Category Archives: Blog
Entering the Dark Season
Each year we share this meditation poem written by Twinkle in 2013.
May we find comfort in the warm embrace of the dark season.
The Dark Season
We are at the threshold of the Seasons,
the doorway to the Year,
when the Veil is thin,
and time passes amorphously.
We turn inward as the Darkness beckons us.
We welcome the warmth of the fire,
contemplating the mysteries of the Unseen.
We honor the soft ache in our hearts
for those we have lost:
the people,
the dreams.
And we rest.
For rest we must, to heal.
This is the cycle of death and rebirth;
release and renewal.
We cherish this time
as the lessons it offers
penetrate our knowing.
May we breathe in wisdom
and breathe out patience.
by: Rev. “Twinkle” Marie Manning
October 23rd, 2013
For original art post + Audio, click the link below.
Thank you!!
We are deeply grateful to all our family and friends who joined us for our engagement party!! It was so wonderful to celebrate our happiness with you and to see such happiness reflected back to us by each of you. Love 💫❤️🎶🙏🏼
October 13th, 2018. Thank you to all our friends and family celebrating with us near and far. We love you!
Posted by Marie Gerstel Manning on Monday, October 15, 2018
LightSpring Interview with Peter Bowden
September 12th – October 4th, every year, like clockwork
My mother’s birthday is today,
…would have been today.
October 4th.
She would have been 69.
She died 10 years ago;
her Body releasing its last exhale in the wee hours of September 12th. She was 58.
Her death-day marks the beginning of what is typically a difficult series of weeks for our family; September also holding the anniversaries of my brother’s death, and the would-be birthday of my father who died almost two decades ago now.
Of course, the dark season has grown accustomed to stretching out, often initiating Its appearance before August’s end and extending its visit through, and then past, Samhain.
This year was lighter than many.
Still, their absence is present.
The Sacred LEGO by Liz James
Sharing this again! Where’s the main part of our “churches”? What is our focus? How are we “built” and what is it important to remember about our movable, ever-evolving, parts?
The mark of spiritual maturity is the ability to deal with paradox
“The mark of spiritual maturity is the ability to deal with paradox...” Rev. Jaelynn Pema-la Scott
In addition to calling us to be more embracing of our transgender and queer siblings and varieties of trans theologies, we are called to embrace ministries, rituals and paths that embody and celebrate our unique spiritualities within and beyond our existing faith traditions.
Speaking about being in the margins of faith, spiritually and theology, Rev. Jaelynn Pema-la Scott says, "Everything we do is revolutionary. Anything that we develop and hold true to ourselves is liberative ... Anytime I pray it is an act of revolution. It is activism. Anytime I declare myself a minister and say that my ordination is valid and that I hold wisdom and truth, that is an act of resistance.”May each journey, mysterious and divine, be blessed.
The Winds of Summer – Sermon by Rev. “Twinkle” Marie Manning, interfaith minister
What a joy to be embraced by the Universalist Unitarian Church of Waterville, Maine to lead their water communion service this year!
The Winds of Summer: a Water Communion Service to Gather The Beloved Community
For the names that remain unspoken…
Today, may we also say a prayer for the many names that do not appear on any memorial and the ones that remain unspoken aloud due to the fear that exists in our country. May those grieving the loss of such loved ones find warmth in the embrace of those they can trust with their truth. May our planet usher in a time when all are safe and welcome and free.
Water Communion Service in Waterville September 9th, 2018
Join Us!
Sunday, September 9th, 2018 (10:00 am)
The Universalist Unitarian Church of Waterville
69 Silver Street, Waterville, Maine
The Winds of Summer:
a Water Communion Service to Gather The Beloved Community
Guest in the Pulpit: Rev. “Twinkle” Marie Manning
”Community means strength that joins us our strength to do the work that needs to be done. Arms to hold us when we falter. A circle of healing. A circle of friends. Someplace where we can be free." ~ Starhawk
UPDATED: Winds of Summer SERMON POSTED HERE