While this is the first Sunday of Advent, it is also the busiest time of year for charitable giving, pledge drives and end of the year tax-write-offs. Here at UUHoulton we are also conducting our annual pledge drive from now until the end of the year. Don’t be surprised if you find something in your mailbox soon. If you don’t receive a pledge letter, just let us know and we’ll make sure that you get one! Generosity is what keeps resources flowing, getting to where they need to go, and in the process benefits everyone who is involved; both the one who is giving and the one who is receiving. This is especially true when times are difficult, demanding and uncertain. The title of this week’s service is “Times of Generosity.”
The service will be available at 10AM on our YouTube Channel followed by Zoom check-in and coffee hour at 11AM. You’ll find the links listed below. Have a great week-end everyone!
Practice patience and kindness.
In Ministry,
Dave
HERE IS THE SERVICE LINK FOR THIS WEEK’S SERVICE(Please note it won’t be active until 10AM on Sunday morning)
HERE IS THE ZOOM LINK FOR SUNDAY:
David Hutchinson is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: UU Check-In and Coffee Hour
Time: Nov 28, 2021 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every week on Sun, until Dec 26, 2021, 5 occurrence(s) Nov 28, 2021 11:00 AM Dec 5, 2021 11:00 AM Dec 12, 2021 11:00 AM Dec 19, 2021 11:00 AM Dec 26, 2021 11:00 AMPlease download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.Weekly: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/tZMrf-GoqDktEtKIQGTNUzyPb4d79j8acSqB/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGvqDMiGtKXtxGBRpwEBIqgWfTwpnpaj7d2tS7CNw5meBrGNLZGZet1SNnT
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/87688062786?pwd=SVZTWWowb0pmUkE4VkdEajU3bUhSQT09
Meeting ID: 876 8806 2786 Passcode: 552118
One tap mobile+13017158592,,87688062786#,,,,*552118# US (Washington DC)+13126266799,,87688062786#,,,,*552118# US (Chicago)
Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 720 707 2699 US (Denver)Meeting ID: 876 8806 2786Passcode: 552118Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kj0bxDYo2
Virtual Offering Plate
If you would like to send in your pledge or donation simply drop an envelope in the mail. The address is listed below. Thank you for your generous support!
UU Church of Houlton61 Military StreetHoulton, ME 04730
Learn the “BASICS” of Insight Meditation
BY LARRY YANG
Larry Yang teaches the basics of a simple practice you can do right now: insight meditation.
The term “insight meditation” comes from the Pali word Vipassana. It is the ability to see clearly and deeply into what is unfolding in our lives. Insight practice reveals what has created our present conditions and allows us to more fully live in the present moment. This is so valuable for our ability to make conscious choices to better our lives. It is why the Buddha said that living twenty-four hours with mindfulness is more worthwhile than living a hundred years without it.
We start our Insight practice with the BASICS:
Begin with breath and body
Take a seat and notice how your body breathes itself without extra effort. No need to force your breath or to breathe in a controlled fashion. Usually, we take our breath for granted. In insight meditation, we make visible in our lives what has previously been invisible.
Allow awareness into activities
Expand your awareness into walking, movement, and eating meditation practices. Experience the sensations of simply eating a salad or piece of bread, which you might usually consume while doing other activities. While walking to the restroom at work, do so mindfully. If you have a limited or different range of motion, allow that to guide where your mindfulness needs to be, without judging anything about your experience. Know that your mindfulness is not dependent on those conditions. It can include all of your experience.
Support the sacred in your life
Whether you are secularly or spiritually minded, pay attention to how people treat each other in terms of kindness, compassion, ethics, and integrity. These values are not the monopoly of one lineage or one spiritual tradition. They’re what make us human.
Invite all of yourself into awareness
We are the products of different lives, backgrounds, families, occupations, roles, cultures, genders, orientations, physical abilities, and economic and educational experiences. Invite all your aspects and identities into your insight practice.
Cultivate continuity and consistency
Develop a daily sitting practice. Be realistic. If it feels difficult, try the Five-Five-Five method: Meditate five minutes a day, for five days a week, for five weeks. If you feel its benefit, you will naturally increase your practice time. Continuity and consistency lead to concentration, clarity, and calmness. Bring your awareness practice into your workplace, your relationships, your creative endeavors—nothing is outside of mindfulness.
Sangha and community
I advise you also to practice with others. Gather with spiritual friends, meet in weekly sitting groups, and get support through daylong retreats. If you cannot find these groups in your geographic area—get like-minded and like-hearted friends to sit with you. We never walk our spiritual path alone, and the teachings show us that we actually awaken together.
Attend to these BASICS, and the rest will follow. Each teaching leads to all of the teachings, bringing us greater freedom in our hearts and clarity in our minds.
ABOUT LARRY YANG
Larry Yang teaches meditation retreats nationally and is committed to creating access to the dharma for diverse multicultural communities. He is a Spirit Rock teacher and is a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center (Oakland) and Insight Community of the Desert (Palm Springs). His book Awakening Together is available at Wisdom Publications.
HOW TO BE A POET
(to remind myself) by Wendell BerryMake a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill — more of each
than you have — inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your poems,
doubt their judgment.
Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.
Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.
Wendell Berry with a winter’s supply of hard wood
Joys & Concerns
When one of us is blessed we are all blessed.When one of us experiences sorrow we all feel the pain.
Outbreak of Weebles @ UUHoulton
A couple of weeks ago I shared a sermon on resiliency or “the bounce-back effect” and I made a reference to the popular children’s toy, the Weeble and the memorable saying “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.” Since then Weebles have been popping up in UU households. Here are two of them that appeared at a recent recording session. Keep an eye out while you’re watching this week’s Advent service and you may spot one!
A new coronavirus variant is being reported this week first identified in South Africa. The Omicron variant is a highly mutated version of the original. According to The New York times on Friday, the World Health Organization officially labeled it a “variant of concern” its most serious category — the first since the Delta variant, which emerged a year ago. The designation means that the variant has mutations that might make it more contagious or more virulent, or make vaccines and other preventive measures less effective — though none of those effects has yet been established. We’ll keep our eyes on this story as it develops.
Prayer List
For those recovering from COVID-19 in the state of Maine
Local emergency personnel and hospital staffFor our state and national leaders as they respond to the current coronavirus crisis
For those working for social justice and societal change
Pray for peaceful action and democratic process in our nation
Prayers for the heat wave in the American West and wide spread drought conditions
Prayers for the people of HaitiPrayers for the people of Afghanistan
Prayers for British Columbia and Washington State with the recent heavy rains and landslides
Concerns regarding the new covid variant Omicron
The Four Limitless Ones Prayer
May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the root of happiness.
May we be free from suffering and the root of suffering.
May we not be separated from the great happiness devoid of suffering.
May we dwell in the great equanimity free from anger, aggression and exclusion.
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