Tell Me, What Is The Soul?
Hello Tablers. A joyous Christmastide to you all!
First and foremost, a great big THANK YOU to everyone that helped make our evening of feasting and celebration on December 21st the pleasure that it was. I won’t make a list because I would be certain to leave out someone, but I am deeply grateful for each person’s contribution and presence. Thank you, thank you!
Also, as this is the last Sunday gathering of the year, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you to those that have supported the existence of The Table this past year through their donations. We couldn’t exist without those contributions. If you wish to still make a donation this year (and your year end gifts have a big impact, as January is typically a very slow month for finances), you can either do so on the website, http://thetablewinnipeg.com/giving/ , in person at The Table this week by debit, cash or cheque, or by mail. If you are mailing a gift and wish to receive a 2014 tax receipt, it needs to be postmarked by midnight on the 31st. The mailing address can be found on the website, at the above mentioned URL.
In our house, one of the Christmas traditions is the giving and receiving of gifts. This year, one of the delightful gifts I received was Bruce Cockburn’s memoir, Rumours of Glory. It’s a thick book, and Cockburn is an artist I admire, so you can brace yourself for more quotes over the coming year, but for now this one seemed applicable:
“The soul, as we experience it, is a nucleus surrounded by an accretion of experiences, of traumas, not just mine but everybody’s…”
It seems to me that The Table is a place where we get to dig down into that accretion a bit and take a peek at what it is comprised of. We do that when we share our stories with one another. And that helps us not only know and understand one another better, but as Cockburn suggests, gives us some hints about the shape and condition of our souls.
So this Sunday (morning!), I would like us to spend a bit of time on looking back at the accretions of this past year. Give a little bit of thought to what some of the high points of your year have been, and other notable points as well. I will do the same, and we’ll pool those reflections and consider what it might look like to be grateful for the aggregate of not just our experiences, but everybody’s.
I wish you peace and joy, and look forward to being with you all.