Dear fellow CUCC'ers:
The deacons continue their outreach efforts in this time of COVID 19.
Also, please remember that if you are in need of support or assistance, then please don’t hesitate to call or reach out to one of us. We are happy to receive your prayer requests. We are also able to contact pastors or church staff on your behalf, should you require their support. We will strive to help any way we can.
Thank you for being in community with us. May we remain unified, loving, passionate and compassionate during this difficult time. Peace be with you!
Paul Atkinson
Deacons Ministry Chair
****************************
Jesus had his apostles, his friends, his followers. We are ultra-aware of his aloneness as his death approached, but many other times, he was around and connecting with people. He engaged them in conversation.
Conversation: “ a talk, especially an informal one, between two or more people, in which news and ideas are exchanged.”
When did you last engage in conversation, exchanging news and ideas? Perhaps the answer is “a few minutes ago on email” or “a Zoom meeting yesterday.” There may be someone in your home with whom you may chat in animated fashion, or, on the other hand someone in your household with whom you distance instead. Perhaps it has been a l-o-n-g time since you can say that you had a real conversation. We all need conversation and connection with others, which may be challenging, at least face to face, with non-family members in these Covid days as we shelter in place. One social determinant of health includes persons’ needs to contribute and feel part of something larger than themselves. Perhaps...a church...for example. When ordered to shelter in place, you may be the introvert who said “I’ve been preparing for this moment my entire life!”, but everyone eventually wants to talk to SOMEone. If you find you really have NO ONE, perhaps consider reaching out to a deacon or pastor, on your own terms of course 😉.
What “talk” to engage in these challenging times where we have all known both common and individual loss? I offer here a guided meditation with “imagery to release grief” to be used between you and another person - in person at home, by phone, or by video. First you read it to another person. Then the other person reads it to you, with each of you bringing an open heart to the process. The sensation of being read to can be so valuable, so personal, and sometimes, so rare… Scroll forward to the next page and share the reading with another, and that person shares back; connect to this one moment in your life as you with trust listen and are propelled into the next moment…
-Marty Lamb
Guided Meditation: Imagery to Release Grief (approximately 9 minutes each)
“Please get comfortable…shifting your weight so that you’re allowing your body to be fully supported…with your head, neck, and spine straight…
And taking a couple of deep, full, cleansing breaths… inhaling as fully as you comfortably can…sending the warm energy of your breath to any part of your body that is sore or tense or tight…and releasing the discomfort with the exhale…so that you can feel your breath going to all the tight, tense places…loosening and softening them…and the gathering up all the tension…and breathing it out… so that more and more you can feel safe and comfortable, relaxed and easy, watching the cleansing action of the breath…with friendly but detached awareness…
And any distracting thoughts or feeling that you might have…those, too, are sent out with the breath…so that inside you can be still and quiet, like a lake with no ripples…
And now, imaging a place where you feel safe and peaceful and easy…a place whether real or imaginary…a place from your past…or somewhere that you’ve always wanted to go…it doesn’t matter…just so that it’s a place that feels good and safe and peaceful to you…
And allowing the place to become more real to you…looking around you…taking the place in with your eyes…enjoying the colors…the scenery...looking over to your right…and over to your left…And listening to the sounds of the place…whatever they might be…wind or water…birds or crickets…just so your ears can become familiar with the music of your special place…
And feeling whatever you are sitting against or lying upon…or perhaps feeling the quality of the ground beneath your feet…whether it’s sand or grass... a pine needle forest floor…or you might be in a cozy armchair…or sitting on a nice, warm rock in the sun…
And feeling the air on your skin…either brisk and breezy…or soft and still…crisp and dry…or balmy and wet…perhaps you are inside, feeling the warmth of a cozy fire on your face and hands…or maybe you are outdoors, and there’s just the subtlest caress of a fragrant, gentle breeze…so just enjoying the feel of the place on your skin…
And smelling its rich fragrance…whether it’s the soft, full scent of flowers…or the pungent smell of salt sea air…or sweet meadow grass…or maybe the pungent smell of peat moss in the forest…
And as you become more and more attuned to the safety and beauty of this place…feeling thankful and happy to be there…you begin to feel a kind of a tingling on your skin… a pleasant, energizing something in the air all around you…something that contains expectancy and excitement…and you know with some certainty…that it is good and right to be here…that there is magic in this place…and something wonderful is just about to happen…
And as that certainty settles around you, you notice that the tingling is taking on a kind of a glow…that the air is alive…
And from somewhere above you, a cone of powerful white light is softly and steadily moving down, forming a tent of vibrant, tingling energy all around you…surrounding and protecting you…illuminating everything it touches with exquisite brightness…highlit definition…vibrating color…giving everything it shines on a fresh, new beauty…
You suddenly realize you are not alone…that you are aware of a warm presence all around you… You feel the warmth of this awareness begin to collect and radiate through your entire chest…sending compassion and forgiveness and reassurance to every corner of your being …soft and easy…sweet and rich and full…as you breathe into the opening spaces of your heart…
And suddenly you are certain….you know with your whole heart…with your whole being…that there is a place where nothing is lost…where all the love and sweetness, direct or disguised, that you have ever felt is still alive…that all the love you have ever felt for anyone at any time is alive and well in the vast spaces of your own open heart…placed there forever…rich and nourishing and boundless…always available to sustain you…
Breathing in to touch it…breathing out to let it move through you…feeling the body soften…sending a gentle, healing forgiveness all through you…a new compassion for yourself…a different way of looking…
Perhaps you understand that you are being shown… that even this terrible pain can be a teacher…showing something you need to know…about yourself…about who you are…and who you are becoming…
You know that even this will look different to you in time…when you know more about who you have become…when you are connected to your life in a new way… and the pain has permanently softened…when this has become part of the depth and richness of the texture of your life…
And so, feeling peaceful and easy…you watch as the light slowly begins to withdraw…returning to wherever it came from...until it is gone altogether…for now…knowing it is yours to call forth again, whenever you wish…
And taking a deep, full breath…feeling the widened spaces that are now opened…you once again see yourself in your safe and peaceful surroundings… feeling safe and easy…although perhaps the colors around you are brighter…the air more alive..
You might feel that something powerful has happened…that a major shift has occurred…and will continue to occur…with or without your conscious working on it…
And you can see very clearly that you can call forth this place…the powerful healing cone of light…whenever you wish to further the work that you have already done…
And so…feeling yourself sitting in your chair or lying down…breathing in and out, very rhythmically and easily…gently and with soft eyes…coming back into the room whenever you are ready…knowing in a deep place that you have done important healing work…that you are better for this…and so you are.”
-Belleruth Naparstek
The deacons continue their outreach efforts in this time of COVID 19.
Also, please remember that if you are in need of support or assistance, then please don’t hesitate to call or reach out to one of us. We are happy to receive your prayer requests. We are also able to contact pastors or church staff on your behalf, should you require their support. We will strive to help any way we can.
Thank you for being in community with us. May we remain unified, loving, passionate and compassionate during this difficult time. Peace be with you!
Paul Atkinson
Deacons Ministry Chair
****************************
Scripture, Conversation, and Guided Meditation
Marty Lamb
Mark 1 :17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me! And I will make you fishermen for the souls of men!”Jesus had his apostles, his friends, his followers. We are ultra-aware of his aloneness as his death approached, but many other times, he was around and connecting with people. He engaged them in conversation.
Conversation: “ a talk, especially an informal one, between two or more people, in which news and ideas are exchanged.”
When did you last engage in conversation, exchanging news and ideas? Perhaps the answer is “a few minutes ago on email” or “a Zoom meeting yesterday.” There may be someone in your home with whom you may chat in animated fashion, or, on the other hand someone in your household with whom you distance instead. Perhaps it has been a l-o-n-g time since you can say that you had a real conversation. We all need conversation and connection with others, which may be challenging, at least face to face, with non-family members in these Covid days as we shelter in place. One social determinant of health includes persons’ needs to contribute and feel part of something larger than themselves. Perhaps...a church...for example. When ordered to shelter in place, you may be the introvert who said “I’ve been preparing for this moment my entire life!”, but everyone eventually wants to talk to SOMEone. If you find you really have NO ONE, perhaps consider reaching out to a deacon or pastor, on your own terms of course 😉.
What “talk” to engage in these challenging times where we have all known both common and individual loss? I offer here a guided meditation with “imagery to release grief” to be used between you and another person - in person at home, by phone, or by video. First you read it to another person. Then the other person reads it to you, with each of you bringing an open heart to the process. The sensation of being read to can be so valuable, so personal, and sometimes, so rare… Scroll forward to the next page and share the reading with another, and that person shares back; connect to this one moment in your life as you with trust listen and are propelled into the next moment…
-Marty Lamb
Guided Meditation: Imagery to Release Grief (approximately 9 minutes each)
“Please get comfortable…shifting your weight so that you’re allowing your body to be fully supported…with your head, neck, and spine straight…
And taking a couple of deep, full, cleansing breaths… inhaling as fully as you comfortably can…sending the warm energy of your breath to any part of your body that is sore or tense or tight…and releasing the discomfort with the exhale…so that you can feel your breath going to all the tight, tense places…loosening and softening them…and the gathering up all the tension…and breathing it out… so that more and more you can feel safe and comfortable, relaxed and easy, watching the cleansing action of the breath…with friendly but detached awareness…
And any distracting thoughts or feeling that you might have…those, too, are sent out with the breath…so that inside you can be still and quiet, like a lake with no ripples…
And now, imaging a place where you feel safe and peaceful and easy…a place whether real or imaginary…a place from your past…or somewhere that you’ve always wanted to go…it doesn’t matter…just so that it’s a place that feels good and safe and peaceful to you…
And allowing the place to become more real to you…looking around you…taking the place in with your eyes…enjoying the colors…the scenery...looking over to your right…and over to your left…And listening to the sounds of the place…whatever they might be…wind or water…birds or crickets…just so your ears can become familiar with the music of your special place…
And feeling whatever you are sitting against or lying upon…or perhaps feeling the quality of the ground beneath your feet…whether it’s sand or grass... a pine needle forest floor…or you might be in a cozy armchair…or sitting on a nice, warm rock in the sun…
And feeling the air on your skin…either brisk and breezy…or soft and still…crisp and dry…or balmy and wet…perhaps you are inside, feeling the warmth of a cozy fire on your face and hands…or maybe you are outdoors, and there’s just the subtlest caress of a fragrant, gentle breeze…so just enjoying the feel of the place on your skin…
And smelling its rich fragrance…whether it’s the soft, full scent of flowers…or the pungent smell of salt sea air…or sweet meadow grass…or maybe the pungent smell of peat moss in the forest…
And as you become more and more attuned to the safety and beauty of this place…feeling thankful and happy to be there…you begin to feel a kind of a tingling on your skin… a pleasant, energizing something in the air all around you…something that contains expectancy and excitement…and you know with some certainty…that it is good and right to be here…that there is magic in this place…and something wonderful is just about to happen…
And as that certainty settles around you, you notice that the tingling is taking on a kind of a glow…that the air is alive…
And from somewhere above you, a cone of powerful white light is softly and steadily moving down, forming a tent of vibrant, tingling energy all around you…surrounding and protecting you…illuminating everything it touches with exquisite brightness…highlit definition…vibrating color…giving everything it shines on a fresh, new beauty…
You suddenly realize you are not alone…that you are aware of a warm presence all around you… You feel the warmth of this awareness begin to collect and radiate through your entire chest…sending compassion and forgiveness and reassurance to every corner of your being …soft and easy…sweet and rich and full…as you breathe into the opening spaces of your heart…
And suddenly you are certain….you know with your whole heart…with your whole being…that there is a place where nothing is lost…where all the love and sweetness, direct or disguised, that you have ever felt is still alive…that all the love you have ever felt for anyone at any time is alive and well in the vast spaces of your own open heart…placed there forever…rich and nourishing and boundless…always available to sustain you…
Breathing in to touch it…breathing out to let it move through you…feeling the body soften…sending a gentle, healing forgiveness all through you…a new compassion for yourself…a different way of looking…
Perhaps you understand that you are being shown… that even this terrible pain can be a teacher…showing something you need to know…about yourself…about who you are…and who you are becoming…
You know that even this will look different to you in time…when you know more about who you have become…when you are connected to your life in a new way… and the pain has permanently softened…when this has become part of the depth and richness of the texture of your life…
And so, feeling peaceful and easy…you watch as the light slowly begins to withdraw…returning to wherever it came from...until it is gone altogether…for now…knowing it is yours to call forth again, whenever you wish…
And taking a deep, full breath…feeling the widened spaces that are now opened…you once again see yourself in your safe and peaceful surroundings… feeling safe and easy…although perhaps the colors around you are brighter…the air more alive..
You might feel that something powerful has happened…that a major shift has occurred…and will continue to occur…with or without your conscious working on it…
And you can see very clearly that you can call forth this place…the powerful healing cone of light…whenever you wish to further the work that you have already done…
And so…feeling yourself sitting in your chair or lying down…breathing in and out, very rhythmically and easily…gently and with soft eyes…coming back into the room whenever you are ready…knowing in a deep place that you have done important healing work…that you are better for this…and so you are.”
-Belleruth Naparstek