Celebration
Last Saturday I was blessed by the presence of my family and friends who joined with me to celebrate my 5oth birthday. It was amazing to feel the energy of those who share my journey and who join with me in this adventure of life. There was laughter, love, food, silliness and community in abundance.
Drumming Circle
Last night we gathered in my office for drumming circle. The lights were low and candles were lit. Our time together began with a smudging and then we began to drum. For almost two hours we drummed and chanted and shared with one another. Part of our conversation was about blessings. Not counting our blessings as we often talk about but about starting and ending our days by offering blessings to ourselves and others. We shared how something as simple as this can shape the day, our attitudes and our ability to enter into whatever the day holds. It is also about uniting our energy with the energy of the universe to bring strength to another in their journey. As we drummed I was drawn back to our gathering on Saturday and the people who were there in body and those who were there in Spirit. For each one I offer a blessing. Standing outside the church, beside our cars, we each offered a blessing to the other and we ended our evening. I returned home feeling filled with a sense of connectedness and peace.
Woven Together
Sometimes the busyness of life and the roller coaster we find ourselves riding becomes all consuming. In the midst of that we can lose sight of the people who surround us, the Universe that holds us, and the joy of being woven together in love and joy.
Today marks the beginning of Lent. Tonight we will gather with our community of faith and in our time together we will hear about our sacredness as part of God’s sacred world. We will be invited to remember our sacred nature and return. The ashes will be blessed and as they are shared we will bless one another.
Blessings
St. Paul often begins and ends his letters with blessings and even has blessings scattered throughout. One of my favourite is found in Ephesians. Using his words I offer it now to you:
“ I bow my knees in the presence of the Sacred from whom every family in heaven and on earth receives its name. I pray that you may be granted strength in your inner being, with power through the Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge so that you may be filled with the fullness of the Universe”
( Ephesians 3:14-19)
Blessings
Valerie
© Rev. Valerie Peyton Kingsbury. All Rights Reserved