At various points in my life, I have felt that I didn’t belong. Usually these were times following transitions of moving to a new place. And the feeling of not belonging is often related to the feeling that the people around me saw me as someone or something that I was not. Whether they assigned preconceived notions about my person or lumped me into a group that was not to the acceptable standards of the thinking of their peers, the feeling of not belonging is never pleasant.
One of my high school teachers loved to quote Henry David Thoreau, the great 19th century sage who spent two years on Walden Pond. My teacher’s favorite quote was:
Today's blog post is written by guest blogger, Rev. Nayiri Karjian, General Minister, Living Water Association, Ohio NorthEast UCC. It was originally featured in Living..
2020 marks the first time in over 49 years that our family has not gathered on the shores of Lake Erie in New York State. My father began directing a family camp at..
My home congregation has been experimenting with how to provide worship virtually these past months within the confines of the pandemic. We are a small church with..
Older Adults Are Amazing People I am going to let you in on a secret that I have known since I was a child: older adults are amazing people! When I was younger, I..
Memories Forty-five years ago today, I was standing at Lands’ End in England with a group of young people and adults from my Methodist Church. We were on the Methodist..
This special post was written by Rev. Erin Proie, the chaplain at Chapel Hill Community. ************************************ During COVID-19, while experiencing the..
Embracing Quietness We are immersed in an orchestra of sound. Residents at Parkvue Community announce they keep their televisions on for company. Various TV stations..
Making room for time? I know — I can hear what you are thinking. For some of us, all we’ve had is time on our hands. We’ve been sheltering at home, many of us out of..