Sometimes Beloved Community is created by an opening of heart spirit within our souls. We may feel love and compassion suddenly open our heart, but we are each capable every day of doing this important soul work. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
“Beloved Relationship: Transcending the Walls”: The Beloved Community is so precious because human beings require both connection and a feeling of significance, yet the world – its inequities, injustices, and sometimes just simple hatred -- seem to keep Beloved Community beyond our reach. We sometimes do not have the strength to remake the world, but we can still build relationships of Beloved Community that transcend these barriers. Rev. Anastassia preaching.
Rev. Dr. David Eaton said that we should seek out and find the Beloved Community, and if we cannot find it, then we should create it. We have created a type of Beloved Community at All Souls: a place where we know and are known, forgive and are forgiven, where we are challenged to live our values, and where our memories are formed. If the walls of our church could speak, they would bear witness to acts of covenant, presence, and ritual. These three form the bonds that keep love in. Rev. Anastassia preaching, featuring Dr. Glen Thomas Rideout with the All Souls Choir.
On this Easter Sunday, we recognize the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. We know that human beings both require and desire connection with one another, yet our cultures, our fears, even our laws sometimes insist on dividing us. This Easter Sunday, we will remember human examples of people who transgress false boundaries to establish relationship. During the service, we will enact our Flower Communion ritual. We invite each person to bring a flower to contribute. Rev. Anastassia preaching, with Alex Mulligan, guest musicians, and the All Souls Choir performing music from Glory and Hamilton