Sometimes The Deep Water Isn’t Where You Think It Is…

Mar 15, 2020

Hey folks – I realize that in our current culture of anxiousness and rapidly changing “normal” it can be difficult to make and keep organizational commitments, so let me say it this way: As far as I can tell at this point, we will meet at the usual time and location on Sunday. If you are personally feeling like that is outside your comfort zone (or of course if you are not well), stay home. If you are able to come, anticipate some adjustments. I realize that lots of us don’t read the entire bulb, so we will cover this again on Sunday morning, but following are a few particularly pertinent items:

  • Communion: It’s always been “opt in”, and under the current circumstances we shall leave out the wine. If wider community health conditions become more challenging, we’ll make further adjustments
  • Drinks and Snacks: Please bring your own and do the same for your littles. As much as I think we might feel a bit of “timbits withdrawal”, it’s impossible to deal well with that tasty bin of treats in terms of hand hygiene. Maybe this will be our collective “putting down” for Lent…:)
  • Clean Hands: there is already soap and hand sanitizer in the washrooms and beside the elevator. We’ll add hand sanitizer dispensers to the main room as well, particularly at the coffee table and the giving station.
  • General Contact: Now it feels personal, right?  Again, depending on personality, work circumstances, health history, etc, people will have a wide range of feelings about proximity and things like handshakes and hugs. We will talk about what “consent” might look like for us under the present conditions, but as a general rule start by NOT assuming someone is o.k. with the same level of contact as they might typically be. We will learn how to go on from there in ways that still show kindness and connection, but it’ll probably feel a bit awkward at first.  If it’s any comfort, we can be awkward together – just not as close together.

Also, I know there’s a lot more to our gatherings than the Talky Bit, but that’s the part we can share online and we’ll do our best to post the podcast on Monday. For my part, I think that unless we are directed otherwise by authorities, there is real value in actually being present to one another when the world feels like it’s on tilt. For now that’s what we will plan to do.

In the Talky Bit we’ll be re-engaging in our exploration of the relationship between Buddhism and Christianity. In particular we will consider how there are parts of that intersection where we might need to let go of what our intuition is telling us if we want to move forward. We need to step away from ways of thinking that start with pitting ideas against one another rather than seeing the possibility of rich, mutually respectful dialogue between humans, not least of all when they see the world through different religious / spiritual lenses. We need to be connected more than we need to be “right”, but that can take some practice. So let’s get together and do just that.

Other Important Details:

There will be no Kids Table program this week. This is NOT an adjustment for present circumstances, but simply the previously anticipated Sunday without available personnel.

Parent / Child Dedication is scheduled for April 26th  At present, we have two families / three kids cued up. If you want to add someone from your crew to that, let me know. Unless we inform the community otherwise, this is still on.

On April 19th we will are scheduled to gather at the U of W. With universities making changes daily regarding the openness of their campuses, that could change. Watch this space for updates.
I’ll see you on Sunday.
Peace,
Tim
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