This month as we have explored the theme of Refuge, we have heard reflections on how we both receive and create refuge. We have also been encouraged to find refuge in the gifts and contrasts of this season: the light and the dark, the rose in the wintertime.

If you would like to return to these messages, you can find them here: Recent Services (ouuc.org)

Our communal practices of worship, learning, action, care, and community building are all ways that we form refuge together and provide it to one another. But how do we take this practice home with us and into our lives, and create our own spiritual and faith refuges? What spiritual practices could support you in coming home to your deepest and most true self, your own truth and understanding, and your own values and way of being in the world?

I have worked with many people individually and in groups exploring what spiritual practice can be and how to craft a practice that is right for each person and this time in their life, and I believe there is a practice that is right for everyone. Spiritual Practices are the things we likely think of right away like meditation, prayer, or yoga. But they can also be gardening, singing, or even showering or savoring your coffee in the morning. It is the intent that you bring to it, and the manner in which you engage with it.

Practices can also be done daily, but others are weekly, annually, or once in a lifetime. You can set aside a special space for your practice, such as an altar or meditation room, but you can also practice subtly whenever and wherever you are.

If you are moved to explore spiritual practice more for yourself, here are some starting places:

The Spirit In Practice Curriculum: Spirit in Practice (padlet.org)

The book Everyday Spiritual Practice by Scott Alexander

If you have more time and resources to dedicate, you might consider:

UU Wellsprings, a program for UU deepening: Home - UU Wellspring

Or find a Spiritual Director to work with: The UU Spiritual Directors Network or Spiritual Directors International both have directories you can search for a Spiritual Director

And then I hope you will join me for the Drop In Discussion Circle on Zoom, on Tuesday January 3rd, 6:30-8pm. We will discuss our thoughts and our practices around Refuge and spiritual practice. Register here.

You probably will recognize Julie as the friendly kitchen fairy who serves coffee and keeps the kitchen clean and well stocked. Julie has been a kitchen volunteer for as long as she has been volunteering at OUUC, sharing that when she first joined OUUC Larry and Amy Huntley were managing the kitchen and she joined their crew and found it to be a great experience because you get to interact with almost everyone if you’re pouring the coffee.

Julie likes volunteering because it gives her a sense of belonging and of giving back to something that gives so much to her. She enjoys working alongside other people and getting to know them while also doing something worthwhile. Her biggest challenges as a volunteer are asking others to do something and dealing with technology, but she’s challenging herself to keep learning new things. Julie says: “ The goal is to overcome the stubborn resistance I feel to getting comfortable with electronica. Stay tuned. This may work, or maybe not.”

We all appreciate Julie’s steady care of the kitchen and of all of us!

P.S.: would you also like to join the kitchen crew? Contact Linda Walsh, who coordinates the schedule.