the OUUC spark

As I write this piece I am feeling the arrival of October as a month that may be hard. Today is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish high holidays and New Year. And the news is full of regional conflict moving toward regional war in the Middle East. At the same time, Hurricane Helene has left the American southeast devastated, including some Appalachian mountainous areas that don’t usually face hurricanes. This is yet another part of the long and ongoing climate crisis. And then we are just one month out from the Election. Enough said about that.

Take a breath with me, my friends.

Our spiritual theme for October is “The Practice of Deep Listening”, and we will be exploring this theme together through worship, small groups, and religious education programs this month. I will be leading a 2 hour “mini spiritual practice retreat” on Saturday, October 12th, and I would love for you to join me for a morning of spiritual practices of deep listening. You can register here.

Why take time for deep listening in a time like this? Who can take time for deep anything when it feels like the world is on fire?

Because reactivity is only so effective, and reactivity is catching. Reactivity spreads like a chain from person to person. We evolved to be reactive for a reason, like springing back when you touch a hot stove. But we also have developed skills of reflection, particularly as spiritual and religious people. Reflection lets us calm ourselves again, consider why the stove is hot, and react with care and kindness to one another.

As I spoke to Rev. Monica about our upcoming theme and the current world climate, she noted that this is kind of the whole point of religion and spirituality, to remain calm and kind even in hard times. So how do we do that? Part of how we do that is through practices such as the practice of deep listening.

We listen deeply to:

• Our own inner wisdom and the pull of our own heart and conscience

• Something larger than ourselves, however we experience that and however we name it (Love, Mother Earth, God, Spirit of Life, the Mystery are just some of my favorites)

• Sources of wisdom and wise teachers in whatever form that comes to us

• Each other

Pausing to listen deeply can help us to move into action with greater wisdom, calm, and kindness. And that will make our actions more effective as well.

Please join me in the practice this month,

Rev. Sara

Our spiritual theme for October is the Practice of Deep Listening. This 2 hour mini-retreat will explore this theme through a variety of spiritual and creative practices, such as visio divina, taize, meditation, and more.

Led by Rev. Sara Lewis. Register here.

And tonight is also our celebration of our October Birthdays! Happy Birthday all you October babies! We are leaning in to birthday celebrations on Thursdays this year, with cake and singing for all the birthdays of that month at the first Thursday dinner of each month. We are also sending birthday cards out to everyone who has their birthday listed in Realm (so if you don’t have your birthday in your Realm profile and want a card, add your birthday there! If you need help contact Rosie.)

Why celebrate each other like this? We are a caring community that is present for each other in times of joy and times of sorrow. Doing this is for the benefit of the people being individually supported, but it also makes us stronger as an overall community. We are drawn into greater connection with one another, and our ties are strengthened. These human connections and networks of connection make us more resilient when we face challenges and more effective when we need to be organized. It’s a kind of magic, I think, building community and making us stronger together than we are apart.

Building community in this way means listening to each other, and sharing with the community too. We can’t celebrate your personal joys if you don’t let us know about them. We can’t support you or grieve with you if you don’t let us know of your sorrows and challenges. So let’s keep on sharing, keep on caring, and keep on doing this magic of community together.

Tonight we’ll do that with cake. :)

Tonight's community dinner is "Pretty Grate." It's also our celebration of October birthdays; so, if you have an October birthday, please join us to celebrate with cake and song. All are welcome for food and fellowship at 5:30, or show up as early as 3:30 if you'd like to volunteer to help with cooking and set up.

Following dinner this week we will have Parent group, the Kids class "Heart Talk", the Buddhist group, and the New UU Class.

In this week's Tiny Little News Show, we have an appeal for the UU Disaster Relief Fund, more books for the book sale, and our upcoming events:

Website: https://www.ouuc.org

Email: office@ouuc.org

Location: 2306 East End St NW, Olympia, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 634-2005

Office Hours

Tuesday - Thursday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Sunday, during services

Staff Contacts

Rev. Mary Gear, Minister - on sabbatical until 11/1/24

Rev. Monica Jacobson-Tennessen, Sabbatical Minister

Rev. Sara Lewis, Director of Community & Faith Development

Troy Fisher, Music Director

Isaac Jennings, Business Manager

Rosie Koppelman, Office Assistant

Teresa Madsen, Communications & Tech Coordinator

Marie Arensmeyer, Facilities Manager

Anissa Bentlemsani, Religious Education Assistant

Carbon Marshall, Tech Specialist