The word compassion literally means to suffer together—to share in someone else’s suffering. Compassion is rooted in generosity and community, making it difficult for those who are living with a mindset of scarcity and individualism. Compassion requires us to open up to feel the pain, the sorrow, the injustice being experienced by others. When we can barely handle our own troubles, it can be particularly difficult to step into the pain of others.
Compassion often requires holding the pain of others without trying to fix, solve, or rescue them (so little of pain can be solved). God is God, and not us. We are called to listen, to
feel, and to sit with, and to validate. When we realize that suffering and pain are common to us all and all there is we cannot fix, we might feel a bit humbled. But that humble, generous love is what transforms us, enabling true community.
Week five of our six week journey through the theme “Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day”, seeking to untangle our cultural obsession with toxic positivity, finding language to embody our hopes and anxieties. This is a series for the rest of us—which is to say, the people who don’t have magical lives that always work out for the best. Every day can be an obstacle course and together we will develop our capacity to feel the breadth of our experiences. The better we are at identifying our highs and lows, the more resilient we become.
Join us as we look for the ways we can expand our capacity for courage, love, and honesty—while discovering divine moments with God.
Weekly services: Sundays at 4 pm (they can be accessed online HERE - Zoom ID 810 1877 0234).
Our services are like church…but weird. Following monthly themes, we come together for about an hour for prayer, music, readings, reflection, and a time of discussion. There are no requirements or barriers to participating in Weird Church and all are truly welcome regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status etc.
Children and Youth are celebrated and welcomed (with all the wiggles and noise and love they bring along with them). Everyone gathers together for the start of the service and those who wish can join Nathan for programming downstairs after our initial gathering time. Like everything at Weird Church, this is an invitation not a requirement - children and youth are welcome to stay upstairs, and parents/guardians are welcome to join programming downstairs.