Hello Dear Friends and Readers all,

Spring has sprung once more.  I didn’t do any ritual for it, timing and schedules, and a half-formed decision to hold to the moons for a while and just sort of observe and experience the workings of the world and the seasons and the mysteries at work in the world around me, all contributed to this.

Yet the Gods and the Mysteries will not be denied.

I went to Services at the U.U. the other day and one of Ostara’s essential mysteries, rebirth and renewal and the first stirrings of new growth, played itself  out in a surprisingly Pagan fashion before me with only myself and perhaps a few others being the wiser about it at First Unitarian.  The Service itself focused on Spiritual jouney’s and development as individuals and groups and Religious Education’s role and relationship with the life-long spiritual journey.  As a part of this, and an ongoing feature of our Services, one of the Children’s RE classes presented the Words for All Ages section of our Service.

Words for All Ages is a part of the F.U.C.O. Service where the young or young at heart are invited up to the pulpit area.  This is often for a story for the kids that relates in some manner to the theme for the Service, then we as a congregation sing our Song of Dedication and the kids are sent off for some supervised play and the main Sermon takes place.  (Children’s RE, or Religious Education often happens before Services at the same time as Adult RE, so that the kids can enjoy part of the services with us)

So the Middle School Class, in line with the themes of the Service took some turns sharing their spiritual and religious beliefs.  I found all of the shares both welcome and fascinating, and could empathize with the difficulty that some of the kids had in articulating their beliefs… it can be a tough thing to talk about when the religious and spiritual experience is such a personal and intimate and complex and deeply felt thing as the religious experience, even as an adult or as someone who has written of such things for years.   One of the kids spoke haltingly about having gone to other Churches in other faiths before and finding a religion in Unitarian Universalism, he was quite overcome with emotion.  One young man reported that baseball was his religion.  Another talked about having done a thinking and reading about and deciding that he would like to be a Wiccan!  Two of the middles chool youth  labeled their faith as Greek Paganism!  A particularly musically talented young lady shared that music was her religion, and that she believed she was made up of music and light and love and that she tried to spread those with her own music.

Just before the singing of our congregations Song of Dedication, one of the young girls who was not part of the middle schoolers asked for the microphone….

“My mom and dad were married in this Church and I was baptised in this Church and May All The Gods Bless This Church!”

There was a great deal of applause and then we sang the Song of Dedication.

The kids left and the Sermon started, but I ended up excusing myself for a few minutes because I needed a minute or two to step outside utter a private prayer of thanks and joy to the Holy Powers, and to get a bit of control or I was going to be a weepy sentimental mess….

Blessed Spring All!