Unity Spiritual Center of Anchorage

Join us for the Journey!

Unity Spiritual Center of Anchorage
PO Box 240173
Anchorage, AK 99524

Love one anther

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Love each other as I have loved you. That’s what is written that Jesus taught. It seems like pretty basic advice. Parents sending their kids off together to school say take care of each other, which is the same thing.

So why do we have this saying floating around that says you have to love yourself before you can love others? Ok, I know why, it’s decent advice for someone who has a history of looking for okay-ness or completion in relationships. But in general it’s put a lot of confusion and doubt out there.

I know many people who have or have had some level of self-doubt or dislike. They know clearly that they don’t love themselves, and so when they hear some phrase such as this they wonder, does that mean I don’t love my loved ones? That I can’t? That I’m broken?

We come at self-love, self-compassion, and self-appreciation in our own unique ways. Many of us have had at some point an inner voice that knows all about our mistakes and should-haves. This voice was planted by adults and peers in our life that pointed out real or perceived mistakes. Over time many of us have learned to soften this voice, but it certainly does lurk.

The wonderful thing is that we don’t always have that commentary with others. I wouldn’t dare tell the posse of Grandparents I know that they can’t love their precious darling grandchildren unless they love every little bit of themselves first. That’s ridiculous. I wouldn’t tell a person filled with self-doubt that they couldn’t really love their pet because they don’t love themselves.

I believe this is the doorway. What if loving another is the key to finding compassion for ourselves? When a baby makes a mess, we don’t assume it’s because they are bad or wrong, but simply that they are exploring the world. What if when we make a misstep, like a child, we could see it as a learning opportunity?

Maybe having a friend or partner who really knows and appreciates the quirky parts of you that you had hidden is your key to embracing and loving that part of yourself too. Life is messy, I think the idea that we could vacuum out all other persons and just work on ourselves and then let others in when we reach some goal of self-love is unattainable. But I do know that part of me working on myself is finding compassion with the stranger, it is not allowing my heart to become hard to the difficult parts of life. As I learn to love you more, I learn to love myself more, and then I learn to love you more.

I don’t claim to know what’s the right way for everyone. But I think that when we expand our circle of love, compassion, and acceptance we’re heading in the right direction. It’s a never-ending cycle of evolution, not something that can fit on a bumper sticker. Unless that sticker is saying something like Love each other as I have loved you…

Saving Christmas

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You may have heard the headlines having a fit over supply chain woes ruining Christmas. Or some version of retailers finding ways to ‘save’ Christmas.

I cry no! I am not discounting the fact that holiday sales are a big part of many businesses ability to be solvent, and our small businesses have had a lot of complicated challenges to navigate. However, when did having the right gift either make or ruin Christmas? Have we forgotten the lesson from the Grinch? From countless other stories of the season? That Christmas is secularly about community, peace, and caring for each other. Religiously Christmas is about celebrating the birth of the Christ, and we have a whole Advent season to get us ready to celebrate that rebirth in each of us as we remember to be more Christ-like.

Yes, it’s fun to give and receive gifts, but let’s not let those that profit off our ‘keeping up’ to tell us what Christmas is. What if you visited a craft show and challenged all the family members to buy gifts for each other for a set amount from those local artisans? What if you gave the gift of special memories with a membership or tickets to a museum, animal sanctuary, theatre performance, etc.? What if you gave the gift of learning with a class or membership they would enjoy? Donate to a worthy charity in someone’s name.

Maybe the spirit of Christmas community and being your best self inspires you to make a commitment to volunteer in your community or make regular visit dates with dear ones.

This Christmas, Let’s worry less about things being a certain way, and find the real joy and peace of Christmas in our caring and sharing with each other in whatever way is right. Let’s embrace the learning of one Mr. Scrooge and keep Christmas in our hearts all year long. And in so doing, we can all be a part of ‘Saving’ Christmas!

Sunday Shakeup!

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What to expect from a Sunday morning experience has in many ways been the same for centuries. Yes, there have been adjustments and shifts, but in many ways it’s the same. Staying the same isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s also not always the best fit. Some ministries when they shifted to virtual during the pandemic kept their order and content essentially the same, others streamlined and shifted.

Now that we have decided to be staying in this virtual space for our Sunday experience, I have been sitting with the question of what else could we do if we did something different and could that thing be of added value. That was the main question I went into my sabbatical with, and I got an idea! I want to share it with you and also remind you that we are learning and growing and it might take a while to both get used to a new thing and find the right fit.

This new model will rotate the content of Sundays on a monthly basis, each month having a theme. This will give us multiple ways to explore the theme of the month and embrace the flexibility available in the online format.

1st Sunday- Introduction of theme, Meditation and talk similar to current Sunday format.

2nd Sunday- Discussion topics on the theme.

3rd Sunday- Long format meditation on the theme.

4th Sunday- Journal prompts or creative exploration of the theme.

5th Sunday- Wildcard!

I hope that we can try this on for a while and see how it fits. I’m excited to dive into this idea and see what wisdom emerges.

If you have questions or ideas on themes, I’d love to hear them!

What’s Next?

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What’s Next?

That’s something we’ve all been wondering for a while now isn’t it. Even before the pandemic you might have felt that nudge that maybe you were called to be or do more. I think that’s true for this ministry too. As we have said goodbye to a physical meeting space, we’ve said hello to being in that creative place of possibilities.

Many years ago I had the chance to meet up with an old friend in a town partway between where I lived and they were visiting. We had no agenda except to enjoy each other’s company. We hopped in the car to see what we could see and we said yes to whatever road signs seemed interesting. We didn’t have an itinerary, and in the process discovered things we wouldn’t have otherwise. The joy was in the journey and the company.

Now, I’m not saying that having no direction is the way to have a church, but then again we do have a direction, our mission is: Transforming lives and inspiring people to make a positive difference in their world. That’s who we are and what we’re here to do. We don’t need much but our traveling partners (each other) to head down that road.

Last summer we discovered how lovely it was to have out Taize service outdoors in a garden, this winter we had an online class with folks from five time zones! I think most of us would have been happily surprised to hear those things a year ago. We’ve tried other things that haven’t taken off, and that’s one of the great things about the creative process, we try things on, we can keep improving or try a different road altogether.

So as we approach each crossroads in this adventure of life and the life of the church, let’s be flexible, creative, and open to what great opportunities may come along. I’m looking forward to discovering what wonderous, meaningful, and fun things we can do together.

In Joy,

Rev. Ra

Summer Plans

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From the May 21st newsletter:

You may have been wondering what we’re planning for this summer. This is the email with the start of those answers! The board met virtually this week and have made plans. 

Sunday- We have decided to remain exclusively online for our Sunday experiences, including power of 8, service, and fellowship. There are a variety of factors involved with this, one is that we do not have the people power to keep up with the extra precautions needed at this time. We will revisit this for the fall, with the vision that at that time more data backed information about how to keep each other safe will be available as well as lower infection rates. 

Our Sunday services will soon be including some more musical variety and other innovations to come. 

Summer Hikes- Now scheduling. If you’re interested in joining our hikes please let me know when would be good for you. 

Taize- I am working on a plan where we could have Taize service in an outdoor location where physical distancing could be observed. Our next scheduled Taize service is in two weeks, so be sure to check the enews next week for details. 

New! Discussion Group starting next Thursday at 11am on Zoom. We will gather for an informal discussion on a variety of spiritual topics. I will provide fodder for contemplation and conversation you bring the coffee, tea, etc.

I miss meeting with you in person and hugging and singing and sharing food together. I know that you may be missing that too. This is sad indeed, but what would be heartbreaking to me would be any of you becoming ill from our gathering. 

Let’s keep our hearts connected even as we keep our bodies apart. 

If you have questions, concerns, prayer requests or anything else, please feel free to reach out.