Messages on Death, Grief, & Loss (Page 3)
Life of the World to Come*
This week, Rev. Ken talks about the Mountain Goats album “Life of the World to Come” and explains how it’s the inspiration for this message. He talks about the concept of “temporal distancing” and how it can be a useful tool in mindfulness practice. He tells us about a time when – quite unexpectedly – he experienced a profound change in perspective. Given this week’s events, Rev. Ken takes a moment to reflect on the George Floyd murder trial, before…
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay
This week, Chris reflects on the entirety of the weight of the pandemic. There are different levels of loss, but she validates the fact that we’ve all lost something. Perhaps we’ve remained healthy, perhaps we’ve kept our jobs, perhaps all our loved ones are safe; yet we’ve all lost things this past year. She contemplates why we are encouraged to shout our joyful moments, but to keep our lamentations quiet. Naming our grief and giving it space can be healing.…
Life Among the Living
Rev. Lee begins this week by acknowledging that we are all “in need of a resurrection.” She sympathizes with the women in the Easter story of the resurrection who were visiting his grave that Sunday. She reminds us that when Jesus is resurrected, he isn’t recognized by his friends and family – he’s unfamiliar. A messenger reminds the women that we can not look for the living among the dead. We can’t find new life in what is past. We…
We Remember So We Can Grow
Rev. Lee begins with a story about a healthcare worker isolating from her family, and the stress it caused on her young son. This worker asks her son to “remember this feeling” as we move towards a return to normal. Rev. Lee invites us to remember those who became sick, or those who were lost to this pandemic in the past year. She also references an essay which went viral last year which pointed out that the “old normal” wasn’t…
Wild and Precious Life
In our annual Thanksgiving service, we ask members of our congregation – from different decades of life – to answer the question from the Mary Oliver poem The Summer Day “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Wild and Precious Life START OF TRANSCRIPT[00:00:00]The following is a message from Wellspring’s congregation.[00:00:05]Hi, my name is Noah. I’m 16 years old and I am in 11th grade.[00:00:10]I’m going to read this off my computer because…
Simply Sad
In this short introduction to our annual Remembrance Service, Rev. Ken assures us that it’s okay to not “cheer up” every time we feel sad. Sometimes, we can sit with sadness, especially in the wake of a loss. If we sit with grief and sadness, what we find at the root of it is love. Simply Sad NAMEDATEOctober 27, 2020DURATION14m 10sMy Audio.mp3START OF TRANSCRIPT[00:00:00]Good morning, Wellspring’s, it’s it’s good to be with you again, one of the many almost seemingly…
We Can Be the Space for This
In this week’s message, lay preacher Bev Fox shares the story of her brother who died after a years-long struggle with addiction. She tells us how the slow processing of his death led to her own struggles with mental health. A NOTE FROM OUR WORSHIP LEADER: “Before we move forward, I want to let you all know that in this morning’s message, our preacher Bev shares a personal story that might be difficult or triggering for some folks to hear,…
Woven Fine
Rev. Lee begins this week’s message by talking about a new framework for the stages of grief, including an added a sixth stage: “finding meaning.” Of course, that’s a very hard concept to accept, especially if we’re in the early stages of grief. She also talks us through the conundrum of how we can all support each other when we’re all going through the same thing. She shares the “Parable of the long spoons,” where the answer isn’t to feed…
It’s Not You…
Rev. Lee begins this week’s message by mentioning a meme about an imaginary coworker, “Cheryl,” on whom to blame things. She explains that what we’re actually doing in these moments is making space to protect our relationships. There’s a lot of grief right now with the pandemic, and many of us are feeling that if this had never happened, our lives would be different. But when things don’t turn out the way we want, maybe we can make a practice…
Sing a New Song
Quarantine has led us to new forms of entertainment, and this week, Rev. Ken begins by talking about a “table read” of the Princess Bride which the original stars reunited for recently. One of his main takeaways from that movie is that when life doesn’t turn out the way we want, maybe we can then open ourselves to a different kind of story. Rev. Ken also talks about unique experiences of grief, and how the “stages” aren’t always linear. Sing…
The Care of Souls
Rev. Ken begins this new message series by offering the Mourner’s Kaddish for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. He talks about a videogame he’s playing now where a being called “Stella” guides souls to the afterlife, and how surprisingly touching it is. He also talks about how we can help each other through our collective mourning process by honoring the connections between us. The Care of Souls [00:00:00]The following is a message from Wellspring’s congregation.[00:00:06]Good morning, Wellsprings.[00:00:09]It was on Friday evening…
The Midnight Gospel
Rev Ken. Continues our Spiritflix series with a message about the Netflix series “The Midnight Gospel.” He reminds us that it’s okay if we’re not okay right now. The Midnight Gospel START OF TRANSCRIPT[00:00:00]The following is a message from Wellspring’s congregation.[00:00:06]Good morning, Wellspring’s. It’s good to see you today. I recognize I might look a little bit odd, so hold on one oneone second. One second.[00:00:19]Let me let me fix this up. There we go.[00:00:26]Better, isn’t it? You’re probably more…