It may sound trite to say but keeping inspired is what it is all about, especially in a ministry to the unhoused. I have seen many come and go over the years and only a handful have remained engaged and inspired since I began working with the unhoused community in 2007. So it may be trite to extoll inspiration but it is seemingly the case.
Without inspiration there isn’t much longevity and without inspiration we end up doing the ministry out of obligation more than love. And as the Apostle once said without love we are nothing but clanging cymbals. For me keeping inspired has two important components:
One, to continually see the genius, or in biblical terms, the image of God in every person I meet.
Two, to have others join me who are engaged, inspired and empathetic when we meet people distributing socks and bagels.
This last week was a good week for inspiration. Several of the people we met shared freely their strategies to better their lives. Heartening to hear that faith, meditation and prayer were central to their roads home. Two, Barney Wiget and Kevin Reel, two very skilled communicators of hope and love, joined me as we distributed 6 bags of clothing, 50 socks and 36 bagels and lox. It was inspiring and I think we made a difference.
“Experiencing Beliefs”
Our next retreat is already scheduled for Wednesday, January 24th, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Villa Maria del Mar Retreat Center. Thank you, Lois, for arranging this and thank you all for bringing your expanding awareness to our last retreat! At our next retreat we will be exploring the experience of beliefs.
What is the process by which 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 beliefs something that is random and unmanageable or are there resources within us that enable us to realign our internal systems with the realities of faith and love.
Meditation is a resource that humankind has turned to for millennia to access healthy postures of trust and to anchor that trust in ways that serve us best. We just need to learn how to point that resource in the right direction. Join us and kindly RSVP!
Villa Maria del Mar Retreat Center
21918 East Cliff Drive
Santa Cruz, CA
(831) 475=1236
Bridge Building this Week
We are back on schedule, Saturday December 9th distributing bagels and socks and lots of other items. Let me know if you’d like to join us. We depart my place at 12:30 and wend our way up to the Clock Tower to deliver clothing and enjoy 10 minutes of silence in the presence of the life force that sustains us all. Somehow, we get a deeper appreciation of that life energy when we spend it in silence with others.
Stillpoint never has a stockpile of clothing, socks or bedding. 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. If you would like to support us financially in our bridge-building ministry contact us at Stillpoint: Joel@stillpoint.world or (831)419-8290 or https://stillpoint.world
Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina on Zoom
Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina meets as always this Tuesday, 12/12 at 8 am only this week. We will be back with evening meditation at 8pm the following week. Attached is the Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8352995499?pwd=RllrMlRrd2VTNFdZZW1hQTBTRDg3QT09
In the beauty of God’s love,
Joel+