The February 2020 theme for worship, RE, and small groups at WUUC is: What Does It Mean to be a People of RESILIENCE?  Our monthly themes and resource materials come from Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a network of Unitarian Universalist congregations.  A small sample of thoughts about resilience from Soul Matters:

Resilience has been defined as the capacity of a system, enterprise, or person to maintain its core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changed circumstances.

Resilience does not mean just bouncing back to the way things were before. Resilience means finding healthy ways to integrate setbacks into our lives and develop new visions. Jane Hirshfield writes, “More and more I have come to admire resilience. Not the simple resistance of a pillow whose form returns over and over to the same shape, but the sinuous tenacity of a tree: finding the light newly blocked on one side, it turns on another.”

Resilience is profoundly influenced by both culture and community – the water within which we swim and the web of connections that surround us. Sharon Salzberg writes, “Resilience is based on compassion for ourselves as well as compassion for others.”

Wise words from this month’s Soul Matters materials:

“A river cuts through a rock not because of its power but it’s persistence.” (unknown)

“Anyone can slay a dragon, but try waking up every morning and loving the world all over again.” (Brian Andreas)

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” (Lena Horne)

For spiritual materials on our monthly theme, go to https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oNQ8tVdURMW3tXZdrwtOm_4nw-utTEnV/view?usp=sharing

For a Sacred Words supplement on Soul go to https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nyDmPwEY-K6-Rdzd5j9Nz-RQARqkNw06/view?usp=sharing