Originally Blessed!
 

  January 16, 2015     
  eNewsletter from 
EVOLVE,
  the Creation Spirituality Ministry of 
  The United Church of Christ of Annapolis
In Creation Spirituality...    
"We believe that we see the embodiment of God in everything around us--in all of Creation. God is in all things and all things are in God. This belief requires of us a respect for all that surrounds us. It calls us to be good stewards of the resources we consume, and causes us to be always mindful of the beauty in our world. By holding up everyone and everything as holy and sacred, we strive to have more patience, to look a little more closely, to see the goodness that may not always be immediately evident."                                                                           - from Evolve's "WELCOME" booklet.    
IN THIS ISSUE
Sacred Gathering January 18th
UCCA Annual Congregational Meeting
"Rising Tides Threaten Annapolis Area"
Weekly Food & Goods Collection
Creation Spirituality Communities
"The Great Turning" by Christine Fry
Chant Circle Jan. 25th
Open Arms Jan. 27th
Covenant Dates
From Erine
Support our Ministries
Visit our Website
Our Business Sponsors
Chuck Riley
Chuck Riley
Chuck makes a
donation  to Evolve
Chesapeake from every commission received through our community!
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Check out Evolve Chesapeake's online bookstore at:
CCCS Sphere  
Join our Sacred Gathering on Sundays normally at 6 PM at
8 Carvel Circle
Edgewater, MD 21037
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January 18, 2015 
6:00 p.m.

Sacred Gathering 

co-creativity, play, seed planting, cosmogenesis,
on the Path of Creativity 
art as meditation, discipline, imagination, birthing, possibility, aesthetic

 
United Church of Christ of Annapolis
8 Carvel Circle
Edgewater, Maryland 21037

Gathering Leaders:
Reflection/Leader:  Suzie Robertson
Set-up/Put away: Rick Stewart
Greeter/Usher: Chuck Riley
Reader/Communion Assistant: Sylvia Oliva
Offering Invitation: Sylvia Oliva
Community Hour Host: Chuck Riley  

We continue our progressive spiritual journey!

UCCA Annual Congregational Meeting 
January 18
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
in the Sanctuary
 
Please plan to attend if you can.
From Original Blessing by Matthew Fox

"A creation-centered spirituality is cosmic.....  we are in the cosmos and the cosmos is in us.  As John Muir put it, 'When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.'"

"All things are interrelated because all things are microcosms of a macrocosm.  And it is all in motion, it is all en route, it is all moving, vibrant, dancing, and full of surprises.  It is all a blessing, an ongoing and fertile blessing with a holy, salvic history of about twenty billion years."


"Rising Tides Threaten Annapolis Area"  
Tuesday, January 20 at 7 pm
Quaker Meeting House, 351 Dubois Road, Annapolis, MD

Climate change is causing a rising sea level and flooding Annapolis more than it has in the past 300 years.  This will affect the Severn River watershed, the Chesapeake Bay, and the entire East and Gulf Coasts.  Come hear about how Anne Arundel County and the City of Annapolis plan to deal with this. 
 
Also, Dr. Melanie Fitzpatrick, of the Union of Concerned Scientists, will discuss a report called "Encroaching Tides" which was conducted by her organization.  She has spent the past 20 years in scientific field research in Antarctica.

Free and open to the public.  Sponsored by the Severn River Association & the Climate Stewards of Greater Annapolis.


Weekly Food/Goods Collection 
At this time the need for food is urgent.  Please bring a donation with you this Sunday to put by our Community Table  and it will be delivered to the Food Bank.
Thank you to all who are reading Originally Blessed!! and all who send contributions that liven it up!  Send your poems, articles, news, photographs, announcements, etc. to: EvolveSylvia@gmail.com by Thursday night.  Your ideas on how we can improve our newsletter are also very valuable and welcome. 
CSC banner
Creation      Spirituality Communities  

is a network of communities ranging from intentional groups to alternative churches, which are grounded in the tenants of Creation Spirituality and revere the sacredness of all creation. Through study, ritual, celebration and action, these communities support justice, compassion, transformation and sustainability for the Universe and for all living beings.  It is both tradition and movement, celebrated by mystics and agents of social change from every age and culture.  Our online community, Chesapeake Creation Spirituality Community, is waiting for you to join.  Click on:

The Great Turning*
by Christine Fry, October 19, 2004

You've asked me to tell you of the Great Turning
Of how we saved the world from disaster.

The answer is both simple and complex.
We turned.

For hundreds of years we had turned away as life on earth grew more precarious
We turned away from the homeless men on the streets, the stench from the river,
The children orphaned in Iraq, the mothers dying of AIDS in Africa

We turned away because that was what we had been taught.
To turn away, from our pain, from the hurt in another's eyes,
From the drunken father, from the friend betrayed.

Always we were told, in actions louder than words, to turn away, turn away.
And so we became a lonely people caught up in a world
Moving too quickly, too mindlessly toward its own demise.

Until it seemed as if there was no safe space to turn.
No place, inside or out, that did not remind us of fear or terror, despair and loss, anger and grief.

Yet, on one of those days, someone did turn.

 

Turned to face the pain.
Turned to face the stranger.
Turned to look at the smouldering world and the hatred seething in too many eyes.
Turned to face himself, herself.

And then another turned.

And another. And another.

And as they wept, they took each other's hands.

Until whole groups of people were turning.
Young and old, gay and straight.
People of all colours, all nations, all religions.
Turning not only to the pain and hurt but to beauty, gratitude and love.
Turning to one another with forgiveness and a longing for peace in their hearts.

At first, the turning made people dizzy, even silly.

There were people standing to the side, gawking, criticizing, trying to knock the turners down.

But the people turning kept getting up, kept helping one another to their feet.

Their laughter and kindness brought others into the turning circle

Until even the nay-sayers began to smile and sway.

As the people turned, they began to spin
Reweaving the web of life, mending the shocking tears,
Knitting it back together with the colours of the earth,
Sewing on tiny mirrors so the beauty of each person, each creature, each plant, each life
Might be seen and respected.

And as the people turned, as they spun like the earth through the universe,

The web wrapped around them like a soft baby blanket

Making it clear all were loved, nothing separate.

As this love reached into every crack and crevice, the people began to wake and wonder,
To breathe and give thanks,
To celebrate together.


And so the world was saved, but only as long as you, too, sweet one, remember to turn.

     

 

*Thanks to Joanna Macy, American Buddhist activist and a beloved teacher, for this phrase. 

 


Chant Circle meets Sunday, January 25 at 4 PM

If you would like a prayerful and fun experience of body prayer, chant and drumming, join our chant circle.  We meet in UCCA's Caton Hall on the 4th Sunday of the month from 4-5:30 pm, ending a little before our Sacred Gathering at 6 PM.

"The gift of body prayer for me is that we sit with each one long enough to enter into the Presence together. Calming ourselves is one of the goals so that we can experience that thin place of Divine-Me connection or, in less binary thought, I can become aware of the Divine Presence which flows from within me and encircles me."   - Rev. Dr. Wayne Schwandt                                                     
Open Arms resumes Tuesday, January 27
       
You're very welcome at "Open Arms," a small discussion group which meets for dinner at 6:30 pm, followed by a discussion around some interesting topic.  We have fun, get to know each other better, and learn something as well.  This monthly event takes place at one or another member's home.  We share the cost of dinner together with any overage going to support Evolve's ministry.  If you'd like more information, contact the Rev. Wayne Schwandt at:  SchwandtW@aol.com.

January Covenant Dates
Birthdays, Anniversaries, Covenant Dates
            
Jan.  6  Marvin Roger Woods Birthday (d. 2001)
Jan.  7  Cindy Kuzma Birthday 
Jan.  8  Zybia (Cy) Hosley Death (2013)
Jan.  8  Delores M. Van Steenburg Death (2001)
Jan.  9  Lee R. Warren Birthday (d. 2006)
Jan. 12  Lee R. Warren Death (2006)
Jan. 13  Esther J. Hosley Death (2006)
Jan. 14  Cynthia Greene Birthday
Jan. 17  Linda J. Kahl Birthday (d. 1998)
Jan. 18  Jacob Taylor Abell Birthday (2000)
Jan. 26  Suzie Robertson Birthday
Jan. 28  Rick Dove Birthday
Jan. 28  Richard Cashen Birthday

 From Erine
Erine Sedicum
When my mom passed it was "I hope you dance " that was popular.   It was one of those songs that spoke to the breaking heart of a child just discovering her mom's presence, despite being an adult.  Dave reminded me of that song and not letting the challenges stop you.   
There are times when you need to be in a place you can't understand, but you have no choice.  Something you need and in your heart you know it.  The desire you fight for...the unknown.  Yet when it is found, you know it and you can move on.


To new opportunities and "I hope you dance".  We all have a new journey...ahead!!!!

 

Fundraising for Evolve's Ministry

SHOP OR SEARCH ONLINE WITH THE IGIVE BUTTON.
Join iGive and be a part of the first and largest online network of shoppers, online stores, and worthy causes dedicated to turning online shipping into much-needed donations.  iGive is totally free.  You can also raise a penny per search at iGive every time you search the web.  Try iGive's search engine and you'll see that fundraising for Evolve can be easy and free.  Click here for more information about iGive.

As of January 16, we have earned $1,716.93 through iGive. 
             
CHECK OUT THE BOOKS AND PHOTO CARDS. 
On our Welcome Table in Caton Hall there are books for sale by Bruce Chilton, Matthew Fox, John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg and others.  You'll also find Rick Dove's large selection of  nature photography.  Rick's 5 x 7 photo cards are $3 and his matted photographs are $10.

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 to our ministries and your financial gifts.  Bring them to Sacred Gathering with you. 
Midnight mass marriage ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida on January 10, 2015. 
Now 70% of Americans live in Marriage Equality States. 

Visit our website: www.EvolveChesapeake.com