SUNDAY PROGRAMS

Sunday, April 1:

9:00 AM: Board meeting

10:45 AM: Children’s Religious Education

10:45 AM: “April is the Cruelest Month: Beyond Autism Awareness” (Bev Harp & Squawkers McCaw) It’s that time of year again, and some autistic self-advocates are not pleased. Bev will talk about alternative ways of viewing autism, awareness and more.

Sunday, April 8:

10:45 AM: Children’s Religious Education

10:45 AM: “Flower Ceremony”  (Marianne McAdam & Katrina Matir) Come with a flower and a colored egg (or more) to share with the group. Katrina and Marianne will create an intergenerational ceremony combining the UU idea of Flower Communion with Pagan symbols of new life that come with spring. For those of you who used to feel the joy and hope that came with Easter Sunday celebrations, this ceremony will help you celebrate the same feelings without the doctrine.

12:00 PM: Potluck will follow the service. Come join the fun and fellowship!

Sunday, April 15:

10:45 AM: Children’s Religious Education

10:45 AM:   “Preach It Sister and I’ll Turn the Page!” (Esther Hurlburt) Esther will describe how unexpected acts of goodwill and tenderness provide hope in moments of anguish and despair.

Sunday April 22:

10:45 AM: Children’s Religious Education

10:45 AM:”Sunday School for All Ages” (Michael Taylor & Children) Come join the children and their teachers for a hands-on lesson from this year’s Tapestry of Faith curriculum “Love Will Guide Us”.

Sunday April 29:

10:45 AM: Children’s Religious Education

10:45 AM: ”Naikan: Opening the Heart to Gratitude and Joy”     (Mary Garvey) Naikan is a structured method of meditation that opens the heart. We all carry a story of who we are, and often that story is dominated by the hurts we have received and the injustices that have occurred. This preoccupation with what has been lacking provides only a partial view and limits our awareness of all that we have received. The method of Naikan is a simple one of taking up three questions: what have I received, what have I given and what troubles and difficulties have I caused, as we examine relationships and experiences in our life. The effect is profound: Naikan offers a corrective lens that broadens our view, restoring an appreciation for all that we have received and all that supports our life in this moment. Realizing this interconnectedness, our hearts naturally open in gratitude. The result is increased joy and a desire to reach out in compassionate service to others.    Mary Garvey (Jigetsu Osho) has been practicing in the Buddhist tradition for almost forty years. She was a student of the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche and in 1976 was invited by Rinpoche to begin offering meditation instruction and dharma teaching. After Rinpoche’s death she began practicing in the Zen tradition first with Prabhasadharma Roshi and later with Zen Master Dae Gak. In 2009 she received Inka (recognition as a dharma teacher) from Zen Master Dae Gak. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Religious Studies and has spent her entire adult life studying and teaching the ways in which people from all faith traditions and spiritual orientations understand and approach this great wonder of being human. She has recently received certification in Japanese Psychology authorizing her to teach Naikan and Morita practices. She has lived as a Catholic nun for a period of time and also as a single mother working in the world. Jigetsu Osho currently lives at Furnace Mountain Zen Retreat Center in Kentucky.