October was a hard month. Global violence, political unrest,
trouble in the land, It has provoked plenty of trauma, fear, and
anxiety. My own fears for the world have caused a few early
morning wakings, but one waking was of a different sort. I
awoke thinking of love and prayer and that inspiration gave rise
to my two services in November.

The theme for November is love. Love is patient, love is kind,
love is hope, love is justice, love is love. Love is impossible.
Love is like a prayer. On November 5th, I will be leading a
service on "Loving/Impossible". Famous French and Jewish
philosopher Jacques Derrida was known to be an atheist, but in
the latter part of his life he ruminated significantly on prayer.
The notion of prayer and praying captivated him and I think of
the line from We Are... where Sweet Honey in the Rock sing
"We are our grandmother's prayers. And we are our
grandfather's dreamings." We are the prayers of our
ancestors. Not the fruit of their prayers, not the hopes of their
prayers. We are their prayers. Love makes the impossible
possible.

​

On November 19th, I will be leading a service on "Like a Prayer." Martin Luther King and Madonna both spoke powerfully about love. Love has a spiritual and sacred power, one that uplifts, changes, disrupts, and that love is its own communication and its own knowledge. Love is not just for Valentines, chocolates, and roses, but for how we participate in our world.

Love is part of gratitude, and in this month of Thanksgiving I am grateful for my Unity Church Family. We are entering on our road to 150 years which we will be celebrating in 2025 as the Town of Easton celebrates its tricentennial. For close to 150 years Unity Church has been a beacon of love, hope, truth, and light to our larger community and plenty of festivities will be on the way to celebrate. I am grateful to serve as part of that lineage.

 

Thank you for being on this journey with me.

~ Best, Andrew