“It is not always easy to find love at the center.
So for today we gather in covenant to celebrate the reality
that love is at the core of our beings
and that love will guide us if we open ourselves
to the challenges which love requires of us.”-Esther Hurlburt
How are you guided by love today?
“But when I am here at the edge of creation, breaking with the small tide over the sand, the need to do good rolls away; the question of what is right diminishes to insignificance and is easily borne away by the tiny waves. Here, where no words are spoken, none are misspoken…. I stand somewhere between truth and vision, and what I don’t know ceases to embarrass me, because what I do know is that the water feels gentle like a lover’s touch, and the sand welcomes it.” -Elizabeth Tarbox
Where have you had experiences of having your personal insecurities melt into the embrace of something larger?
“May we have the courage to be real—bare seams, imperfections, tears, warts and all. May this be the place where we love one another into all of our realness, all of our humanity.” -Teri Schwartz
How do you find the courage to be real?
Our spoken and unspoken agreements are the elements that forge lasting, loving relationships, or can be the reason why they fall apart. I have found that in my strongest relationships (friendships, collegial, romantic, all kinds) I offer repair when I have broken a promise, or caused someone I am in relationship with pain. It is beautiful to be in relationship with friends where repair is welcomed, valued and built upon. -Aisha Hauser (CLF)
When have you offered repair in a broken relationship?
CLF Learning Fellow Donté Hilliard asks us:
Do we sometimes confuse our personal expectations with communal covenant? Tell us about an experience you have had of this.
