Hello Dear Friends,
I’m sharing for many of you my Christmas poem once again, or should I say “once again for the first time.” “Once again for the first time,” has been my go-to phrase to help me better understand Christmas and the incarnation this year. I hope you find the poem helpful.
A Christmas Carol -- Pa-rumpapa-pum,
Family, friends, granite, limestone, clay, stardust from which we came.
Mysterious source of electrons, minerals, molecules, matter and that which made us human, as we are in this moment - now.
Pa-rumpapa-pum.
Hand in hand we sit, thrust forth by cataclysmic forces onto beaches, deserts, fertile fields, icy mountain peaks and gently some of us landed in an awaiting womb and became human.
Pa-rumpapa-pum.
Some dissipated into stardust, some absorbed by earth and sea, and we living souls becoming aware that we are inseparably linked to every atom, particle quark and lepton there is.
Pa-rumpapa-pum.
Atomic and subatomic particles around us in every direction as far as we can imagine, we sit in our cars, homes, beaches, deserts, fertile fields, and icy mountain peaks, locked into chronos, looking at our watches, we wonder what’s next? Beyond time, beyond once again for the first time, beyond the already/not yet where there is ONLY NOW AND ONLY LOVE.
Pa-rumpapa-pum
“Experiencing Beliefs”
Our next retreat is scheduled for Wednesday, January 24th, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Villa Maria del Mar Retreat Center. At our next retreat we will be exploring the experience of beliefs and belief systems. Why is it that some beliefs we carry with absolute certainty, such as there is no Santa Claus. While other beliefs, such as I am a valuable and worthwhile individual, we often carry with far less confidence. Is trust and belief something that random and unmanageable or do we have resources that enable us to realign our internal systems with the realities of confidence and love. Habakkuk, St. Paul and Martin Luther all said, “The just shall live by faith. ”Maybe they were on to something. We just need to grow in accessing the precious resources of faith, confidence and trust that we already have. .Join us and kindly RSVP!
Villa Maria del Mar Retreat Center
21918 East Cliff Drive
Santa Cruz, CA
(831) 419-8290
Rescheduled Saturday Bridge Building
We have a new time this Saturday, December 23rd, for distributing bagels, socks and lots of other items.. We depart my place at 11:00 am his week and wend our way up to the Clock Tower to deliver clothing and enjoy 10 minutes of silence in the presence of that life force that forms us, is within us and all around us. Somehow, I get a deeper appreciation of that life energy when I spend it in silence with others, particularly with those living on the streets. Let me know if you’d like to join us
Stillpoint does not have a stockpile of clothing, socks or bedding. We need your donations. If you have any of these items and would like to donate them, please do so. Stillpoiint and the unhoused community are grateful for all donations. The kind folks at St John’s Church in Aptos made a very generous donation of new winter gear: mittens, caps, and gloves. Barney Wiget provided us with some winter jackets and the kind folk at the Trinity Chapel gave us over 15 bags of clothing during December.
If you would like to support us financially in our bridge-building ministry contact us at Stillpoint:
(831)419-8290 or
Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina Zoom
Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina meets as always this Tuesday, 1/2/2024 at 8 am. At 8 pm we have a guided meditation on insomnia and relaxation in lieu of Evening Prayer. Want to see how it goes. Last week one of our members fell asleep during the meditation on insomnia – mission accomplished. Attached is the Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8352995499?pwd=RllrMlRrd2VTNFdZZW1hQTBTRDg3QT09
In the beauty of God’s love,
Joel+