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Our Business Sponsors
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For your real estate needs in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, or across the country contact SHOP AT |
Join our sacred gathering on Sundays normally at 6 PM at the Annapolis Friends Meeting at 351 Dubois Road, Annapolis, Maryland 21401.
Click here for directions.
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November 18, 2012
Ninth Sunday of Via Negativa
silence, emptying, uncertainty, darkness, nothingness,
sinking, letting go, pain, loss, depth
Sacred Gathering at 6 PM
at
Annapolis Friends Meeting
351 Dubois Road, Annapolis
Reflection by the Rev. Dr. Wayne Schwandt Please bring your commitment card if you haven't already done so! GATHERING LEADERS: Set-up/Put-away: Rick Dove and Tom Good Greeter/Usher: Adri Eathorne and Kim Hinken Reader/Communion Assistant: Chuck Riley Offering Invitation: Kim Hinken Community Hour Hosts: Scott Bowling and Dave Miller
Co-Creating into our 15th year together!
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Spong Reading Group on
Saturday, Nov. 17
The group reading Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World by John Shelby Spong will meet at Panera, Festival at Riva at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 17. We are reading Part X, The Synoptic Gospels. It is a lively group and there is still time to join. If you need a copy of the book, contact Pastor Wayne at SchwandtW@aol.com.
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Open Arms will Welcome You Nov. 27
This is a discussion group that meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6:30 PM, usually at the home of various Companions. We share a meal, often provided by the host, or a carry-out. Discussion, fun, and getting to know each other better have always been a part of these groups. Contact Pastor Wayne at SchwandtW@aol.com for details. ALL are welcome!
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World Aids Day
Gathering
December 1, 2012
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World Aids Day Gathering
December 1, 2012
World AIDS Day is held on December 1st each year and is
an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988.
First Christian Community Church 6:30 PM, Saturday, December 1 Music by: One Accord Citywide Mass Choir and Harmonic Fourth Jazz Group Carmi Washington-Flood, Keynote Speaker |
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It is the basic principle of spiritual life that we learn the deepest things in unknown territory. Often it is when we feel most confused inwardly and are in the midst of our greatest difficulties that something new will open. We awaken most easily to the mystery of life through our weakest side. The areas of our greatest strength, where we are the most competent and clearest, tend to keep us away from the mystery.
~Jack Kornfield
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Help Create our Banner for Via Negativa
Remember that you are invited to bring something to add to the Via Negativa banner which we are creating during this season.
What should you bring? Something that speaks of "emptying" or "letting go" or "darkness" or "pain."
It could be a picture from current events, picture of a lost friend or lover or spouse, a poem, a word or phrase.
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From an October 21, 2012 Letter to Companions
written by Dave Miller, Vice Moderator
on behalf of the Board of Directors of Evolve Chesapeake
Dear Companions,
Our spiritual community recently celebrated our 14th anniversary. Since our inception we have blazed a path to studying wisdom and prophets and seeking the Divine in a way that is uniquely our own. Nearly two years ago, that path lead to a fork, and we chose the one less travelled. Today, we continue our journey. We have admirably modeled the name we have chosen. We continue to EVOLVE our community, our spiritual gathering, and our faith practices. We have broadened EVOLVE Chesapeake to a community where the members and all companions participate in defining who and what we are, and in leading our sacred gathering and ministering to each other. We remain very blessed to have the inspirational leadership of Reverend Dr. Wayne Schwandt, and many Companions have demonstrated our co-ownership of this community in so many ways.
The Board of Directors and the Celebration Team have chosen the word Co-Create to describe the leg of the journey we are currently blazing. In fact, you will soon learn of exciting plans for embracing this concept and optimizing co-creation to advance our community. We are planning a very special season leading to the winter solstice and Christmas that we have called Invent:Co-Create. The sacred gatherings in this season will provide much food for thought about the Divine, our lives and our faith practices. We will follow this season with a community retreat this winter where we will explore our spiritual paths, and those efforts that enrich us and those practices that diminish our awareness of our own holiness.
TO READ OR DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE ENTIRE LETTER,
CLICK HERE. |
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NOVEMBER COVENANT DATES
birthdays, anniversaries, covenant dates
November 3 Chuck Riley and Wayne Schwandt Anniversary (1985)
November 9 Elizabeth Lanier Birthday
November 11 Yolanda Kresslein Birthday (d. 6/28/1999)
November 22 William E. Riley Death (1999)
November 26 Esther J. Hosley Birthday (d. 1/13/2006)
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He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."
Mark 12:41-44
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USE iSEARCH AND iGIVE TO HELP FUNDRAISE FOR EVOLVE CHESAPEAKE!
Do you search the web? If so, you could be raising a penny for Chesapeake Creation Spirituality Community every time you search. iSearchiGive.com is a search engine powered by Yahoo! and is the internet's first online shopping mall where a portion of each purchase is donated to your favorite cause. Try it today - it's free! To try iSearch, click here. After you click on the previous link, in the upper right corner will be CLICK HERE TO ADD ISEARCHIGIVE TO YOUR BROWSER. Make it your default search engine and earn a penny for every search. Every penny counts!
When shopping online always go through www.iGive.com! Register Chesapeake Creation Spirituality Community as your charity and shop away! Remember to do your online Christmas shopping through iGive
Click here to join iGive.com and support Chesapeake Creation Spirituality Community. As of 11-15-2012 we have earned $1,432.18 from your shopping through iGive.com and using iSearch.com for online searches. Thank you!
YOUR USED CELL PHONES AND EMPTY INK JET AND
TONER CARTRIDGES
CAN ALSO HELP FUND OUR MINISTRY
These items fit nicely in the offering basket along with remembrance of time and talent you have offered through our ministries and your financial gifts. Bring them to Gathering with you.
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Books for Sale at our Welcome Table
Titles by Matthew Fox, John Shelby Spong,
Marcus Borg, and more. Beautiful Note Cards also for Sale Photography by Rick Dove
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THE FOUR PATHS
from the Evolve Chesapeake "WELCOME" booklet:
We break our liturgical year into four seasons. In each of these seasons we move our focus to one of the four spiritual paths to know God in our lives. These Paths are Via Positiva, Via Negativa, Via Creativa and Via Transformativa. Simply put, this is finding God in the "positive", i.e., wonder, joy, trust, awe, cosmos, beauty, amazement, hospitality, delight and blessing. It is also finding God in the "negative", i.e., letting go, pain, emptying, nothingness, darkness, sinking, silence, loss or depth. We can also find God through "creativity", i.e., art as meditation, discipline, imagination, birthing, possibility, aesthetic, seed planting, cosmogenesis, play and co-creativity. Finally, we can identify God through "transformation", i.e., justice, shalom, return sustainability, healing, interference, peacemaking, relieve of suffering, and compassion.
Essentially, this helps us remember that God is in every human experience. We must simply look to find this presence in our everyday life, no matter how well or poorly things seem to be at any given moment. By realizing God is present, we can try to make sense of how our experience is helping us to grow, to be better, to be stronger. It helps us to understand that regardless of what we face, we are chosen to face that matter and will be loved before, during and after. All of life comes from God. |
Become an individual member of Creation Spirituality Communities by clicking here, or sign up as a participant in the online community for FREE! Join our community, Chesapeake Creation Spirituality Community, and participate in the discussion. Go to www.CreationSpirituality.info for more information and to sign up! Join the online group, Chesapeake Creation Spirituality.
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GAIN(Greater Annapolis Interfaith Network)
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Note from Editor
Originally Blessed!! is sent out every Thursday. News, notices of events, articles, poetry, etc. are always welcome and should be sent to EvolveSylvia@gmail.com by the previous Wednesday night for publication in the upcoming newsletter, or at any time if not time-sensitive.
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Thank you!
to all who have helped make Marriage Equality a reality in Maryland
"Gay and lesbian families will now be treated with dignity, fairness, and equal protection under the law. So let's pause to commemorate this historic moment. We won this as a community united, crossing party lines, age, race, and faith to stand up for a cause greater than ourselves: the belief that Maryland can and will live up to its full, strong, vibrant potential."
Heather Mizeur, Maryland House of Delegates
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