Sacred Text Reading Group (Saturday)
Kornfield
Date(s) - 04/01/2023
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
What do we mean by a sacred text? Any text that helps us to:
- connect to something of supreme importance to us
- feel more connected to other beings or to the universe
- feel more intensely alive
- align our lives with our values,
- perceive or feel more deeply
- be more fully and authentically ourselves.
As Unitarian Universalists, we find these kinds of meanings everywhere, so the text itself might be from a so-called secular source, or from a religious canon, or something in-between.
The participants over the years have found that the approach we take, and the respectful, affectionate community of inquirers in which we read and converse, are as important as the text. Our practice usually follows one of these versions of Lectio Divina. The aims of the sessions are educational (learning something about the texts and traditions), spiritual/moral (discovering what the texts ask of us), and community-building (getting to know each other better).
The facilitator will post a version of the text in the chat for all to see. Everyone is welcome, as are your suggestions of future texts. Group members also take turns facilitating, if they want to try that role.
Our text for Saturday, April 1, 2023, is from Jack Kornfield, The Wise Heart, p. 44.
A boy in school suddenly notices a sunbeam illuminating the dust and he is no longer the earnest fifth grader struggling with math. He smiles as … his whole building and schoolboy drama are held in a silent, free awareness. A woman walking down the street thinks of a distant friend and for a moment forgets her errands, feeling eternity and her own small life passing through it. In an argument we stop, laugh, let go, and become silent. Each of these moments offers a taste of freedom.
To have check-in time, or if you are new and would like a brief orientation, arrive ten minutes early. And all are welcome to stay ten minutes after as well, for more getting-acquainted time.
How to join: First, e-mail sacred-text-reading+owner@uucpa.org, since you will need a password. Then:
- Join this class from your Web browser:https://zoom.us/j/91019857324
- Join this class using the Zoom app: Meeting ID: 910 1985 7324
- Join this class by phone: 669 900 9128 US (San Jose), Meeting ID: 910 1985 7324
- Join this class by on-tap on mobile phones: +16699009128,,91019857324# US (San Jose)
- Phoning in, but not in the bay area? Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/abL8clvIYT