All Services and Sharing Circles are held in person at the Bent Lodge, 124 Camino de Santiago, Taos, NM 87571.
Please check the Covid ActNow website for Taos County on Sunday mornings. If the risk level is anything but green (i.e., yellow or orange), please wear a mask.
Sunday, October 27, 2024, 11 a.m. — Sharing Circle: Open Topic
Using a virtual “talking stick,” each person can speak in turn, sharing whatever is in their hearts or minds in the moment.
Sunday, November 3, 2024, 11 a.m. — Dia de los Muertos, Chuck and Marsha Fawns
This year’s Día de Los Muertos service will provide an opportunity to honor and mourn together the special people who have died, recently or long ago. We are meeting to create an altar of photos and items representing those we are honoring. The altar, inspirational readings, and songs by the Threshold Singers will prompt our sharing. The major portion of the service will consist of together honoring all we have lost, so please bring altar items even if you would rather not speak to the group.
Sunday, November 10, 2024, 11 a.m. — Sharing Circle: Being Nice in a Cruel World
Oh, goodbye, cruel world
I’m off to join the circus
I’m gonna be a broken-hearted clown
— Gloria Shayne Regney
When James Darren sang this song in 1961, the phrase “Goodbye, cruel world” was a popular catch phrase. It’s been used in innumerable contexts since the late 1800s. It’s a suicide note. It’s a toast before downing a shot of vodka.
At the same time that Darren was singing his lover’s lament, future educator and motivational speaker Leo Buscaglia was finishing his PhD in special education. He had spent World War II in the Navy and worked in the dental section of a military hospital, helping to reconstruct shattered faces. “Dr. Love” became known for giving hugs. He said, “Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.”
Wordnik.com defines cruel as “Disposed to inflict suffering, physical or mental; indifferent to or taking pleasure in the pain or distress of any sentient being.”
This Sharing Circle will provide each participant the opportunity to share their experiences with cruelty, as recipient and perhaps as perpetrator. If someone is cruel to you, does that justify your being cruel to them? If the global horrors of human brutality overwhelm you, are you justified in taking out your frustrations on your animal companion? How do you come to terms with this ever-present dynamic?
Sunday, November 17, 2024, 11 a.m. — Service: Sowing Seeds for the Next Harvest: On Being Grateful, Rev. Diana Davies
Mystics and teachers from many faith traditions remind us that we have the choice to be grateful in every moment. Not necessarily to be grateful FOR every difficult thing but to choose a spirit of gratitude, even in the face of loss and hardship. What is the gift of gratefulness, and how can we use it as a source of strength and resilience in challenging times?
Sunday, November 24, 2024, 11 a.m. — Sharing Circle: Open Topic
Using a virtual “talking stick,” each person can speak in turn, sharing whatever is in their hearts or minds in the moment.