When we participate in religious community we are invited to the spiritual practice of living love through deep listening. We are a shared ministry where all may take responsibility for helping to nurture a welcoming, safe, and grace-filled environment of loving, listening, and growth. In developmental ministry, we are in a period of listening to the needs and hopes of our congregation as it is working to transform itself by learning from patterns of the past and actively shaping the future in mindful, compassionate, and constructive ways. Religious community is a place where we can make mistakes and learn through active and deep listening to strengthen relational bonds and “practice what it means to be human” with all of our frailties, brokenness, beauty, powers, and gifts. Deep listening requires a commitment to growth and calls forth the possibilities of forgiveness, grace, and repair found only in and through relationships.
We are making significant progress in our developmental ministry work and we are beginning to prepare for a settled ministry search. In recent months, we’ve held eight Listening Circles of various configurations to hear from the community and to build bridges, foster healing, and promote greater connectivity between different corners of the congregation. We learned how our Covenant of Right Relations can be put into practice to guide our congregation through both the good and the difficult times. Our Mission and Vision Renewal Team will be working this year to hear how the motivating powers behind our mission and the expansiveness of our vision may have evolved from the last time our congregation intentionality reflected together to discern its purpose and hope for the future. In this season of our ancestors, we may also be deeply listening to whispers from the beyond as we share memories and celebrate the presences of those who have gone before us in this life. As the election nears, many of us are hoping and praying and working towards a world where democracy is informed by people’s willingness to really listen to each other.
The art of deep listening takes an open heart as well as our attentiveness. It is about showing up for others in ways that honors their wholeness and dignity even in the midst of brokenness and frailty. It requires that we center Love and know that despite differences always present in community, we can still value relationships, and practice witnessing to each other’s lives with tenderness, humility, and patience as we work to co-create the world we dream of together.
This spiritual theme of “Living Love though the Practice of Deep Listening” will inform some of our Sunday worship services, publications, committee, and small group meetings this month. Our friends at Soul Matters theme-based ministry have generated these questions to assist us in our exploration of this timely topic:
- Thinking back to your childhood, what did you learn about listening by watching your parents interact with each other?
- Have you ever heard the ocean or the woods or the sky speak? If so, how might their words still be relevant for you today?
- If you could go back to a conversation and correct how you listened, what conversation would that be?
- Have you checked in with your longings lately? What might they be asking of you?
- If I were to put my ear down to the ground of your life, what questions would I hear bubbling beneath the surface?
- How have your wounds and losses altered the way you listen?
- What if prayer is really about listening until you hear a voice that says, “You are beloved”?
- If you asked Love “Where do you need me to direct my attention?”, how might it answer you back?
- What would the world sound like to you without the noise of worry in your head?
- What noise gets in your way the most: The noise of self-doubt? Striving? Scarcity? Jealousy? Regret? Something else?
- How good are you at listening compassionately to yourself?
- There are those who say that listening to the wisdom of the unprotected, marginalized and silenced is the only way that the path to justice becomes clear. What is one step you could take this month to hear those voices?
- Has being listened to ever felt like being loved?
If you are in need of some deep listening, our Pastoral Care Team is standing by to provide a confidential and non-judgmental presence to accompany you on your journey. You can request pastoral support by emailing pastoralcare@uusm.org or by calling the church office.
If you have a joy, sorrow, or milestone to share in our weekly announcements and on a Sunday morning from the pulpit, please email joysandsorrows@uusm.org or call the office to share news with the congregation.
Yours in love and ministry,
Jeremiah
Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae
Developmental Minister
