Once upon a time a beloved spiritual teacher lived in a remote ashram along with many devoted followers.  One morning a beautiful calico cat wandered into the group's meeting hall during their communal meditation session; it walked right over to the teacher, jumped into his lap and lay peacefully for the remainder of the session.  The teacher was delighted and immediately adopted the kitten, which soon became a fixture on his lap during the daily meetings.  After a few months of this, however, the cat developed the unfortunate habit of meowing so loudly that she was disturbing the group's meditation.  Reluctantly, the teacher ordered his pet be tied with a silk leash to one of the pillars located on the far side of the courtyard, where he could still see her, but she would not be heard.  Immediately afterwards, she was to be untied and allowed to roam the grounds freely until the next morning's session.
         
Over time, the ashram grew and prospered, the teacher retired and another spiritual leader took his place. Eventually, the cat died, and a search committee of devotees was assigned the task of finding a new calico to replace her, which they did (albeit with some difficulty, as calico's were even more rare in those times than they are today).  The years rolled by, as various teachers, devotees and replacement cats came and went.  The one constant was that the cat continued to be tied to the same courtyard pillar before each day's meditation session, then untied immediately afterwards. Although no one could remember the reason for doing so, the act of tying and untying her had become a sacred ritual over the years, considered to be an integral part of the meditation process.  
 
But eventually, a time came when no suitable replacement calico could be found.  Not knowing what else to do, the community hired a renowned artist to create a life-size sculpture of the Sacred Cat, so the devotees could keep ritually tying and untying her and their meditation process could continue unchanged... 

 
I'd like to think that the Celebration Circle has a more fluid set of rituals than the spiritual community in this folk tale.  As an independent, interfaith group with no denominational ties to any other organization, our ritual format is still evolving, as it has been over the course of seventeen years of our weekly gatherings, reflecting the various faith traditions that inform the Circle.  If you've been attending our Sunday Circles regularly, the various parts of our ritual format may already be familiar to you:  the invocation, the Four Directions, the Union Bread, the offering ritual, our Closing Circle. But how did they arise in our midst, and what do they mean?  Are they still appropriate, and do they reflect who we are and who we are becoming as a spiritual community?
 
I won't pretend to know all the answers, but throughout the month of October I'll be reflecting on these questions in my weekly talks.  Each Sunday we'll be exploring the specific rituals we share, as well as various aspects of the wider role that Sacred Ritual can play in developing your unique spiritual path.  I really hope you can join us for this series, as we examine the ritual underpinnings binding us together as a faith community. I also hope that you, too, will benefit from the process of keeping our rituals alive and personally meaningful. 

In any case, thanks again for your support.  I look forward to seeing you Around the Circle.

With blessings,