'Spiritual Development Ministry' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
A Look Back at Our “Starting Small” Message Series
During the month of May, WellSprings offered four very special services, which set out to include people of all ages. We had some of our younger WellSpringers helping out as Worship Leaders, chalice lighters, hat passers, and even activity leaders. Keep reading to see a description of each week, and the accompanying photos and videos. Week 1: Mystery Seeds Rev. Ken led us in a planting activity. Each person present was given a small, biodegradable cup, some soil, and some…
“Starting Small” – Our New Message Series
Sometimes we’ve got to start something new… even if we only have a little bit of what we need, to make it happen. Everything we begin in life is, essentially, a mystery. We never know how it will unfold. How do we find the courage to begin anyway? How can we discover, and trust, the good seeds in our lives? And what can we learn from our own past experiences, to help us remember that starting – even starting small – is worth…
Our New Message Series: The Great Integration
Millions of people quit their jobs in 2021. Over the last two years, people sold houses, changed careers, ended marriages, and moved to new towns at rates far beyond the norm – so much so, that journalists and social scientists started calling it “The Great Resignation.” It makes sense that in times of change, people change too. What does it look like to re-build, and re-integrate, all these new pieces of a life… with the old ones that are still…
“Neighbors & Helpers” Our New Message Series
We see the world through our own eyes – and sometimes we assume that’s just “the way it is” for everyone. But when we engage with our neighbors, we start to realize how much our own limited perspectives never showed us. There are so many shades and colors of what it means to be “us” – to live in Chester County, or to be a Unitarian Universalist – beyond our own experiences. This Winter, we’ll bring members of the community…
Our Holiday Message Series: This Joy
Our next message series, This Joy, will begin on Sunday November 7th and will run through January 2nd. This Joy There may be nothing more powerful, or brave, than refusing to let the world steal our joy. Sadly, joy thieves are everywhere, these days. Whether it’s headlines in the news, illnesses and loss, hate and injustice, climate disasters… or just our boss or our partner or our kid’s bad mood… we’re tempted to shut the doors, change the channel, and…
A Special Service to Remember Those We’ve Lost
WellSprings Annual remembrance Service To be Held October 31st At the end of each October, WellSprings holds an annual Remembrance Service. Together, we build an altar that holds mementos and photos of all our loved ones lost, from within and beyond our community. This year, as we continue to process the grief of the pandemic, we honor that we have that same need: to connect and share stories and mementos of the loved ones we miss so dearly, and carry with us through all our…
“God Laughs” Message Series Resource Guide
The old Yiddish proverb – “We plan, God laughs” – feels too relatable, these days. Information shifts, new crises erupt, and so much of what we look forward to keeps slipping through our open hands. How can we find peace when expectations go unmet, and predictions fall apart? What promises can we trust, that don’t rely on forces outside our control – but within them? Download the resource guide
“Heirloom Connections” Our May Message Series
We’re more aware than ever these days, that we are all living through history. All of us inherit the world our ancestors created, and future generations will be shaped by the choices we make today. How might we be enriched, by building relationships with people at different ages and stages of life? In this message series, we’ll take inspiration from “pen pal” exchanges between ten members of our community – ranging in age from 5 to 82 – who’ve agreed…
“New Normal (Or, How Not to Waste an Apocalypse)” Our Spring Message Series
One year ago, “normal” was ripped out from under us – and in those first, stunned moments, many of us began to dream. Just how well was the “old normal” working for us? How might this time change the way we live? How can we rebuild our world for the better? This Spring we’ll consider what new doors have opened to us in the past year, and how we might choose to live our lives differently, in light of what…
“Coming Home” Our Winter Message Series
Even when we feel like we are going nowhere, we are always in an astonishing place: right here, at home, in our bodies. There are many ways to stop and pause, and feel our way back to this present, embodied moment – and an abiding, enduring spiritual practice gives us the ability to find peace and presence, no matter where we are. This Winter, we’ll “test drive” a spiritual practice together in worship each week, with hopes that all of…
Our Holiday Message Series: “How to Be Afraid”
The writer Audre Lorde once said, “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” As the Fall season turns to Winter this year, so many of us are coping with helplessness, fear, and dissatisfaction with what is – alongside anxious hope, for the future. The shape of our world in years to come always depends on what we do in the…
Fall Message Series: “The Cloud Over Everything”
This Sunday, Rev. Ken begins our new message series for Fall: “The Cloud Over Everything.” With little warning, 2020 brought us loss upon loss. Grief is among the most reliable of human experiences, yet it’s rarely discussed in the open – or held and healed in common. In our Fall message series, we’ll explore how to cope with grief, and move through some of its best-known qualities like anger, sadness, denial, bargaining, and acceptance. We’ll gather under the cloud and look up, remembering that…