording artists and poets, including a 2014 tour in Europe. She has been on the faculty at Waynflete School, 317 Main Street Community Music Center, and the Portland Conservatory of Music.

During the summer of 2016, Robin toured the country playing in several National Parks, including a performance for the Centennial celebration. She was beginning to put together her first CD of original music when she was in an auto accident, leaving her unable to do her work www.gofundme.com/robinj. Called to ministry, with a renewed sense of hope and trusting the change of seasons in her life, Robin is a student at the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine. Finding a new way back to music, she is now singing with Ashok Nalamalapu and the ensemble Swan Kirtan: Gate Gate chant. She is also a board member for the Abbey of Hope.

Earth photo: NASA

Beltane

by The Rev. Mark Gallup

Beltane is the Celtic festival celebrating the return of summer. Lying halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, it was a time of ritual to promote growth and fertility. It was celebrated with bonfires, merry making, and unrestrained foolishness. In Mother Nature’s world it is a time of blooming trees and flowers—as well as mating season for many animals and birds—so that life may be sustained.

If Imbolc was a time to “den up” and patiently nurture what needs to be born, Beltane marks a need to come out into the light and live our days with joy and even frivolity. It is especially a time for enjoying Nature and all of Her gifts which begin to return to us this time of year: spring rain, flowering plants and trees, young furry creatures and birds.

So contemplate what needs to be birthed and come out into the light. Perhaps it is an idea for a project you have long been nurturing. It could be a trip you’ve long wanted to do, perchance to reconnect with old friends. Or it could simply be a feeling of well-being that comes from gardening or walking in the woods.

And by all means have some fun! Jump outside the box and run free. Sing loudly a song of thanksgiving for the return of summer. Cook or bake something utterly decadent. Go forth and whoop it up in the rain. Raise a fire and invite friends to share it with you, to dance around the flames. Do something out of the ordinary and keep it up as summer blossoms. Honoring the changing seasons in this way will make you very happy and well satisfied.

The Rev. Mark Gallup is a Pagan high priest, interfaith minister, spiritual seeker, mystic, and diviner of the Natural World. Mark has been a practicing Pagan for over thirty years. He is a graduate of the College of Wicca and Old Lore as well as being trained in Feri. Mark was ordained in 2013 as an interfaith minister by the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine. Along with his wife, Mary Gelfand, he leads Earth-centered spiritual events and serves as an elder for White Pine Programs in York, ME.

Passover: A Time of Renewal

by Chaplain Joel Grossman

Passover (“Pesach” in Hebrew) is a ritual meal and service, a “seder” (which means “order,” the order of the service), that focuses on the renewal of life‚ spring time, the birth of a people/nation, and on the personal level, renewal of the spirit. The central part of the seder is the telling of the story of the Jews exodus from Egypt, about the movement from slavery to freedom.

In my daily prayers, when reciting the pinnacle of the daily service, the “Amidah” (which Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, may he rest in peace, says was created as a long “mantra” meditation), I reflect on the story that is told on Passover: Jacob and his extended family went to Egypt at a time of starvation in their land in hope that they might fare better in Egypt. At first the family prospered and multiplied, but when a new Pharaoh come into power, he felt threatened by “those” people (sound familiar to our present day issues around immigration?), and enslaved the Jews. Eventually, Moses was instructed by G!d* to free the Jewish people, which he eventually does. They wander through the desert, and, at Mount Sinai, receive the Ten Commandments. The Bible says the mountain shook and the people heard the voice of G!d.*

A “midrash” (an interpretive story) says that each Jew, then and now, was there at Mt. Sinai, and was/is given a unique vision and message. Each day, as I reflect on this, I am stirred, that I, as a person of spirit, receive Divine assistance/inspiration—regularly.

So the re-telling of the story of the Exodus at Passover, is a ritualized remembering of this movement from darkness to light, from degradation to enlightenment, and that we all have ongoing spiritual renewal.

---

*The Jewish tradition is not to write the word for G!d fully, as the form it is in (paper, email, text, etc.) will, eventually, be trashed. The usual way this is done is G-d, but I like G!d. It’s more impassioned.

Rev. Joel Grossman is one of the founders of the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME), and was the Director of ChIME’s Massachusetts campus. He has been a hospice chaplain for over fifteen years. Joel has been a president of his local synagogue, Ahavas Achim, in Newburyport, MA, and has led Kabbalah and Jewish meditation sessions there. He is the leader of the “Spiritual Breakfast Club.”

Photograph of crops by birthegodt

I Believe

by the Rev. James A. Weathersby, M.Div., BCC.

The highlight of the church calendar is Easter; this day is reservedly Christian without apology. We pause during Holy Week to remember the Passion of Jesus Christ; his betrayal, trial, suffering and Death on the Cross. We mark Maundy Thursday with quiet reverence and washing one another’s feet. On Good Friday, we keep in mind that Jesus Christ died on the Cross reserved for all humanity. Easter Sunday, we celebrate with eggs, symbols of new life, and new clothing symbolizing a new inner life and we gather early in the darkness, marvel at the dawn of a renewed relationship between humanity and God. Easter Sunday is Resurrection Day; Jesus Christ rose from the dead! Upon this salient fact rests the entire Christian Faith and mission of Civilization. This belief continues to change history and people.

In the second half of the Holy Bible, we find recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew these words in chapter 28, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.' This is my message for you.” (Vs.5-7). The first Easter sermon was given to the women, who went in the darkness to anoint the body of their fallen leader. They returned from the grave with the Light that has illuminated humanity for the last several thousand years: Jesus Christ is alive!

Easter says there is hope for humanity. Easter proclaims there is power in prayer because Christ promised to hear our prayers and live in us, to teach us how to live among other people. Easter shouts a change is possible for anyone and every Nation. Easter says God is with us—we are not alone in the Universe. That is the good news to tell others, everywhere—for all time! Christ is Alive! Pax



The Rev. James A. Weathersby M.Div., BCC was born in Chicago, product of a dedicated single mother and the Public-School system. He is a genetic Baptist and a historic Democrat; spirituality in his veins for generations. His family valued Education and the Black church; there are four generations of ministers in his family, serving as Pastors of congregations and Chaplains in Institutions. His Bachelors of Arts came from Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, Illinois from the Reformed Churches of America tradition. His Masters of Divinity Degree (specialty in Pastoral Care and Counseling) came from the southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Louisville Kentucky, from the Southern Baptist tradition. His professional career as a Chaplain includes serving populations in Hospitals, Hospice, both Men’s and Women’s Corrections (Death Row Chaplain) in several Midwestern states. His time in Maine has included Chaplaincy at a Youth Development Center, Pastor to an island congregation and lately, Chaplain (II) of the State Forensic and civil Psychiatric Center. He has been honored to be married for 27 years and enjoy writing, yoga, and reading.

Original watercolor by Valerie A. Clemons.

Palm Sunday Reflection

by Rev. Sara Bartlett

They brought the donkey and the colt, and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while other cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him, and those that followed shouted ‘Hosanna to the son of David!’”     —Matthew 21:6-9A

…hope is subversive, for it limits the grandiose pretension of the present, daring to announce that to  which we have committed ourselves is now called into question.”     —Rev. Walter Brueggemann, from The Prophetic Imagination.

Hope can be hard to invite into our space, into our selves, into our souls as there are so many reasons to instead hold fear. Fear of the unknown can hold us from hope, but there is also the very human response of the fear that comes from feeling overwhelmed by the world’s suffering. We might ask ourselves, “will we as humans ever exist in a peace-filled, grace-giving, just world?”

When we encounter a sense that hope is lost, we must find those ways of re-connecting with it. One place we can look to are sacred stories, for they remind us of the hope that arrives in most subversive ways of living into our lives, and the lives of others.

In the Christian tradition, we explore the gift of Palm Sunday’s subversive hope. On this day, Christians honor the arrival of Jesus in through the gate to Jerusalem (meaning “City of Peace”) and his challenge to the status quo, his challenge to a society which enabled hunger of the body and spirit. For Jesus’ arrival on the donkey spoke to his humbleness, his desire to be with those who live on the margins of society—the sick, the poor, women, children—and arrive through a gate ready to meet a man who arrived on the other side of Jerusalem, through another gate. This man was named Pilate, one who represented the Roman Empire, who wanted to live in the power of society, this man who arrived on a horse.

A donkey vs. a horse. One man arrives humble, speaking to those who desire a just world where they are fed, another man arrives on a horse, speaking to those who want power in a world where they don’t care if others are fed. A world of love where all are equal vs. a world where one group dominates another.

Now, if you know the story, you know that Jesus was arrested, was tortured, and ultimately died by suffocation. This might seem like Jesus lost, his subversive hope didn’t work, love didn’t win.

But every year we can ask ourselves, what animal do we ride in on, the donkey or the horse? What can we continually do to bring in love to the world? How do we feed ourselves and others? Hope is not found for us, hope is found in us: we are hope. What we decide to do with our spaces, our souls, our selves, that is where hope lives on, it is where fear no longer is part of the human story of suffering.

Jesus’ subversive arrival in Jerusalem might seem like it was a hopeless journey that didn’t end well, but up ahead, in a place not yet revealed to those walking with Jesus riding the donkey, was the transformation, a transformation which brought the words from Jesus in his new form: “peace be with you my friends.” A reminder that the empire ultimately did not win. Instead love, peace, grace, and hope always win. Always.



Rev. Bartlett is a graduate of Andover Newton, now part of Yale Divinity and is the pastor and teacher of the Parish Church in Alfred, Maine. She serves on the Board of the United Church of Christ’s Maine Conference, is a chaplain at Pilgrim Lodge (an outdoor ministry camp), serves as Chair of the UCC York Association’s missions committee, and in the past served as a community chaplain at Bates College, and on call chaplain at Maine Medical Center. She is a trained facilitator for the UCC/UU human sexuality program Our Whole Lives, and is always willing to volunteer as “Chaplain of the Day,’ for the Maine House of Representatives. Rev. Bartlett currently lives in Auburn, Maine with her husband Jeremiah, sons Josh (16) and Tristan (6). Completing the family is their dog Amelia, and cat Merlin. Her places of hope are found by the ocean, walking in the woods, and in reading a good book.

 

 

Gaia's Song: A celebration of Gaia Mother Earth

by Rev. Todd Glacy

Click to view the video Gaia's Song  written by Todd Glacy in honor of Earth Day. In Greek mythology, Gaia, also spelled Gaea, is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother of all life: the primal Mother Earth goddess.

---

 

Rev. Todd Glacy, MA, is an enlightenment advocate, empowerment coach and instigator of Joy! Based in Maine, he travels extensively as a guest presenter (speaker, educator, musician and workshop facilitator) sharing his ministry of Sacred Sound and Living, inspiring and empowering people to live happy, healthy, peaceful and more fulfilling lives. To learn more about Todd, visit www.sacredsoundandliving.com.

Earth photo: NASA

The Way of the Naturalist

by Rev. Carie Johnsen

Last fall I had the opportunity to walk in the woods with a group of Maine naturalists. You know the type, the ones who venture off from the parking lots and side roads with magnifiers and binoculars around their neck. Unlike the thousands of hikers who arrive in Maine every year, you will not find this group scaling a mountain in record time. They are the ones who saunter through the forest marveling at the miracles and wonders of creation’s beauty and mystery. They are the ones who pause to ponder new growth protruding through the dense spring debris. They are the ones who encounter a mushroom pushing up from the forest floor and stop to consult the fungal expert to find out if it is edible. They are the ones who claim the day to be promising when the experienced bird watcher identifies every distinct song and points upwards into the treetops to marvel at the colors and sounds of our feathered friends. They are the ones who notice where the beaver has been busy gnawing at a tree in the thicket. They are the ones who experience the sacred and ponder the existence of God in the forest, the floral, the fauna and in the creatures that abound.

A day with a naturalist is a day in which one moves beyond the sacred texts and obedience to creeds, doctrine and dogma to discover the sacred story of a universe brilliantly unfolding in the DNA of each specimen and the laws of nature. The wonder and awe with which this group approaches the mysteries of creation are both inspiring and awakening. Their devotion to creation’s endless and diverse presence is evident in their penetrating gaze and endless wonder.

While the group I journeyed with that day, may not call themselves Religious Naturalist, it was clear to me their attention, curiosity and praise of the transcendent was no less passionate or reverential than the Christian or Jew or Muslim or Buddhist who approaches the sacred scriptures, stories, theologies and religious practices of their tradition.

Rev. Carie Johnsen has been serving as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Augusta, ME since 2009. You will often find her roaming the halls of the Maine State House living out her call to create a more compassionate and just society through legislative ministry. She is co-chair of the Public Policy Committee for the Maine Council of Churches and a founding member of the Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network. www.everydayordinarytheologies.com

Celebrating Naw-Rúz, the Bahá’í New Year

by Nasser Rohani

Spring is upon us and for the Bahá’ís, Naw-Rúz, is celebrated all over the world on the first day of Spring, the vernal equinox. Bahá’ís in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and northern India, all celebrate Naw-Rúz as their New Year. I, too, am participating in a celebration, with many friends of the faith attending.

Naw-Rúz literally means “new day” and the Bahá’ís celebrate this day because of its symbolic meaning. In the Bahá’í writings we read:

For just as the night, when it becomes excessively dark, precedes the dawn of a new day, so likewise when the darkness of religious apathy and heedlessness overtakes the world, when human souls become negligent of God, when materialistic ideas overshadow idealism and spirituality, when nations become submerged in the world of matter and forget God—at such a time as this shall the Divine Sun shine forth and the Radiant Morn appear.”

This sacred day when the sun illumines equally the whole earth is called the equinox and the equinox is the symbol of the divine messenger. The sun of truth rises on the horizon of divine mercy and sends forth its rays on all.”

What I believe we urgently need today is oneness and unity. Humanity can be likened to a vast garden in which grow side by side flowers of every form, color, and perfume. The charm and beauty of the garden lies in this diversity. We should not allow the differences that exist among us in our physi­cal characteristics, our temperaments, our backgrounds, our thoughts, and opinions to give rise to conflict and strife. We should see the members of the human race as beautiful flowers growing in the garden of humanity and rejoice in be­longing to this garden. Bahá’u’lláh says;

Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship.… So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.… The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”

We are told that,

when a thought of war enters our minds, we should immediately replace it with a thought of peace. When a feeling of hate begins to take shape in our hearts, we should immediately replace it with a feeling of love.”

Let us together celebrate this first day of the year, with friendship in the spirit of unity.

Nasser Rohani was born in Iran. At 18 he left Iran for India to pursue higher education. After the advent of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Nasser who intended to return to his homeland, was unable to go back, due to his religious affiliation—the Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’ís are being persecuted by the fundamentalist regime. He continued his education and completed his Pre-PhD studies in village cooperative banking from Osmania University. After an 11 year stay in India, he and his wife and child emigrated to the United States in 1985. He soon joined the L.L. Bean company and for thirty two years he worked there as a systems programmer/analyst in the information services department. Nasser and his wife Parivash have four children and live in Portland, Maine.

Vernal Reflections

by Mary Gelfand.

Can you hear it?

Can you see it?

Can you feel it?

The maples can. So can the crocuses. And the birds and the mice and the bears.Spring is coming!

She has been sneaking up for days—ever so imperceptibly—minute by oh! so slow minute.

Like drops of grace falling, one by one, into the chalice of my soul.

The difference made by each small drop seems imperceptible—ephemeral—and yet—day-by-day—drop by drop—the grace accrues until the day I first notice what is happening.

Until the day I lift my head from my chest and my books—from the interior reflection so appropriate to winter—and notice that the light has changed. In ways both tangible and intangible, I see that spring is coming.

 

---

 

Here in the northern hemisphere, the advent of spring is marked by the Spring or Vernal Equinox—the point in Earth’s revolution which places the Sun directly above the equator. Now we have equal day and night—hence Equinox—and begin the headlong race to the long and heady days of summer.

Spring Equinox has been observed as an important celestial marker since ancient times. Many pre-historic monuments, such as Stonehenge, Angkor Wat, and Chichen Itza were built as both observatories and sites for community celebrations of the changing seasons.

Spring Equinox celebrations world wide are rituals of fertility and re-birth. Eggs and bright colors often play a role as symbols of the arriving spring. It marks the beginning of the planting and growing season, and Mother Nature responds with beauties more abundant than we can imagine.

What seeds are you planting in your soul this spring, in hopes of harvesting abundance?

Rev. Dr. Mary Gelfand is an ordained Interfaith Minister, a gifted teacher, and Wiccan High Priestess. She teaches and writes on the topics of feminist spirituality, Tarot, and Earth-centered spiritual paths. She resides in Wells with her husband Mark, two cats, and a forest full of birds, chipmunks, and other mysteries of life. You can see more of her writings at  weavingthestars.blogspot.com.

Image of crocuses by Efraimstochter on Pixabay

A Day on the Street, Thursday, February 28, 2019

by Pastor Jeff Logan.

Every Thursday for the past five years, I’ve gone out and spent a few hours with the homeless on the streets and in the shelters of Portland; not a savoir, just a humble guest in their house. It’s winter, so the desperation is accelerated, with the deaths from overdose, or the occasional person who tries to sleep outside and loses some toes, or this year an entire foot, to frostbite. There are the stories of unjust incarcerations, of broken families and forgotten children, of hospitalizations for everything from COPD to heart attacks, the drug sales, the petty theft, the poorly managed self-medication for untreated mental illness and the stress of too much need in too little space, the self-sabotage, the rage, and the shame.

But in the middle of all this, there are moments where the face of God is as startlingly real as an August sunrise. On this Thursday, I met a new person named M, someone I didn’t know who needed a coat. I went to my car and got him one, and as I approached, his face lit up with a mixture of gratitude and amazement that I’d even come back. And he said “When I get on my feet, I’m going to pay you back for this." And I said, “Just pay it forward.” “Yeah, Pastor, yeah I’ll do that.” Small miracles in dark places.

And then there was J, a man I knew well, fresh out of jail and in need of a tent and a sleeping bag.  I had them for him, but another man had been robbed and was in desperate need of a sleeping bag so that he could get his cat, who usually rides on his shoulder, back from someone he didn’t trust. I told J that I had his sleeping bag but that there was an emergency and could he wait a week. He said, “No, Pastor, if there’s an emergency, I can wait. I know what that’s like.” The amazing generosity of someone with almost nothing.

Mysterious ways indeed.

Pastor Jeff Logan was ordained by the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine in 2015. He has been working as a co-pastor with Grace-Street Ministry since his ordination, and was hired as the new Executive Director in November of 2018. For more information on Grace-Street Ministry, please visit our webpage, gracestreetministry.blogspot.com, or contact Jeff directly by email at gracestreetministry@gmail.com. Donations of Dunkin' Donuts cards, socks, or money are always gratefully received.

The Fox in My Yard

by Lori Whittemore.

In Celtic lore, as in many other traditions, the fox is thought of as a cunning, sly creature. One that adapts to situations and even one that changes shape. Smart, quick on its feet, and handsome are all words I associate with the fox that lives in my back yard. It seems quite at home looking out from the shadows. Last year, when I lived away, I am told that the fox and its partner raised their kits in our backyard. Now that the dog and I have returned, the fox sits alone, looking wistfully at where the dog usually darts around the house. They seem to coexist very well and yet there seems to me to be a cautious look on the fox’s face when it trots across the yard or sits by its hole. Perhaps it’s a look of discomfort for having to make room for a new, unpredictable presence in the yard. As I sit in the shadows of the winter, I too wonder what is about to dart out from around the corner. What unpredictable thing is flowing in and out of my own internal yard? Will I coexist with it or run away back into the shadows? Perhaps I will take my cue from the fox in my yard.

Lori Whittemore is the founder and director of Abbey of Hope interfaith cooperation circle and of Clinical Pastoral Training Center of Southern Maine (CPTCSM), the training arm of the Abbey. Through CPTCSM she trains chaplains and pastoral care givers with today’s varied religious and spiritual landscape in mind. Rev. Whittemore approaches interfaith ministry from her Christian background and training as well as her interfaith education at Chaplaincy Institute of Maine.

The Consciousness of Our Time

By Robert Atkinson,

We live in times of massive change, a necessary element for our inevitable yet precarious progress. Never has there been a greater opportunity–and need–to participate in and take action on behalf of this unfolding process. A renewed commitment to our own spirituality is the only thing that will give us security–personally and collectively–in these changing times.

The most important change is always a change in consciousness. The consciousness characterizing our spiritual epoch that we most need to ensure comes into its summer fullness is the consciousness of the oneness of humanity. Helen Keller challenged the world to embrace this awareness when she asked, “When indeed shall we learn that we are all related to one another, that we are all members of one body?” The Baha’i writings focus on just this:

World order can be founded only on an unshakeable consciousness of the oneness of mankind… all the human sciences recognize only one human species, albeit infinitely varied in the secondary aspects of life. Recognition of this truth requires abandonment of prejudice—prejudice of every kind—race, class, colour, creed, nation, sex, degree of material civilization, everything which enables people to consider themselves superior to others."

Moving beyond these dualities and toward the oneness that embraces all is the story of our time, our most challenging issue, and the greatest task at hand. This is the movement encircling the globe, engaging the hearts of people everywhere. This is how the entire world is now being renewed in our time.

Robert Atkinson, Ph.D., developmental psychology, is the author of nine books, including the 2017 Nautilus Book Award winner The Story of Our Time: From Duality to Interconnectedness to Oneness, from which this excerpt is taken; Mystic Journey: Getting to the Heart of Your Soul’s Story (2012); The Gift of Stories (1995); and, Year of Living Deeply: A Memoir of 1969 (2019). He is an internationally recognized authority in the techniques of life story interviewing, personal mythmaking, and soul-making, professor emeritus at the University of Southern Maine, board member of the Abbey of Hope, a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle, and director of StoryCommons. www.robertatkinson.net.