As Western culture has become increasingly secular, the institutions we’d previously relied on to help us connect and deepen our ties to both our inner selves and our communities at large have either struggled to maintain their relevance or have actively pushed us away by offering judgmental or narrow-minded perspectives. As a result, many of us have found ourselves in a place of searching…for…something? Something that, because we’ve gone so long without it in our daily lives, we might struggle to put into words.

This Sunday we’ll explore what it means to notice spiritual longing in ourselves, to understand that we are not alone in that feeling, and ultimately ask: what surprising soul-feeding opportunities are available to us when we start to seek out the power and beauty that our hurried and harried lives too easily encourage us to forget?

 

We’re planning a potluck on this Sunday after the service (weather dependent — we’ll schedule a rain date for 9/25 if the Island would like us to enjoy some much needed rain instead). In the spirit of our month’s theme of Belonging, you’re invited to bring something that helps you remember a time or place or way in which you experienced belonging to something bigger than yourself — anything from a beloved family recipe with a secret ingredient only available to those in the know, to a favorite Island treat that makes you feel at home here. It doesn’t have to be complicated — sometimes belonging means knowing that if all you can muster is showing up with a bag of tortilla chips, you will be welcomed in all the same!