Thank you!  The Board on the behalf of the Center sent a fruit and cheese basket to let me and my family know of your love and support.  Bob and I were in Angleton, Texas, to be with my son, Jim, and handle the service celebrating the life of my daughter-in-law, Kelly, last week.   She made her transition in early August after several months of dealing with the effects of liver disease.  Your continued prayers for Jim and all of us are deeply appreciated.   Loss is not easy even when we know her life continues in growth, expansion and love.  We will miss her.

On Sunday, our topic was Spirit with us.  Of course, that was the perfect subject for me at this time.  Knowing that I am never alone no matter how it looks or feels brings me great comfort.  I got to and I encouraged others to think of a moment or many moments when we felt the Presence, the moments when our hearts are open and we feel connection and rightness.  It is hard to explain what those moments are and how they feel. 

I love how Spirit unfolds in my life.  That morning I was practicing with the LCSL music ensemble and had one of those moments.  All of a sudden my heart filled with love for those in the room, for ky's music, for my ability to join in, for the words and melody of the new song we were learning and the tears flowed.  And I thought, how do you explain moments like these.  As best I can knowing that words fail me.  And even more important, how do I stay in the feeling for as long as I can and revisit it often?  By just breathing and being.

On September 28, we will have our annual meeting at which we vision for LCSL and talk about where we are and where we are choosing to go.  We will meet here in my home from 9 - 12 and encourage everyone who can to come and join us and give us their input.  We will talk about things that our minds tell us and we will vision/listen to hear what Spirit is revealing through our hearts. 

Visioning is a form of meditation designed to help us listen in a focused way.   We talked about it and experienced a taste of it on Sunday during our meditation time and will do so again next Sunday.  There will be pencils and paper for folks to write down what they are feeling and thinking.  We know that many will not be able to join us on Saturday and we want to capture as much input as possible from everyone.   I encourage you to spend some quiet time listening to the answer(s) you receive to the question, "What is the highest and best expression of LCSL?"  What you get may be words, or colors, or images, or feelings, or whatever.  Don't edit, just share with us.

Again, thank you for allowing me to serve as your minister.

Much love,

Rev.  Carolyn