This was the first collaborative service Twinkle co-led during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. She had been scheduled to travel to New Hampshire to join ministerial colleague and friend Sarah Dan Jones at Starr King UU congregation. When church doors closed nationwide, and members were instructed to remain in their homes in the hopes of such sheltering-in-place would create a quick ending to the transmission, Twinkle and Sarah Dan quickly responded to the crisis, shifting the originally planned service to become a more contemplative one. Designed to bring comfort and instill connection, Twinkle and Sarah Dan presented: “Awakening Wisdom.” Exploring the theme of connection even while apart.
Twinkle: Chalice Lighting
If you have a chalice, please light it with us.
We light this chalice as a symbol of our faith
And as a reminder of our covenants love
May its light reach each and every member of this beloved community May it awaken us to the knowledge that we are not alone even when we are apart from one another.
Twinkle:
KINSHIP by Angela Morgan (part 1)
I am aware,
As I go commonly sweeping the stair,
Doing my part of the every-day care —
Human and simple my lot and my share —
I am aware of a marvelous thing:
Voices that murmur and ethers that ring
In the far stellar spaces where cherubs sing.
I am aware of the passion that pours
Down the channels of fire through Infinity’s doors; Forces terrific, with melody shod.
Music that mates with the pulses of God.
I am aware of the glory that runs
From the core of myself to the core of the suns. Bound to the stars by invisible chains.
Blaze of eternity now in my veins. Seeing the rush of ethereal rains
Here in the midst of the every-day air — I am aware.
Sarah Dan: Hymn of the Month: “Love Will Guide Us”
Twinkle:
Sufi Mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan, taught that Harmony is the medium between God and humans. That there is a kind of peace for which each soul seeks that corresponds to the resonance of the Divine. Yet while the goal sought is that of reaching peace, that once achieved this peace results in Harmony. Such Harmony is the embodiment of Heaven on Earth. And the lack of such Harmony is that which humans experience as Hell. To attain Harmony is to be in union with that which we identify as Holy. And we experience such Harmony as peace. Peace in our hearts. Peace in our Minds. Peace that we witness made manifest in our lives in all kinds of ways.
Sarah Dan: Sings “When I breathe in, I’ll breathe in peace.”
Twinkle: Intrinsic wisdom has written such awareness indelibly into our natures. Coded with this spiritual DNA we are equipped to intuitively assess situations.
Sarah Dan: Sings “When I breathe out, I’ll breathe out love.”
Twinkle: When what we recognize as disharmony materializes, especially when the disharmony creates physical isolation from the people we love, the places we like to spend time, and the routines and rituals we’ve organized our lives around, we can feel deeply disconnected. Disconnected from that which we hold dear. Disconnected from our own self assuredness and self awareness. Disconnected from where we draw our faith.
Sarah Dan: Sings “Breathe in, Breathe out.”
Twinkle: This disconnected feeling feels like chaos to us. Disrupting the
harmony we recognize as holy. As sacred. As safe. Sarah Dan: Sings “Breathe in, Breathe out.”
Twinkle: Yet if we can still the emotional storm that is rising. If we can locate calmness in our bodies, in our beings, we can restore the harmony.
Sarah Dan: Sings “When I breathe in, I’ll breathe in peace.”
Twinkle: If we open to the eternal wisdom we have access to, and we actively allow ourselves to accept uncertainty into this moment. We can reset. We can focus on the things within our control.
Sarah Dan: Sings “When I breathe out, I’ll breathe out love.” Twinkle: Moment by moment, thought by thought, breath by breath. Sarah Dan: Sings “Breathe in, Breathe out.”
Twinkle: We can recognize the ways in which goodness still exists. We turn our attention to the sacred and mundane before us – wherever we are. And feel the blessings of both.
Sarah Dan: Sings “Breathe in, Breathe out.”
Twinkle: And as we cultivate this practice of weaving harmony from within the chaos, we become the conductor in the symphony of our emotions. This does not mean the chaos disappears entirely. Nor that we receive answers we like to all the things we have questions about. But it makes space, intentionally so, for us to navigate effectively within what Life has presented us with. And within such space, unimaginable beauty is often found to exist.
Sarah Dan: Sings “When I Breathe In” (as a meditation or full song…
I adore the whole song and would love to have it included, but sing as much or as little as feels right to you https://youtu.be/Ye-0RQoQarc)
Twinkle:
KINSHIP by Angela Morgan (part 2)
I am aware,
As I sit quietly here in my chair.
Sewing or reading or braiding my hair —
Human and simple my lot and my share —
I am aware of the systems that swing
Through the aisles of creation on heavenly wing, I am aware of a marvelous thing:
Trail of the comets in furious flight,
Thunders of beauty that shatter the night, Terrible triumph of pageants that march
To the trumpets of time through Eternity’s arch. I am aware of the splendor that ties
All the things of the earth with the things of the skies,
Here in my body the heavenly heat.
Here in my flesh the melodious beat
Of the planets that circle Divinity’s feet.
As I sit silently here in my chair,
I am aware.
Twinkle: Chalice Out
We extinguish our chalices, yet we carry with us the light of awareness that we are not alone; we are connected to one another by a love so strong and so bright that its flame is eternal.
Blessing
May you be ever vigilant in your self-care.
May you take moments each day to reflect on the most positive aspects of your lives.
May you find ways to reach out to those who are most vulnerable
And if you are of the most vulnerable
May you ask for and accept help as it arrives
And may you have peace in your minds, harmony in your hearts.
And my beloveds,
May you be blessed as you most assuredly are a blessing to the world. Amen and Blessed Be.
Sarah Dan: Sings “Someday”