2012
Sunday Services in December …….
Theme: We Are the Blessing
In December, the Church of Truth – Community of Conscious
Living offers a series of services incorporating the insight and
affirmation that WE are the blessing. To convey this insight we
have used the rich symbolism of the body, with which we are
blessed by Mother Earth.
On Dec. 2, the theme is Hear and Now (The Art of Listening).
For a moment, a brief moment, imagine yourself deaf ……
Dancing Wolf notes, “Not only is sound all around us … there
is an inner chatter that can be deafening at times and yet when
we … listen deeply we are more often than not blessed with
great gifts.” The blessings of hearing are myriad. Through our
ears we hear the other, the cries and sighs of nature, the songs of
the spheres, the silence. Julia Menard, a professional mediator
specializing in conflict transformation, will be our guest
speaker. Ms. Menard will offer our community a workshop
in February on Making Tough Conversations Great. This is a
wonderful opportunity for the Community of Conscious Living
to hear her speak.
On Dec. 9, hospital chaplain Peter Shurvin will offer us a hand
blessing. For a moment, look at your hands, then imagine
yourself without hands …… Ordained in the Anglican Church,
Peter’s 20-year journey as a chaplain in the hospital system
has allowed him to enjoy and learn from the numerous forms
of expression by which humans approach the Great Spirit,
in sickness, health and death. He blesses the hands that heal,
comfort, work, connect and allow us to intimately interact with creation.
At the core of the month, Dec. 16, Sanjara Omoniyi will speak on the blessings
of the heart. For a moment, struggle to imagine yourself without a heart. It is
unthinkable for all but the sociopath. One of the blessings I experience as a
congregant of this community of conscious living is a widespread and deep “heart-
centredness” that does not disparage the intellect, but rather allows for a balance by
restoring love and compassion at the core.
If the eyes are the window of the soul, prepare yourself for another rich ceremony
as coordinated and moderated by Trish Coleman on Dec. 23, with the theme being
the Blessing of Sight, Light and Insight. The Advent candle of love, the Hanukkah
menorah, the Christos light and the return of the sun will all shed their radiant
blessings. “Do you see what I see?”
Finally, on Dec. 30, the feet that carry us through this glorious painful life, with
or without complaint, that grounds us to Mother Earth, will be the subject, or
metaphor, of our final encounter with the theme of blessing. “I had no shoes and
complained, until I met a man who had no feet.” For a moment, imagine yourself
with no feet… Our soles have led us through this year and our souls will lead us,
together in community, into the year of promise and great change which awaits us.
For me, that we are the blessing has been clearly manifest as my association with
the Church of Truth deepens. A man blessed with a reasonable amount of good
friends, I now have many more among the congregants. I am so blessed to be part
of the Men’s Circle that was birthed in January, loving the brothers who share their
joy and pain, wisdom and honesty, practical and spiritual blessings. I am blessed
that a Women’s Circle is also active, strengthening those who hold up half the
sky so that it won’t fall on my head. We are blessed to have dedicated volunteers
who ten months of the year, arrange to share this church’s gift of sacred space and
human resources on Oneness Wednesdays, the seductress that ensnared me in this
community of conscious living. We are blessed in the consistent silent service
congregants perform without anticipation of reward. We are blessed that their
service is appreciated and recognized. We are blessed in the constant variegations
of truth that manifest themselves in an ongoing crescendo of Oneness as we step
forth and share from our hearts and our minds. We see the bonds strengthening, the
love blossoming. We ARE the blessing. Come to church, look around, and feel it
in your heart. We ARE the blessing.
Hendrik de Pagter SDC
Services in November …….
Theme: From Here to Eternity (Death & Dying)
It is my experience that many people who work in Hospice and many others who have faced death in the eye have come to the realization that it isn’t the fearful event they had perhaps once thought it was. That is not to say it is easy, or without deep emotions to watch someone you care for die or even being the one who is dying! It does help to accept that death is inevitable and can be the beginning instead of the end. Some say that I am not saying the truth when I say I do not have fear when it comes to my own death but that is how I feel. I truly feel at Peace.
In Patch Adams, the movie, Patch visits a young man who is dying and is very, very angry. He is miserable to the nursing and medical staff and even throws a bedpan at Patch, a medical student. Patch reaches the man’s anger by calling death by all the names he can think of and eventually the young man can think of some. Some of the names were “kick the bucket”, “buy the farm” “the last big sleep”. You probably can add to this. We also avoid the word DEATH with words such as “passed away”, “made her transition,” I do see life after death as a new adventure, for some who have been very ill; a graduation day, a day of freedom from an earthly shell that doesn’t serve them well anymore. I believe it is a continuation of our Spirit in a different form. What do you think?
Perhaps some of you have read or heard of Anita Moorjani’s book ‘Dying to Be Me’. In her book she describes her NDE (near death experience).Anita explains that while in the coma state she was actually in a really amazing and beautiful place where she was aware of everything that happened around her, including how distraught her family was. In fact, she didn’t understand why they were so distraught, because she felt so good. She was free from pain and suffering.
But, there was more. Anita felt absolutely surrounded by unconditional love so magnificent that words cannot explain. She describes the feeling like the warm comfort of home. Anita could see, hear and feel everything that was happening within the entire situation. She heard doctor’s talking about her condition when they were not even inside her room. She knew her husband called her brother to tell him the news. She had awareness of her brother and knew that he was coming to see her. While in the coma, Anita felt the presence of her father who died 10 years prior, as well as the presence of her friend who died from cancer.
In this state, Anita explains there is no time lapse, when she brought something into her awareness it instantly appeared before her. She was aware of other lives as though she lived other lives, but not as past lives, as lives that were actually happening then and there in front of her. It’s like all of time exists at the same time. Everything is happening in the present moment – past, present and future. Anita saw her future. She had a choice of whether she wanted to come back or not. Anita saw the outcome of both scenarios play out.
Anita also understood that we are all One, all part of the One consciousness, all facets of the One Source. Anita was able to feel the emotions of everyone she put her awareness on, every doctor, nurse, her mother, brother and her husband. Without her body, she realized that our bodies make us feel separate, in truth, we are not separate we’re all One and whatever we do and feel affects everybody. Whatever she focused her awareness on, she became it. Without her body she felt she was everywhere at the same time.
If she uses the term God she must add that God has no form. God is formless. Anita explains, the minute you put form on God you put limitation there. All she knew for sure was that something really huge had happened and that she connected with something. That something that she connected to made her feel that she was that something. When she was in the state without her body she was also a part of that something, she was everything, she was invincible, she was connected to everybody and every living thing.
Anita became the universe in that state. She realized she had the universe inside of her and that we all do. Anita describes, it feels as though we are all at the center of the universe. When you find that center place you can start allowing everything that is yours to enter into your life. It’s not about pursuing anything. It’s about allowing what is yours to come to you.
So she suggests that we relax and realize that the journey to creating our reality is to discover our Real Self, who we truly are. The more we discover our True Self the more we allow that which is truly ours to come into our life. Once you know that you are an amazing magnificent being that is worthy and deserving of everything that you desire, once you know that you are worthy and you deserve love, unconditional love, in the way that you desire it, you only have to realize it and allow it in. We seem to believe we have to compete to have our desires met, but we’re all different, no two people have the same desires and the universe needs all of us. We are all facets of the universe and we’ve come to express who we are. Death is a clinical process, a process that can be observed and documented. Many have made the ‘journey’ and returned to tell about it. Others, such as the Shaman, have made it a practice of taking the journey intentionally. We have a wealth of opinion about what happens to us when we make this journey as well as a wealth of information that has been gathered from those who have actually been there and back.
At our core essence we are pure Love. When we are being our true self all we can be is Love because that’s who we are at our core. Love is all there is. One commonality is evident, all judgment is self-judgment. Almost without exception, the report is the light did not judge us – we judged ourselves!
The Immortal Journey by James Dillet Freeman from his book Time and Eternity
We make an immortal journey. Through chance and change, by way of worlds
forgotten and courses unremembered yet graven in my soul, I came here and I
journey on.
This is the human condition.
I have risen on immortal mornings,
I have slept through innumerable nights.
I have journeyed on innumerable journeys.
I have lived in familiar and unfamiliar worlds.
I have had brave and beautiful companions, lovely friends.
I shall have them yet again.
I have been weak and strong, wise and unwise.
I have come on much curious knowledge, some remembered, and some forgotten.
I have done many deeds, some worthy, some unworthy.
What I am undertaking I am not sure- but I am sure it is a destination worthy of myself.
Here I am at this place on this day. Tonight I shall lie down once more to sleep
And tomorrow I shall rise again and journey on.
Submitted by P. Coleman SDC
NOVEMBER’S THEME: From Here to Eternity (Death and Dying)
Nov 4 Death: Crucible or Curse
Coordinator: Dancing Wolf
Moderator: Joyanna Wilkinson
Meditator: Don Morris
Speaker: Rachelle Lamb
Greeter: Bob Winkenhower
Nov 11 Peace and Remembrance
Coordinator: Stephen Graves
Moderator: Stephen Graves
Meditation: Laurence Beal
Panel: Bob Winkenhower, Junie Swadron & Kim Ouimet
Greeter: Cynthia Pattison
Nov 18 Conscious Dying
Coordinator: Patricia Coleman
Moderator: D. Joan Thomas
Meditation: Norm Smookler
Speakers: Sacred Talking Circle
Roland Guenther, Sanjara Omoniyi, Trish Coleman & Don Morris
Greeter: Janet Taylor
Nov 25 Nobody Gets Out of Here Alive
Coordinator: Hendrik de Pagter
Moderator: Hendrik de Pagter
Meditation: Patti Huot
Speaker: Community Service
Greeter: Lorna Rennie
Song: Jennifer Sagar (May the circle be unbroken)
Sunday Services in October …….
Theme: Unity Consciousness
When the SDC selected the theme of “Unity Consciousness” for October
… I reflected some time later that:
Unity Consciousness describes our church, our community.
I reflected that …
In this community we honor Diversity, allowing each to express their truths
knowing that from their perspective indeed that is what it is.
And from my perspective, I may or may not fully agree, but I know that
should I choose, I will be given opportunity to share my thoughts, my
feelings.
I know that when I say “God” or “Great Spirit” that each of my brothers
and sisters will relate this to their concept of Divinity.
I can trust that what is shared is shared from the Heart, that personal
agendas are not always tolerated. And yet all agendas that promote, that
support the wellbeing of our community are welcomed.
I reflected that …Each beautiful Soul here is contributing to the
understanding of Self ….. Self-Love ….. and the desire to achieve the
Sacred Union of Spirit and Matter.
And it is the recognition of Balance within our Being that releases the gift
of Self-Healing … thereby enabling us to facilitate the self-healing of
another.
We Are the Alpha and Omega of Being.
By understanding that our journey is to experience the Love of Spirit …
helps us to appreciate that all experience is of a Loving nature, even the
pain, the lows and times of anguish.
The illusion of separation is a gift we received from Spirit, upon entering
this great Cosmic experiment.
A gift to enable us to become more aware of the Unity, the perfect Balance
of the universe.
Come Unity. We emulate the Perfect Balance of God, of Love, of All That
Is. And it is an honor to be able to share and serve our most precious
“Community of Conscious Living”.
Stephen Graves SDC
OCTOBER’S THEME: UNITY CONSCIOUSNESS
Oct 7 Abundant Gratitude
Moderator: Trish Coleman
Meditation: Stephen Graves
Speaker: Program Community Participation: The 4 Directions
Greeter: Jack Hyatt
Oct 14 Unity Consciousness
Moderator: Stephen Graves
Meditation: Daniel and Elvira
Speaker: Stephanie Leigh
Greeter: Zsuzsa Harsman
October 21 Empowered Community
Moderator: Marvelous Trudeau
Meditation: Carol Douglas
Speaker: Diana Kuch
Greeter: Marie Logan
Oct 28 Community Service
Coordinator: Hendrik de Pagter
Moderator: Lorna Rennie
Meditator: Laura Lane
Speaker: Community Service
Greeter: Elvira Perrella
Sunday Services in September …….
Theme: Spiritus
What is happening in the World of Spirit that we are part of right now?
Is it different then it has been in the past? How?
Does religion still play a part in the spiritual lives of people?
How do we feel about the prophecies of this coming age December 21st,
2012?
Does the idea of major change in the world bring fear or excitement?
What do we feel is our role in terms of living in Spirit?
Is that working out for each one of us in our daily lives?
Are we listening to our ‘still small voice’? (September 9)
Why not? Why don’t I listen? (September 16)
Is Spirit just about our inner lives or is it about living our life as a whole
person. Thich Nhat Hanh puts spirituality into perspective I believe in
living according to our TRUE NATURE, our HIGHER SELF
“The way we live our daily lives is what most effects the situation of the
world. If we can change our daily lives, then we can change our
governments and can change the world. Our president and governments are
us. They reflect our lifestyle and our way of thinking. The way we hold a
cup of tea, pick up the newspaper or even use toilet paper are directly
related to peace.”
“Each thought, each action in the sunlight of awareness becomes sacred.
In this light, no boundary exists between the sacred and the profane.”
“Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do
and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We don’t
have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. We don’t have to leave our
city or even our neighbourhood to enjoy the eyes of a beautiful child. Even
the air we breathe can be a source of joy.”
“If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only
we, but everyone will profit from it. If we really know how to live, what
better way to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our
awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true
smile is an awakened mind.”
“To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the
truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.”
IS THIS THE ESSENCE OF SPIRITUS?
The psalmist said ‘Let’s reason together’ says the Lord. OK so what’s that all
about? How do we ‘reason together’ as a group, as a community? (September 23)
Laurence writes “In small group processing, holding respect and integrity at base
or foundation is critical to healthy experience. Both Lindsay and Clive have
experience in working with small groups which have achieved degrees of notable
success. Lindsay has worked with the Head Injury Society, Pandora Arts
Collective and others. Clive has worked with committees on local poverty, filming
projects on mental wellness, and he has worked as member and president of the
Pandora Arts Collective. They bring anecdotes on these experiences in aims of
illustrating a healthy potential.”
Thich Nhat Hanh wrote “It is possible that the next Buddha will not take the form
of an individual. The next Buddha may take the form of a community -a community practicing understanding and loving kindness, a community practicing mindful living. This may be the most important thing we can do for the survival of the earth.”
As a Community how do we express the Spirit-In-Us? (September 30)
“Spirituality isn’t something we create. It just is. It exists in all things, all the time.
It is the essence of who you are. You are spirit expressing itself.” Oprah
— Patricia Coleman and Dancing Wolf – the SDC working together
Sunday Service Schedule for September 2012
THEME: SPIRITUS
September 2 A Spiritual Conspiracy
Coordinator: Patricia Coleman
Moderator: Sanjara Omoniyi
Meditation: Lavana Kilborn
Speakers: Catherine Dennison
Greeter: John De Veer
September 9 The Still Small Voice
Coordinator: Sanjara Omoniyi
Moderator: Zsuzsa Harsman
Meditator: Catherine Denison
Panel of Speakers: Roland Guenther, Junie Swadron & Sanjara Omoniyi
Greeters: Joyanna Wilkinson
September 16 Why Don’t I Listen?
Coordinator: Hendrik de Pagter
Moderator: Don Morris
Meditator: John Hutton
Speakers: Daniel Ouimet and Esther Hart
Greeter: Bernadine Sperling
September 23 Reasoning Together
Coordinator: Laurence Beal
Moderator: Hendrik de Pagter
Meditation: Pauline Karch
Speaker: Clive Beal and Lindsay Beal
Greeter: Marek Losinski
September 30 Community Service: Spirit in Us
Coordinator: Dancing Wolf
Moderator: Dancing Wolf
Meditation: Patricia Coleman
Greeter: Stephen Kinsella
Sunday Services in August …….
Theme: Summertime
…an’ the livin’ is easy; Fish are jumpin’, an’ the cotton is high. One of these mornin’s you goin’ to rise up singin’; Then you’ll spread yo’ wings, an’ you’ll take the sky.
Words by DuBose Heyward
This ripening period at the ending of the warmer season is a ‘time out’ for many people in our post-modern culture. The old days of human community and activities being tied intrinsically to the sowing of seed, growing and harvesting are long left receding into the past. Yet, organically, we still seem to be oriented in the end of the summer with an expectation for a respite from the toils of the workzone. Summer Vacation was inculcated in us with the experience of having a break from the school regimen.
With this in mind, we can appreciate Dancing Wolf’s ‘take’ on the August paradigm: Imaginative Aspiration – “While I might desire to be somewhere else this summer and actually go there, I have a stronger longing to travel deeper into my relationship with the mystery that keeps my heart beating, lets the sun give 20,000 times the energy we consume on earth as a species, and gifts me with these sacred senses…yet this same mystery has about it a darkness that appears unfathomable. My aspiration this summer is to find some peace with this dichotomy, or perhaps just prepare myself for a journey without a destination.”
There then, a road with a mysterious end, we are going to a place with no name, a mystery that unfolds in our engagement. For further reflections, a few words from Patricia Coleman: “Many times I hear people talk about very special times in their lives that gave them spiritual awakening, clarity, aha aha moments and as we have been reflecting, [we now have] a time to share [these] moments with each other.”
The open space in our minds and hearts may be cleared with the opportunities that come our ways this August. Just a little bit of effort might be required to set the stage for launching off into wild and exceptional outreaches of human experience.
Submitted by Laurence Beal, SDC
Sunday Service Schedule for August 2012
THEME: SUMMERTIME
August 5 Fertile Goals: What Are You Doing This Summer?
Coordinator: Hendrik dePagter
Moderator: Lorna Rennie
Meditation: Stephen Graves
Speakers: Marie Logan & Paul Monfette
Greeter: Bernadine Sperling
August 12 Imaginative Aspiration
Coordinator: Dancing Wolf
Moderator: D Joan Thomas
Meditator: Katharina Nolla
Speaker: Robert Cerins
Greeters: Stephen Graves, Dancing Wolf
Robert Cerins is an Artist and Musician and an Out of the Box kind of guy who will tickle our sense of the sacred. http://www.robertcerins.com/
August 19 On the Road: Journey and Destination
Coordinator: Stephen Kinsella
Moderator: Esther Hart
Meditator: Ella Brown
Speaker: Joyanna Wilkinson
Greeter: Stephen Kinsella
August 26 Summer Reflections – Spirit Awakened
Community Service: ‘Share your spiritual experiences’
Coordinator: Patricia Coleman
Moderator: Patricia Coleman
Meditation: Susan Blackwood
Greeter: Daniel Ouimet
Sunday Services in July …….
Theme: Word’s Worth: Language and Action
“People just love to play with words.” – Men at Work
“Words … the most powerful drug used by mankind.” – Rudyard Kipling
“Words are alive. Cut them and they bleed.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Words have the power to both destroy and heal.” – The Buddha
Word. My word! Words fail me. Words are cheap. Speak your truth. Walk
your talk. Talk him down. The word made flesh. A call to arms. As good as
my word. The word on the street. The oral tradition. The Gutenberg galaxy.
Glyph, cursive, print. Blow hot air, flap your gums. He’s all talk and no
action. Blessings, curses, vows. Sayings, slogans, declarations. Poetry,
fiction, information. Manifesto, propaganda, constitution. Anthem, speech,
proclamation. Extry, extry, read all about it: “In the beginning was the
Word …”
There are those among us who, gazing heavenward, decode the brilliant
amidst the obscure and read the language of the stars: astrologers, the star
(astron) speech (logos) diviners. To one star-talker, the message these
celestial fires speak these coming days is all about language and action and
in July, the Church of Truth will lift a corner of the veil on communication
and activation, the talk and the walk, examining the power, beauty and
perhaps the treachery of words and how they move us in the world.
Submitted by Hendrik de Pagter SDC
July 1 Mother Tongue (First Words of Love)
Coordinator: Patricia Coleman
Moderator: Catherine Dennison
Meditation: John Van Beek
Speakers: Ella Brown & Patti Huot
Greeter: Joyanna Wilkinson
July 8 Speaking Without Tongues
Coordinator: Stephen Kinsella
Moderator: John Hutton
Meditation: Roland Guenther
Speaker: Experiential Selections
Greeter: Janet Taylor
Magdalena–sounds of the Spirit
Bernadine, Paul & Marvelous: Body language
Sharing Photography of Facial Expressions
What are you expressing to others non-verbally?
Despite the primacy given to the spoken and written word, non-verbal
communication is ubiquitous (wink wink, nudge nudge), and the ways we
communicate without words are explored on July 8 in Speaking Without Tongues.
We can never not communicate.
July 15 Manifesto
Coordinator: Hendrik de Pagter
Moderator: Junie Swadron
Meditation: Catherine Denison
Speaker: Joan Hopper
Greeter: Katharina Nolla
Manifesto, will touch the dark and light of an unambiguous form of communication. Perhaps
it will raise for each of us what it is we wish to declare to and about ourselves.
What is our intent?
July 22 Last Words
Coordinator: Dancing Wolf
Moderator: Bob Winkenhower
Meditation: Marek Losinski
Speaker: Don Morris
Greeter: Hendrik de Pagter/Dancing Wolf
We will come to grips with Last Words, the words of gratitude and
forgiveness with which we shuffle off this mortal coil, the painful, poignant,
purposeful and passionate words of truth, love and liberation that I certainly hope
will stumble from my tongue when this earthly journey comes to a close. Purple
prose, yellow journalism.
July 29 On My Word
Coordinator: Laurence Beal
Moderator: Stephen Kinsella
Meditation: Marvelous Trudeau
This is a Community Service
On My Word, will gather us in small
discussion groups to speak our personal insights, the subjective truths of language
and action enriched, emboldened and inspirational in the sharing. In this exercise
in logotherapy, some might share encyclopedic encomiums of tales and deeds and
others may simply share the opinion of the Beatles: “the only word is love.” And
on that truthful note, as expressed in the modern parlance, slang, jargon, argot.
patois, lingo: WORD!
Sunday Services in June …….
Theme: I Am
The title is I AM. The overall impression I have from our first meeting is that we are looking at I AM from a personal point of view. Am I coming from EGO or SELF ESTEEM? We are discovering I AM with likeminded people. Then we look to I AM in the greater community? Finally we round it up with how we have found who I AM and healing through Creative Expression.
— Patricia (Trish) Coleman – SDC
June 3 I Am Both Self Esteem? Ego
Coordinator: Stephen Kinsella
Moderator: Bob Winkenhower
Meditation: Stephen Kinsella (music and hold the silence)
Speaker: Stephen Kinsella
Greeter: Linda Chan
June 10 I Am One with Like-minded People (Birds of a Feather Flock Together)
Coordinator: Laurence Beal
Moderator: Lorna Rennie
Meditation: Laurence Beal
Speaker: Melanie Lichtinger
Greeter: Don Morris
June 17 I Am Here For You – Holding Space
Coordinator: Hendrik de Pagter
Moderator: Elvira Parrella
Meditation: Susan Blackwood
Speakers: Roland Guenther and Hendrik de Pagter
Greeter: Jennifer Sagar
June 24 Community Service: I Am Inspired Creativity and Healing
Moderator: Dancing Wolf
Meditation: Stephen Greaves
Greeter: Joyanna Wilkinson
Sunday Services in May …….
Theme: Who Are We?
We are pondering the question ‘Who are We’ in the month of May.
We can look at this individually ‘Who am I’?
Or we can look at it collectively ‘Who are We?
Collectively we may see ourselves as part of a community/group: or part of the human race: or part of the Cosmos. In looking at ‘who or ‘what’ we are, we may over simplify. (Mind Body and Spirit) However in looking for self-development it appears we may be motivated, yet our inhibitions and fears unravel as we truly discover who we are. If we really want to know ourselves we need to look sincerely and with integrity at our wounds of an emotional, feeling, or psychological nature.
This awareness or self-healing comes when we really want to care for ourselves in every way. There will then be healing of the consciousness. To be a whole, healed, integrated person is the goal. To change as I heal, integrate and grow I return to what I have always known as the ‘real’ me. Oh yes, we have all had the idea given to us of being no more or less than the point of light, or consciousness itself.
Now we will examine the collective ‘We’. Although there are many layers of human social organization from Nations to Provinces to Cities to Religious Groups and Community Organizations we all are all one under the Great Whole of the Cosmic Community. While there is a sense that all of this appears to have order and purpose there is also a sense, beyond our human understanding, of transition towards ONENESS , a coming together. Many are feeling this as individuals.
When a collective of individuals pool their human potential, the reflection of the common focus becomes the visible and identifying quality to those looking from the functional “outside”. When the creative principle is owned and expressed by the collective, instead of a flat or static group identity being formed, the potential for a dynamic and fairly incomprehensible fullness defies final and limited identification.
We can create way beyond the past proofs of accomplishment, in owning this potency for creation.
—-Laurence Beal, SDC
May 6 The Heart of the Matter
Coordinator: Marvelous Trudeau
Moderator: Brian Martin
Meditation: Brian Martin
Speaker: Kelsang Zopa
Brian will create a ceremony of sorts to honour the full moon Festival of Wesak.
In the East it is the great celebration of the Buddha.
May 13 Social Integrity
Coordinator: Laurence Beal
Moderator: Laurence Beal
Meditation: Laurence Beal
Panel: Winnie the Pooh, Eyore, Piglet, Rabbit (maybe Christopher Robin)
Laurence is hoping to elicit the support of members in giving voice to views of the panel.
Material available for gaining these characteristic perspectives is found this time in the book The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff.
May 20 Re: Communication Subtleties
Coordinator: Bernadine Sperling
Moderator: Bernadine Sperling
Meditation: Jennifer Sager – musical meditation
Speakers: Jennifer Sager and Hendrik dePagter
May 27 Community Service: Dream Myself Home
Coordinator: Susan Blackwood
Moderator: Susan Blackwood
Meditation: TBA
Sunday Services in April …….
Theme: In Transition
The SDC this year has had great input from our astrologist Laurence Beal. He often has given us insights that have led to the topics that we as a group have chosen. For April he found that there was change and turmoil in the heavens and the topic ‘In Transition’ was chosen.
It is my turn to do the write up. Confusion is right!–What do I write about concerning Transition? I thought about Birth and Death as two of the important transitions we make.
Later it occurred to me that we are always in transition. There is a sense in which there is no present time! There is also a sense in which there is no time but the present. The present time is the invisible point between the past and the future. It begins to pass away before it has come into existence; that which less than a moment ago was future has now already receded into the past. In this sense; in time there are only past and future. The present is merely the hinge on which they turn.
So I propose that we are always ‘in transition’. Perhaps some events in our lives are more outstanding then others. For me it was probably leaving home for the first time to live in residence at Toronto Western Hospital for my nursing training. Living with over 60 girls was a huge transition. Seeing life begin in Obstetrics; the difficult transitions patients were making because of illness and ultimately their final transition when the soul left their mortal bodies. That was quite a lot of transition to witness in my late teens and early twenties. Then there was the transition of becoming married and the births of my 4 children and on and on our transitions continue. I have had many spiritual transitions until I have come to a place of it all ‘Just Is.’
I don’t have to believe anything. I don’t have to do anything. I don’t have to be anything. In Time and Eternity I just am. The transitions continue Right now I have forever because the only time there is, is ‘RIGHT NOW’ The paradox again –To live each moment to the full but know I have forever. I AM one with the Oneness but I am Patricia Anne living out a human existence in this body at the same time.
—- Patricia Coleman, SDC
April 1 Breakthrough
Coordinator: Marvelous Trudeau
Moderator: Marvelous Trudeau
Meditation: Zsuzsa Harsman
Speakers – Panel: Carl C. Mashon, BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres and Brent Ullerick, Festival Entertainment Producer
Greeter: TBA
April 8 Transition / Easter
Coordinator: Trish Coleman
Facilitator: Trish Coleman
Speakers: 30 members of our community
Greeter: Janet Taylor
April 15 Deep Love at Work
Coordinator: Bernadine Sperling
Moderator: Bernadine Sperling
Meditation: Norm Smookler
Speakers – Panel: Roland Guenther and Sanjara Omoniyi
Greeter: Katharina Nolla
April 22 Stewardship – An Earth Day Service
Coordinator: Susan Blackwood
Moderator: Susan Blackwood
Meditation: Silent
Speaker: Earth Day with Special Ceremony and sharing time with Susan
Music: Robin Gillmor leading us in chants and singing
Greeter: Paul Monfette
April 29 Generosity / Deep Pockets
Community Service
Coordinator Laurence Beal
Moderator: Laurence Beal
Meditation: Hold the Silence
Greeter: TBA
Sunday Services in March …….
Theme: The “I” Within the Storm
This month is an invitation to all to look more deeply at that “I” within the storm and where we reside on the spectrum. Is it our pattern to want freedom from the storm(s) of life, or peace within them?
With Love, Blessings and Gratitude to each and every one of you.
Submitted by Bernadine Sperling, SDC
March 4 Steady As She Goes
Coordinator: Laurence Beal
Moderator: Hendrik de Pagter
Singing Invocation: Jennifer Sager
Meditation: Silent (Moderator holds space)
Speakers: Gordon and Heather Thurston
Greeter: Laurence Beal
March 11 Love is the Way Home
Coordinator: Trish Coleman
Moderator: Esther Hart
Meditation: Catherine Denison
Speaker: Trish Coleman
Greeter: Pat Miller
March 18 Finding New Ground – Spring Equinox
Service conducted by Brian Martin and Nikki Menard
Coordinator: Bernadine Sperling
Greeter: Bernadine Sperling
March 25 Re-centering
Community Service
Coordinator Marvelous Trudeau
Moderator: Hendrik de Pagter
Meditation: Jennifer Sager
Greeter: TBA
Sunday Services in February …….
Theme: Structure and Freedom
So, what is my relationship or thoughts about structure and freedom? Outwardly they seem to be completely different experiences. We could call them by different names: Form and formless, solid and fluid, emptiness and expansiveness. Perhaps like the yin yang symbol, one cannot live without the other.
My dance between structure and freedom has been a long one. I discovered after many trials and errors while creating retreats, talks, lectures and ceremonies that there are many ways to prepare for them. With experimentation, I have done them tightly organized down to the last word, or I have gone into the situation and just winged it. I was trying to find my path to the most effective way of public speaking and sharing of ideas. But mostly I was looking for a way to be comfortable and feel safe.
I have worked with groups that have seemed to not need tight structure. They have loosely had a format, no one was in charge, they did not have a set timeframe and they made.
Working with groups in whatever capacity has affirmed that I work best when I have laid the whole event out. I will either write it down or at the least have a firm picture in my mind of the beginning, middle and end. I feel safe when I have that in place. Looking at the great motivational speakers of our times, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Marianne Williamson, Anthony Robbins and Deepak Chopra, they always appear to be winging it, they do not have notes or appear to be reading from a script. I have always thought they are winging it. But research has shown me that is not the truth. They have created the talk, worked it through, read it many times, tweaked and then gone out and delivered it seamlessly.
As I develop structure in presentations and talks, the more time I put into the detail the more I can let go and improvise and flow with the energy of the group when presenting at an event. I have experienced it over and over again. Without the structure, I do not have the safety to be free from form, l feel unsure and lost. I have come to realize that within structure creativity lives, formlessness speaks and flow comes out of it to be put into structure once again in another form. I can’t have one without the other. We are all individual in how we do life, some have more yin than yang or vice a versa. So my question for you this month is how do you dance between structure and freedom?
Submitted by Susan Blackwood, SDC
February 5 Poem — Aid for Changing
Coordinator: Laurence Beal
Moderator: Laurence Beal
Meditation: Instumental soundtrack
Speaker: Dancing Wolf and Pauline Karch
Greeter: Patti Huot + Pat Chapman
Feb 12th Insight / Reflection
Coordinator: Marvelous Trudeau
Moderator: John Hutton
Meditation: Bernadine Sperling
Speaker: Anthony Hamilton
Greeter: Marvelous Trudeau
February 19 The Healing Power of Compassion
Coordinator: Patricia Coleman
Moderator: Bob Winkenhower
Meditation: Linda Chan
Speakers: Hendrik de Pagter & Catherine Denison
Greeter: Sharon Schroeder
February 26 Structure and Freedom
Community Service
Coordinator Susan Blackwood
Moderator: Brian Martin
Meditation: Patti Huot
Greeter: Bernadine Sperling
Sunday Services in January…….
Theme: The Tribe
January 1 New beginnings – A special New Years Service
Coordinator: Susan Blackwood
Facilitator: Susan Blackwood
Meditation: Silent (Facilitator holds the space)
January 8th Music Transcends Time Space and Place
Coordinator: Patricia Coleman
Moderator: Trish Coleman
Meditation: Sanjara Omoniyi
Speaker: Shivon Robinson
Greeter: Bernadine Sperling
January 15 Spiritual Family
Coordinator: Bernadine Sperling
Moderator: Bernadine Sperling
Meditation: Silent (Moderator holds the space)
Speakers: Sanjara Omoniyi and Roland Guenther
January 22 Agape: In the Modern Village
Coordinator Laurence Beal
Moderator: Carol Douglas
Meditation: Silent (Moderator holds the space)
Panel Speakers: Laura Lane, Stephen Kinsella & Patti Huot
Greeter: Laurence Beal
January 29 Passion for Life – Community Service
Coordinator: Marvelous Trudeau
Moderator: Marvelous Trudeau