Rev. Lori On Our Personal Connections to Church and Community
This reflection was originally published on this date in the Friday Flyer.
A Sunday slow, the pews left bare,
No hymns to rise, no whispered prayer.
The halls are silent, doors stay closed,
One week to wander, mind composed.
Light filters in through windows still,
No organ calls, no hands to greet.
Yet faith persists, not bound by walls—
It breathes in rest, and softly calls.
Hello friends,
I write this while en route to some time away…my week to wander. I realized that our halls are never really silent. Brian bustles around doing all the things that keep us knit together. B&G is also always around caring for our beautiful building and preparing for every next thing!
Yet, you are all on your bi-week as they say in the sports world. A rest week. A reset week. I hope this time prepares us all for what is to come next Sunday!
I invite you to close your eyes and take a deep breath. While we won’t be in our building let’s come to church in our minds. This will help you inventory what about our church physically touches your soul. Picture walking up the path to our door. What do you see first? How does that make you feel? Walk through the door in your mind’s eye. Do you look right or left? What do your see as you look towards the Parish Hall? Turn to your left and walk to the Sanctuary. Go in.
From your memories, what is the first thing that comes to mind when you enter our Sanctuary in your mind? Look long and hard at it. Take it in. Is it the pews? Is it the organ? Is it the chancel….(where the pulpit is)? Is it the stained glass? Is it the chalice or container of sand where we place our candles? What colors do you see? What do you smell? What makes you smile about walking into the sanctuary?
Keep that image in your mind this week as we prepare ourselves to return on the 14th. Reflect on what parts of our beautiful building deepen your experience and feed your spirit? Hold those this week in your mind's eye. Images can be prayers, as Orthodox Christians know. Resting on images, like stained glass, or icons, or architecture, or symbols can lead us into a state of connection to our beliefs and all the folks that came before us. As we prepare to reconnect through our water communion service, let’s recognize that those connections never go away!
My best wishes for you!
Peace and Blessings,
Rev Lori Whittemore
(she, her, hers)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco Biddeford