en http://www.wellspringsuu.org © Copyright 2000 - 2008Church Community Builder. All Rights Reserved. http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=29 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=29&article_id=20 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Sunday Service at WellSprings When: Sunday morning at 10:00 AM Where: The Montgomery School (Bell Hall) Directions How: Casual and contemporary. Come as you are. Why: Sundays are not about "getting religion" for just one day a week, but about motivating, celebrating, and sustaining the spirituality we have and yearn to make stronger. We want to build a bridge between spiritual wisdom and the whole of the life we live. That's what our Sunday service is about at WellSprings. There's time in our service to sing together, to be in quiet contemplation with one another, to recognize ourselves in dramas and personal stories, and to hear a message that speaks to us and helps us apply wisdom and insight to how we live. We look forward to seeing you some Sunday morning! This Sunday, November 23, Rev. Ken leads our annual all-ages Service of Thanksgiving. The message, "Your One Wild and Precious Life," comes from members of WellSprings that represent many decades of life. Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:24:46 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=24&article_id=15 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Welcome to WellSprings' YouthSpirit Program This fall, the YouthSpirit Program begins the year with a new format and its first formal program director. Becky McAndrews joined the WellSprings staff to serve the congregation as YouthSpirit Director in late August and is very enthusiastic about serving the congregation in her new role. She has been actively serving in the YouthSpirit program since its inception in 2006, first as a mentor and then as a co-leader. As always, YouthSpirit embraces member leadership, and Jim Riley will serve in the 2008-2009 season as Team Leader. We are blessed and grateful for the many young children who make WellSprings a spiritual home. WellSprings' YouthSpirit Program creates an environment where our children can grow spiritually, make friends, feel safe and be safe, and engage in spiritual discussions and activities. Our hope and mission is to give our families "more of life" (to glean a phrase from Robert Fulghum) by opening the dialogue between parent and child about God, nature, acceptance, gratitude, forgiveness, love, and every meaning of life that our youngsters can imagine. Our YouthSpirit Program mirrors WellSprings' Springboards for adults in both format and ritual. Adult mentors for the children's groups actively serve in the classroom on Sundays in eight-week sessions, beginning in September and ending in May. YouthSpirit mentors participate in five total weeknight sessions, three in preparation before the session begins, one at mid-point to check in, and one at the end to share information with the next set of mentors and bring closure to their service. We offer five age-appropriate classes including Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and First Grade, Second and Third Grade, Fourth and Fifth Grade, and a Teen Group for grades 6 and above. The nursery is open to families with very young children each Sunday starting at 10:00 AM. At 10:30, the 3 and 4 year olds will participate in a lightly structured session that includes a short meditation, sharing time, and story. Sara Kohler leads the nursery with volunteer assistance each week. Children who are in Kindergarten and higher grades start their Sundays with the congregation at 10:00 AM. They are dismissed from worship service into their classrooms with their mentor at 10:30. Our themes and activities grow and progress with each new group of mentors throughout the program year. As a community, our collective spiritual gifts are abundant, and our program provides adult mentors with the opportunity to bring their heart's passion to our youth. If you are interested in serving as a mentor in the near or even distant future, we can help you bring your gifts into service. You can contact Jim Riley, Team Leader, at rileyj@exchange.upenn.edu or Becky McAndrews, YouthSpirit Director, at beckym86@comcast.net to discuss your interest. Mon, 3 Nov 2008 14:06:58 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=28 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=28&article_id=19 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Springboards Small Groups for Spiritual Growth The Fall Springboards have begun, so enrollment for these groups is now closed. Watch for the new Winter groups—the signups will begin in mid January! These groups promise rich and diverse experiences as we deepen our connections. Springboards are led by members of WellSprings, meet for 10 weeks, and are designed around a particular area of personal and spiritual growth. Participate in a group of 10-12 people for fun, friendship, and fulfillment. SUNDAY Spiritual Conversations: Carrying Sunday's Messages with You. We will talk about Ken's messages and discuss the reflection questions. We'll learn some Unitarian Universalist spiritual traditions. Our practice will help us to live our beliefs. Leader: Kathy Ellis Time: Sundays, 12:30 to 2:30 PM Dates: Beginning September 21 Place: WellSprings Office Ending Slavery in Our Time. More adults and children are enslaved now than any at any other time in human history. Slaves have been found right here in Chester County. This global problem seems overwhelming; we can be tempted to denial or despair. Yet, we have the tools to make a difference and to help free slaves. Using Kevin Bales' book Ending Slavery and online tools, we will discern what we can do. Become a new abolitionist! Leader: Kathy Ellis Time: Mondays, 7:00 to 9:00 PM Dates: Beginning September 29 Place: WellSprings Office TUESDAY Listening to Our Lives (WellSprings 2.0)-Tuesday. This Springboard is all about the perennial religious topics. Participants will grow in spirit and fellowship through focusing on questions about Inspiration, God, Community, Suffering and Death, Cultivating a Spiritual Practice, and Living our Gifts. Leader: Ken Beldon Time: Wednesdays, 7:00 to 9:00 PM Dates: Beginning September 30 Place: WellSprings Office WEDNESDAY Photography: Through a Glass Clearly. This Springboard will heighten our appreciation of the visual world. We will grow together as we share our visions of the world. This group will plan some weekend photo shoot field trips. No need to purchase expensive equipment. Leader can loan cameras as needed. Leaders: Will Doak and Allison Smith Time: Wednesdays, 7:00 to 9:00 PM Dates: Beginning September 24 Place: Participant's Home, Eagle Listening to Our Lives (WellSprings 2.0)-Wednesday. This Springboard is all about the perennial religious topics. Participants will grow in spirit and fellowship through focusing on questions about Inspiration, God, Community, Suffering and Death, Cultivating a Spiritual Practice, and Living our Gifts. Leader: Ken Beldon Time: Wednesdays, 7:00 to 9:00 PM Dates: Beginning October 1 Place: Participant's Home, Chester Springs THURSDAY Happy Money: Walking a Spiritual Path in a Material World. Joseph Campbell said, "Money is congealed energy, and releasing it release life's possibilities…" Through readings, journaling, exercises, meditations and discussions, we will explore the ways money implicitly and explicitly affects our lives including our identity, our relationships, our choice of work and our fears, hopes and dreams. Leader: Chris Chepel Time: Thursdays, 7:00 to 9:00 PM Dates: Beginning September 25 Place: WellSprings Office Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:16:32 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=17 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=17&article_id=7 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Ken Beldon's Bio Ken Beldon, Lead Minister To see some of my recent writings, click here: New Book: Wrestling with Adulthood Election Sermon Printed in Representative American Speeches in 2004-2005, Chapter I - A Divided America: "November 7, 2004: "Peel Back the Label" Philadelphia Daily News OP/ED, May 9, 2007: "The Rule of Law at Guantanamo" Hi, I'm Ken and I'm the Lead Minister of WellSprings. I am primarily responsible for the overall leadership of the church in our start-up phase and beyond, and for preaching on Sunday at our weekly worship services. I love to witness people whose spiritual maturity shines through in what they do. My passion is to see folks grow spiritually, to find their true voice so that their service and leadership draws upon, and feeds, their joy. THE BASICS: My wife Teresa and I arrived during summer 2005 when I was hired to lead the new religious community that would become WellSprings. Prior to our move, we lived in Miami Beach. We met online when we both lived in South Florida. We have three pet rabbits named Zoo, Nilla, and DooWop who always soothe and amuse me with their bunny dances and curious natures. On August 5th, 2006, Teresa and I were married in Philadelphia. Starting a congregation in Chester County is something of a return home for me. I went to high school at The Hill School just up Route 100 in Pottstown and grew up splitting my time between Allentown and New York City. Religiously I was raised a Reform Jew. Once past my Bar Mitzvah, I gave up on organized religion until my mid-twenties, when I discovered Unitarian Universalism. BIRTH DATE: March 23, 1970 EDUCATION: B.A. in Religion from Oberlin College M.A.R. in Religious Ethics, Yale University Divinity School M. Div. Union Theological Seminary INTERESTS AND FAVORITES PLACES: The West Coast of Ireland and Brooklyn to be specific. More generally, various vibrant cities, a quiet beach, and any baseball stadium. WHAT'S ON YOUR iPod: At any given moment some combination of Alt-Country (The Jayhawks, Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Ryan Adams), ‘80s alternative (The Replacements, Lemonheads), R&B (Otis Redding, Nina Simone), and podcasts from other church planters. And, some Bruce, always some Bruce. BOOKS: Church growth stuff--anything by Tom Bandy. Spiritual autobiography--Anne Lamott, Kathleen Norris, Frederick Buechner. Fiction--Paul Auster, Nick Hornby. WHAT DO YOU TiVo: Lost, Mad Men, The Simpsons, What Not to Wear, ESPN's SportsReporters, and Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (the final two air on Sundays so I always miss them!). SPORT TEAMS: I know this is heresy in the Philly area--I love the New York Giants and the Yankees. But, the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park is a singularly amazing stadium. MOVIES: The heavy: Crimes and Misdemeanors, Winter Light. The light: About A Boy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin. HOBBIES: Traveling with Teresa, running, golfing (always a great lesson in humility and moving beyond mistakes) and cooking. DISLIKES: Public displays of private impatience, e.g. the person who barks loudly about waiting on line at the DMV, the driver who lays on the horn in stopped traffic. ODD FACT: I once saved a kid from drowning on a family vacation in St. Martin. LESS HEROIC ODD FACT: I broke my leg running into a parked car. FAVORITE SPIRITUAL SOURCE: The New Zealand Book of Common Prayer. A fitting prayer or meditation for any moment of the day, or any hour of life, with beautiful, nature-rich images of God. Wed, 1 Oct 2008 14:33:14 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=21&article_id=11 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Contact Us Lead Minister, Rev. Ken Beldon ken@wellspringsuu.org Director of Leadership and Spiritual Development, Dr. Kathy Ellis kathy@wellspringsuu.org YouthSpirit Director, Becky McAndrews becky@wellspringsuu.org Office Administrator, Carol Klekotka carol@wellspringsuu.org Stewardship, Chris Chepel stewardship@wellspringsuu.org WellSprings Office wellspringsadministration@wellspringsuu.org Office Phone: 610-280-3797 Mailing Address: Office Address Below Office Address: WellSprings Congregation (map) 555 Exton Commons Exton, PA 19341 Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:16:33 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=18 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=18&article_id=8 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Kathy Ellis's Bio Kathy Ellis, Director of Leadership and Spiritual Development Hi, I'm Kathy and I'm the Director of Leadership and Spiritual Development for WellSprings. My job is to get to know you, your gifts and your passions. I will be asking questions and listening to your answers so that the Wellsprings community can help you to grow. What makes your life worth living? What tools will better equip you for an authentic life in community? How can we equip you to serve in the ways that bring you joy? I love to see people become more themselves. Helping to create authentic community is a great joy. THE BASICS: My husband, Rick, and I have lived in Carlisle for twelve years. We have lived most of our lives in Pennsylvania except for an 8-year visit to West Virginia. We have one young adult daughter. Jessica and her fiancé, Scott, live beside us. I love that they have independent lives and that we can still see them often. Rick and I met while we worked the night shift at a mental health facility. We spent a lot of time talking before we ever went out! It can still amaze me that we've been married since 1977. Our current pets are mother and daughter cats, Annie and Harry. I was raised mostly unchurched, but I think I always responded to a sense of God and the creative mystery of the universe. Before joining a Unitarian Universalist congregation, Rick and I attended an unprogrammed Quaker meeting for about 10 years. I am thrilled to be working with WellSprings. My career has been as a psychologist, and I am currently a student at the Unitarian Universalist Seminary, Meadville-Lombard. At WellSprings, I can bring all of myself to my work. BIRTH DATE: October 21, 1949 EDUCATION: B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh M.S. in Community Counseling from Shippensburg State College Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology from West Virginia University M.Div in process from Meadville-Lombard Theological School INTERESTS AND FAVORITES PLACES: I love lots of places! Some of them: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Mt. Rainer, Washington, the Oregon Coast, the Maine Coast. Michaux State Forest, Pennsylvania. WHAT'S ON YOUR iPod: Well, I have one now! My favorites include: Richard Thompson, Emmy Lou Harris, K.D.Laing, Moxy Fruvous, Lyle Lovett, Paul Simon, and The Old 97s. Oh, and Bela Fleck and Lucinda Williams. BOOKS: Right now mostly for school. On my bed stand: Henri Nouwen, "Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith;" Rebecca Parker, "Blessing the World;" Parker Palmer, "A Hidden Wholeness." Books on patterns of generational personality; William Strauss and Neil Howe, "Generations." I hope to read fiction again when I graduate! WHAT DO YOU TiVo: Ok, I don't TiVo, but I'm really not a Luddite. If I did: Big Love, Doctor Who, Stargate and The Daily Show. SPORT TEAMS: And I don't watch sports. I throw away the sports section immediately. I guess maybe I really am a geek. My husband doesn't watch sports either. Not even the Olympics. I love yoga, bicycling, canoeing, and hiking. MOVIES: The heavy: Recently, Good Night and Good Luck. The light: Harry Potter, the Tolkien Ring series. HOBBIES: Traveling, camping, and weaving. Art. Folk Festivals. Visiting museums, gardens, and good ethnic restaurants. DISLIKES: The misuse of the words less and fewer. Hey, I don't know why, it just bothers me. Folks screaming and cursing at others, especially children. ODD FACT: I have spilled coffee on the ceiling. Twice. FAVORITE SPIRITUAL SOURCE: Right now, the poetry of Hafiz, a 14th century Sufi lover of God. Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:09:24 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=16 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=16&article_id=10 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Meet Our Leaders Ken Beldon, Lead Minister Hi, I'm Ken and I'm the Lead Minister of WellSprings. I am primarily responsible for the overall leadership of the church in our start-up phase and beyond, and for preaching on Sunday when we begin our weekly worship in January 2007. I love to witness people whose spiritual maturity shines through in what they do. My passion is to see folks grow spiritually, to find their true voice so that their service and leadership draws upon, and feeds, their joy. more Kathy Ellis, Director of Leadership and Spiritual Development Hi, I'm Kathy and I'm the Director of Leadership and Spiritual Development for WellSprings. My job is to get to know you, your gifts and your passions. I will be asking questions and listening to your answers so that the Wellsprings community can help you to grow. What makes your life worth living? What tools will better equip you for an authentic life in community? How can we equip you to serve in the ways that bring you joy? I love to see people become more themselves. Helping to create authentic community is a great joy. more Fri, 19 Sep 2008 02:03:32 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=23 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=23&article_id=13 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} WellSprings Newsletter Click here for the latest copy of Free Flowing, the WellSprings quarterly newsletter. Mon, 8 Sep 2008 17:02:08 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=25 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=25&article_id=16 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 80%; background: #E1EDF5} WellSprings Podcasting and Sermon Player Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:57:37 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=1&article_id=4 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: auto; background: #E1EDF5} Timed Rotating Image Welcome to WellSprings! We're glad you found us! WellSprings is for folks who feel there's got to be something that ties life—raising a family, doing a job, paying the bills—all together. We know that something is close to us when we remember that life is a gift and not an obligation. When we offer comfort in tough times to a friend or neighbor, or are comforted by them. When we're so fed up with what is, that we know we have to be a part of what could be. The Source that calls us has many names. When we answer the call we live with greater compassion and peace. We awaken. We know hope, not cynicism. At WellSprings, that's what spirituality is all about. We believe that spiritual growth brings real happiness. The kind of joy found not in things or in possessions, but in living fully, loving generously, and being who we are called to be. If you're new to WellSprings please click on the following to find out information about our Sunday service and spiritual development for children and youth in our community. Sat, 9 Feb 2008 12:04:16 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=34 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=34&article_id=26 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} — Personal Stories — Imagine a Religious Community Where… "What I'm realizing is that it's not being a mom, wife and volunteer that justify my life." Asking myself "Is this all there is to life?" had always felt selfish and ungrateful when I looked out at my two beautiful children, loving husband, and really nice four-bedroom house with a two-car garage. I mean, what more could I ask for? My life has all the ingredients of the American Dream. And yet…I still yearned to fill a kind of emptiness I felt and to find a community where I could explore "meaning of life" topics. At WellSprings I've found more than just a discussion about religion. In this community, I've been helped to develop my spirituality in a way I didn't know existed. Together we support and challenge each other to find ways to go deeper. What I'm realizing is that it's not being a mom, wife, and volunteer that justify my life. My life justifies itself. Who I am in the world, my daily actions, and my deeds do matter—but grace (or love, or whatever you want to call it) is mine, and always has been. Now THIS is worth getting up on Sunday morning for! Maria "Imagine a Religious Community that helps you put the pieces together." WellSprings is firmly grounded in the question "why?" We focus on the core purposes of the congregation and of each of our lives. Before my involvement with WellSprings, in my fast-paced career and committee work at a different, established church, asking "why?" seemed like a luxury. I often found myself over-committed, tired, frustrated, and as my fiancé and I joked, in a perpetual state of "late, lost, and can't find my stuff." I was adrift in a sea of different to-do lists and calendars. In reality, taking time to ask "why?" is not a luxury, but a necessity. Now I have a "one life, one calendar" policy. I make choices about what's important, about why I'm doing what I'm doing, not just what needs to be done. I can say "no" more firmly but also "yes" with greater enthusiasm. This is deeper than just time management—it's about putting the pieces together. Starting from why, WellSprings has helped me reconnect with my deepest self, which has enriched my relationships, my work, and my life. Chris "I've been in search for truth in spiritual meaning most of my life. That path continues." Growing up, my spiritual influences were diverse and rich. My mother was a Christian, my father a Jew. Both were fantastic role models, one serving our community as an elementary school teacher, the other a family doctor. They both gave back to their communities. Although I followed the Jewish tradition and became Bar Mitzvah, I valued the religious traditions of both my parents. Their love for life and social outreach helped me to appreciate all people of good and deep faith…no matter what their religious orientation. My wife Suzanne (born a Christian) and I have been blessed with two healthy children. We both wanted them to be at home in a liberal religion that embraces God in a non-dogmatic way. Now that I'm in the autumn of life, I know how important spirituality is in keeping me grounded in daily life. In a life that is much more complex than where I began, WellSprings helps me reconnect, reflect, and expand on my God given gifts. Frank "When my children reached the age where they started asking about Big Religious Questions, my answers were inadequate." I stopped going to the church in which I was raised because my understanding of a loving God became incompatible with their understanding of God. For a long time I was a faithful member of the "Sunday morning paper" church. When my children reached the age where they started asking about Big Religious Questions, my answers were inadequate. When I told my mother about this, she said "if you raise your children without a religious community, you are making the choice about religion for them." This conversation hit my heart, and I searched until I found WellSprings. Now my distrust of organized religion has been replaced with hope and faith. I have developed an understanding of God without compromising my integrity. Importantly, WellSprings is creating a religious program that is not focused on telling kids what they must believe, but instead gives our children tools to develop their own spiritual identity. This will help them answer the Big Religious Questions in their own unique way and provide a moral compass to aid them in making wise choices as they grow up. Jim Thu, 7 Feb 2008 17:07:47 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=22 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=22&article_id=12 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Some Quotes to Lead the Soul "Speak to us about the deepest yearning of our hearts, about our many wishes, about hope; not about the many strategies for (mere) survival, but about trust; not about new methods of satisfying our emotional needs, but about love. Speak to us about a vision larger than our changing perspectives and about a voice deeper than the clamorings of our mass media. Yes, speak to us about something or someone greater than ourselves. Speak to us about.....God." --Henri J.M. Nouwen "When everything that matters can be bought and sold, when commitments can be broken because they are no longer to our advantage, when shopping becomes salvation and advertising slogans become our litany, when our worth is measured by how much we earn and spend, then the market is destroying the very virtues on which in the long run it depends." --Jonathan Sacks The Summer Day Who made the world? Who made the swan,and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean-- the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-- who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? --Mary Oliver "Religion is our human response to the dual reality of being alive and having to die." --Forrest Church "To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." --Karl Barth "You can be pretty sure you have made God in your own image if God hates all the same people you hate." --Anne Lamott "To find your religion, it's not enough just to open one's mind and think deeply. Each of us must also open all of our senses and experience the world. Religion grows from the heart as much as the head, and it cries out to fuse body and mind. Faith is an orientation of the whole personality, a total response. It's not just a belief-the holding of certain ideas--which is a function of the mind alone. Beliefs can be expressed in propositional form to which adjectives true and false may be attached. Faith, by contrast, is the opposite of nihilism and despair. It may or may not include beliefs, but it is much larger; it is the ability to experience the universe as meaningful. Having faith means that our lives hold together and make sense at a deeper level. Rather than seeming absurd. Therefore your religion is something you not only think about but also sing, dance, eat, paint, and sculpt. To find your religion you must engage all of your senses. You should feel it as well as explain it, hear it as well as see it. Taste it as well as smell it." --Scotty McLennan "Our love is all of God's money." --Jeff Tweedy "A conventional 'success story' - one in which with each next step, the protagonist has more money, more respect and more possessions. I'd like to suggest an alternative 'success story' - one where he is closer to finding that spot where he is no longer held back by his heart, explodes with talent, and his character blossoms, and the gift that he has to offer the world is apparent." --Po Bronson "All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone." --Pascal "If the human race perishes it will not be for lack of information, but for lack of appreciation." --Abraha Joshua Heschel "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." --Howard Thurman "I don't want more choice, I want better things!" --Edina, from AbFab "Prayer does not change God; it changes the one who offers it." --Kierkegaard "I think that we may safely trust a good deal more than we do. The incessant anxiety and strain of some is a well-nigh incurable form of disease. How vigilant we are! Determined not to live by faith if we can avoid it; all the day long on the alert, at night we unwillingly say our prayers and commit ourselves to uncertainties. So thoroughly and sincerely are we compelled to live, reverencing our life, and denying the possibility of change. This is the only way, we say; but there are as many ways as there can be drawn radii from one centre. All change is a miracle to contemplate; but it is a miracle which is taking place every instant." --Thoreau "All other spiritual teachings are in vain if we cannot love." --Jack Kornfield "What makes me a believer is that from time to time, there have been glimpses I've had which have made me suspect the presence of something extraordinary and beyond the realm of the immediate. You encounter the holy in various forms, which, unless you have your eyes open, you might not even notice." --Frederick Buechner Thu, 7 Feb 2008 07:25:16 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=19 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=19&article_id=14 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} What Is Unitarian Universalism? Explore the following links to the Association of UU Congregations (UUA) and the local district (JPD) to learn more about Unitarian Universalism. Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Click Here Joseph Priestley District (JPD) Click Here UU Principles and Purposes Click Here Thu, 7 Feb 2008 07:18:14 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=15 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=15&article_id=6 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} What We Believe WellSprings Affirms: A Source Beyond Single Definition: We believe we can experience God without being able to define God. The Divine is unlimited by any single text, gender or dogma. We come to know the Divine by living fully, loving generously and being who we are called to be. Streams of Faith: We believe that spiritual wisdom is a naturally abundant resource, as alive and accessible in our age and time as in any other. There are many streams which flow to the same ocean and many paths paved with grace and wisdom upon which to explore our faith. Gardens of Abundance and Joy: We believe that just as the caterpillar contains the seed of the butterfly yet to be, we have the potential for new life within each of us. We believe that this potential should be celebrated, cultivated, nurtured and shared. Like a gardener who strives to create the right conditions for the garden to flourish, we strive to create the right conditions for spiritual growth. Thirst for Fulfillment: We believe that a growing, honest spiritual life fills our "God-shaped holes" and deepest yearnings. Efforts to fill these holes with materialism, unhealthy relationships and substance abuse lead to despair and loneliness. Ripples of Connection: We believe that each of us yearns for connection with each other and with the Sacred. We are mindful of the choices we make and know that our freedom reaches its fulfillment in connection with others. Like a pebble dropped into a pool of water, we do not know how far the ripples of our actions may reach. The Burning Bush is Blazing Everywhere: We believe that the Spirit "talks" to us in our everyday experiences and relationships. Through daily spiritual awareness, we aspire to better understand where these conversations are leading us in our lives. Thu, 7 Feb 2008 07:15:04 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=20 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=20&article_id=9 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} Our Story The idea for WellSprings began with some visionary Unitarian Universalists in the greater Philadelphia area. For years there had been discussions about planting a new religious community in north central Chester County. This culminated in a partnership between the Main Line Unitarian Church, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and the Joseph Priestley District of the denomination. In March of 2005, representatives from the UUA and Joseph Priestley District hired Rev. Ken Beldon to lead this new venture. Beginning in the later summer of 2005, Rev. Ken held a series of focus groups for interested people to discuss the emerging vision for WellSprings. From these gatherings, the Planting Team was formed--a group of people, some UU, some Unchurched Seekers--who were devoted to building a healthy, vibrant community which could grow. Meeting weekly for seven months, they focused on their personal spiritual development and building community with each other. Out of this discernment and also interviews with people in our area, the core Values and Beliefs were articulated. On the basis of this identity, we formed Springboards in the summer of 2006. These small groups for spiritual growth focused on perennial religious questions. In the ten session gatherings, people had a chance to share fellowship, grow in their understanding of their faith life, offer service to our community, and share in the vision that animates WellSprings. In the fall of 2006, Kathy Ellis was hired to be our Director of Equipping, and Carol Klekotka was hired to be our Office Administrator. Weekly worship services and YouthSpirit, weekly sessions of spiritual development for children and youth, started in January of 2007. WellSprings is excited to move into the future, to provide meaningful worship, to equip families to grow together spiritually, to be a strong presence for liberal religious values in our community: to be the kind of community that generously shares who we are and what we have to give with our world. Tue, 5 Feb 2008 21:18:45 MST http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=14 http://www.wellspringsuu.org/app/w_page.php?type=section&id=14&article_id=5 Internal Style Sheet body {color: #000000; font-family: "Verdana"; font-size: 2} table {border: 2px solid #00589E; width: 100%; background: #E1EDF5} What We Value Discovering Spiritual Gifts: We empower people to find their true sense of calling, not just to do what they are good at, but to live out what they do best and the world needs most. With humility and generosity of spirit we challenge each other in our explorations, and together discover new understandings of our spiritual source and ourselves. Supporting Everyday Spiritual Practice: We encourage one another to have daily spiritual practices, so that we are always connected to our spiritual source and the identity of our community. The most powerful spirituality is expressed abundantly in everyday life--in the home, in the workplace, in the malls and on the streets. Fostering Family Spiritual Growth: We equip families to grow together spiritually in all the days they share. Lifespan religious education nurtures spiritual formation and faith development for all people in WellSprings. Sundays are not about "getting religion" for one day a week, but about motivating, sustaining and celebrating the religion we have and that we yearn to make stronger. Sharing Our Faith: Our deeds are generated by our beliefs. Personal transformation bears fruit in the natural sharing of who we are with the communities in which we live. We are open about articulating the spiritual motivations and sources for our acts of justice, kindness and service. Embracing a Large Vision in Intimate Ways: Teams and small groups are more than just structures for us; they are our lived commitment to accomplish our mission so that everyone can find a place to be welcomed in our midst. Through the smallest of seeds great things can come into being. Speaking a Living Language of Faith: We embrace words like God, Spirit and Faith to guide us as we define our ever-evolving faith. Our spiritual voice offers a choice beyond either secularism or fundamentalism. Living With Integrity: We are a community of deep listening, possessing the humility and the vulnerability necessary so we are able to make positive change. We honestly evaluate where we are in the hope of courageously going where we are called to be. Tue, 5 Feb 2008 20:21:26 MST