Ministerial Miscellany Nov. 2023

From day to day you might find me scribbling notes on envelopes and pieces of paper of all sizes and I get inspired by the words falling into my brain from outer and inner space. This week I looked up one of my favorite quotes. It is by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it”.  This is one of the most inspiring quotes I have ever read, and I can feel the words fill me with energy to help me keep going sometimes.  

Yet, I also feel very aware that we can push ourselves ahead with too much enthusiasm. We need to check in with our higher self and maybe slow down and even let go of our ideas and dreams. We may ask: is this my ego goal or my spiritual goal? Or, is this what I want to do right now? Sometimes the answer is “no, not really”. Just letting go is our balance point into the present moment. It is always a good thing to absolutely trust that Spirit is leading us in the right way. I love the word “surrender”. To me it is not giving up, it is giving over our choices to God.  I can give over the stress and confusion that my ego has created; I can relax and breathe deeply and know that (even though it does not always look like it) all is well. All is Well.

Trusting that we are living our best lives as we connect with each other at special events at Interfaith starting with:

• Joy Pendelton’s Celebration of Life service, & potluck party, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2:30 PM. More information is on the website.
• Community Sing with Matt Watroba, Wednesday, Nov. 8th, 7PM. Donations greatly appreciated. Learn more about Matt and his music on our website: interfaithspirit.org. 
• Cafe 704 with Jean Wilson and friends, Saturday, Nov. 11th 7:00 PM. Tickets $10.00 in person and on Zoom. Extraordinary Jazz. Come and dance!
• NEW: Drummunity-Drum Circle led by Lori Fithian, Nov 18th, 7 PM. Donations welcomed.
• Thanksgiving Day Potluck, Nov. 23, 1:00 p.m. All are welcome, bring friends, family and a dish to share. Happy Thanksgiving! May our gratitude abound.

Joining in Love and Peace, with prayers and blessings for our World.   

Annie

Ministerial Miscellany March 2023 ~ Starting Over

Have you noticed? Are you listening? Spring has arrived. On March 1st I heard the red winged blackbirds. I am always thrilled and uplifted by the sounds and sights of the first signs of spring. A time for: 

Beginning again – To change my life by selling my house and moving. To make a difference in somebody else’s life (or many lives) To Love more.  To complain less.  To let go of more stuff. To let go of fear.  Oh, I almost forgot – to laugh more.  (Last night I googled “real estate jokes” – They were not that funny)

We are part of an evolution, our own evolution.  We never stop wanting, so we never stop evolving towards what we want. It seems, our only task is to get out of the way. I know I try to stay relaxed, but there seems to be waves of reality coming in regular timing to subvert my best intentions. (Just like this afternoon’s snowstorm.)

I am reading off my iphone: “continual connection to our technological devices can make us feel trapped, with a strong desire to escape”. There is some real irony here. What!?  I am going to use the internet to escape the internet???  Oh, yes. Just like we can use food to lose weight.  Obviously, we have not figured this one out yet, and perhaps never will.  Each day, we all experience uncertainty.  Our challenge is to learn to create, as close as we can, balance in our body, peace in our mind, hope in our spirit, and love in our heart.

Look for all of these in activities at Interfaith: Sunday Service, classes, groups, in person and on Zoom, and especially music:  Every 2nd Saturday Cafe 704 at 7-9 PM live or on Zoom. Sat. March 11th, at 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Julie Beutel and Bob O’Brien are returning. More information about Julie and Bob, ticket information including Zoom tickets is on our website: interfaithspirit.org.  And, on Wednesday, March 22nd, join the Community Sing with Matt Watroba 7:00 – 8:15 p.m in person.

Have a happy and blessed month, one that seems a lot like Spring!  

                 Annie

Ministerial Miscellany January 2023 New Beginnings

Welcome to a New Year!  Don’t tell me which one.  I don’t want to see any higher numbers right now, (I just gained 6 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas) but I do love to feel the sense of starting over, the sense of renewal and release that comes with another year left behind and a new one starting.   I love to feel the sense of hope that comes with making plans for physical, mental, and emotional renewal.  I love to start setting goals for a better life and a better world: one that becomes aware of the needs to love and care for our environment, and one that begins to share the love that we have for each other, no matter how we may present ourselves.  And I hope that you will do all these things as well.  Just showing up at Interfaith with presence and connecting in that way can change the trajectory of how we experience our lives. Notice how much it helps to be willing to stretch out of our comfort zone.  Remember how fearless we were in our twenties.  We were ready to try any new thing.  If it didn’t interest us, we found something else to explore.  Exploring…that’s my word for this new year!

I will see you as you come to explore life with others at Interfaith.  Information at our website:  interfaithspirit.org. 

January 14th, Cafe 704 presents Peter Madcat Ruth and John Churchville.

Save the date for our Silver Ball, a dinner and dance celebration of 25 Years! April 29, 2023, 6PM,  dance to the music of C.A.R.M.A. with Madcat Ruth and friends.

Be well, Be happy, Be renewed by love.

Blessings,   Annie

The gifts we give.

      One of the great things about the people I interact with at Interfaith, is that we seem to be able to relax and let go of what we think should be true and go with the moment, as it is, and as we are.  It is one of our greatest gifts, to let go and let God.  It is also one of the best gifts we give each other. 

      Another great gift is to be able to listen to each other,  and to the Spirit within that is always communicating with us. Listening to each other is not a given.  As we train ourselves to do this we learn that we become one with one another, for a few moments, or many moments.  Next time you feel someone really deeply listening to what you say, savor it, and see how you feel. It can be transcendent. We can honor ourselves at that moment. Let us give ourselves the experience of listening deeply to someone else and feel how listening can change us.  Being listened to can change us. With gratitude we give and with gratitude we receive.  

Please join our special December Holiday events:

Friday, Dec. 9th, 8:00 PM  Norma Gentile ~ Candlelight Meditation Concert.

Saturday, Dec. 10th, 2:00 – 4:00 PM, Youth Education Holiday Party,  Gifts for the kids and information about our Sunday youth program.

Saturday, Dec. 10th, 7:00 PM  Cafe 704. Music by Billy King and Emily Slomovitz.  Join us in person or via zoom. For details go to the website at: https://interfaithspirit.org/cafe-704-coffeehouse/

Saturday, Dec. 10th, 6:30 PM  Holiday Crafts at Artisan 704 and Sunday, Dec. 11  after service at Noon.

Wednesday, Dec. 21st, 7:00 PM Solstice Sing-Along with Jean Chorazyczewski, Lori Fithian, Eric & Mary Fithian, Alaura Massaro, Linda Teaman & Tom Voiles.

Saturday, Dec. 24th, 5:00 PM Christmas Eve “Finger Food” Potluck followed by Christmas Eve Candle-lighting Service at 7:00 PM.

Ministerial Miscellany March 2022

Now is a good time to think about how we pray. We do not need to pray for an early Spring, that is a given. Early or late, it will always come. I heard the beautiful sounds of the red-winged blackbirds for the first time today. Peace is quite different, we are in charge of our own peace, and we also influence the Peace of others. What if we practice Peace and prayer as if it can influence the whole world. I believe it can. Right now, the world needs our help. I have a hard time accepting that it seems that world leaders (including our own) need to fight and even kill to get what they want and need for their people and their own self interest. The language we hear is one of competition and conflict. Words matter. Albert Einstein said that you do not solve a problem at the level of the problem. War will not bring Peace.

Unfortunately I am not even a good example. Today I was driving my neighbor’s son home. He had been at my house to do some cleanup work. We met his Mother on the dirt road near their house. She was picking up bags of garbage careless people intentionally drop off in the woods. She was angry about the garbage, but she was even more angry about Joe Biden’s decisions as president. I found myself disagreeing, but with nothing to say, as often happens, except to myself. (“Please get me out of here!”) I sometimes find that angry people do not want to hear from anyone, they just need room to express themselves. And it is hard not to react when we feel attacked. When we choose not to react, it is a powerful message of trust in God, in love, and in peace.

Check our website for our peaceful, loving activities, both in person and on Zoom. Especially, join us for our music at Cafe 704, on Saturday, March 12th with Paul Vornhagen and Aron Kaufman. Sign up on https://rsvp.church/r/pI4u8kI2 pay at the door if you will be coming in person or go to https://interfaithspirit.org/events/cafe-704-coffeehouse/ to purchase a ticket for the Livestream on Zoom.
Sending Love and Blessings! Annie

Ministerial Miscellany February 2021

Relationships?….yes, this is the time of year we pay more attention to our quest to love unconditionally and to whether we think our close relationships are going well or not so well and whether we might give more attention to how we could be doing better. First of all, let’s remember there is nothing to fix. Everything is evolving in divine right order. And we truly have in consciousness everything we have ever needed to become who we were meant to be, that angel of human and divine being. This knowingness is, of course, the carrot hanging over the donkey’s head as we travel our journeys of our lifetimes.

I don’t know about you, but I just “lose it” frequently. I feel as if I overreact way too often. A disagreement may not even last long. But because we live so much in our ego consciousness, we think we are, need to be, and deserve to be in control of our own lives. Well, I think we are in control of how we respond to what is going on. And we are responsible for creating the bigger picture of our lives. However, unless we truly go about understanding everything through the eyes of our Spiritual self, we are just taking a shot in the dark, and whatever peace we find will not last.

We must consider all of our ideas, our intentions, and our decisions from our place of love, wholeness, and joy. My prayer for us is this: May we remember who we are when we stop to take a deep breath several times each day, and breathe that love into the beautiful busy world around us, and bless it all.

Come to our Sunday Services on Zoom each week. Every Monday, Layla Ananda sends out an email with all the links for each of the groups and classes that welcome our participation on Zoom.

Blessings to all for a great month, Annie

On Sunday, April 26, the Interfaith Center held its Annual Meeting online, due to the current stay-home, stay-safe order.  We voted to make a change to our bylaws to reflect the current leadership team plan, which so beautifully meets our needs for spiritual and administrative leadership!  If you missed the meeting, or would like to look at the details again, here they are:

[pdf-embedder url=”https://interfaithspirit.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ICSG-Info-for-Annual-Meeting-2020-edited.pdf” title=”ICSG Info for Annual Meeting 2020 edited”]

Here’s a larger-type version of the above.

Here are the Bylaws before 4/26/20 change.