The (dis)Comfort of Moral Imagination (A Full Circle Sunday)

As I write this, I’m looking out the window at a winter wonderland. Lots of fluffy white stuff on the ground, in the trees – it’s like the set for a Hallmark movie. (Not that I’ve ever actually watched one, you understand, but friends of mine have and they would agree.) But here’ the thing. By the weekend it could all be gone, replaced by gray slush. November is full of this “back and forth” as the season turns. It can be unsettling. Perhaps it’s a decent working metaphor for the sorts of vacillation that can often be part of exploring what we believe. “What season am I in? Is it the fall of fading beliefs, the budding spring of new ones, the summer of relaxing into what I feel confident about, or the deep dark of a desperate winter of the soul?”.

Sometimes I feel like The Table is a “November” kind of place – somewhere that we can traverse all (or most) of the seasons of the soul and know that it’s o.k. because no matter what experience we’re having, we’re not going through it alone. There are some ways that we can help ourselves and others travel this path with kindness and patience; practices that can function like versatile garments for whatever weather we find ourselves in. One of those is the exercise of moral imagination. I won’t define that here because it’s what we’ll be digging into during the Talky Bit and the conversation to follow.

We’ll start our time together at 10:45 a.m. at VA Cafe (171 McDermot) with some stillness, Community Time and music (which we will livestream here), then get into the Talky Bit and discussion. This is also a Full Circle Sunday, so there will be something special for the youngest people in the community. We will also podcast the Talky Bit early the following week (here). Bring snacks if you want them for yourself or to share; coffee and other intriguing beverages are available for purchase at VA Cafe upstairs.

And finally, two housekeeping matters. When we include discussion in out time together (something we’ve been doing quite a lot of lately), it ‘s often difficult to accurately predict our end time. So, in the interest of having our gatherings be safe(r) spaces, know that at The Table you can leave any time you wish or need to. We’ll sort of gently aim at 12:00 noon as an end time, but if it’s clear that isn’t going to happen and you need to head out, or if for any other reason (at any time) you need to do so, please just go ahead. Culture shifts can take some practice, so this might be uncomfortable for some folks but it’ll be worth it.