Sunday Service: Sunday, September 18th at 10:00 AM
I AM a Light Seed
With Rev. Jane Hiatt
Most people ask, at some point, why am I here? In order to answer that question, we must explore a far more basic question: who am I? Consider the idea that you are a light seed. What does that mean to you? If you are, then what? This Sunday, Rev. Jane will lead us in exploring such an identity.
Watch Service In-Person or Online at UnityCentralOregon.org
Kids Activities this Sunday
This Sunday our kids ages 5 – 11 yrs will be exploring their light seeds with Rev. Jim Pasmore.
The nursery is open for children 4 years and under.
Teen and pre-teen – We are currently in the process of designing a program for this age group. If you have ideas and suggestions we’d LOVE to hear from you! We’re ready for some out of the box thinking 😁.
CLASSES
Spiritual Economics
with Lisé Gottwald
Monday, September 26 from 4:00 – 6:00 PM for 5 weeks on Zoom
This class will use the book Spiritual Economics, by Eric Butterworth. Lisé Gottwald is a member of our Unity community who is studying to become a licensed Unity teacher. There is no cost for this class but love offerings are appreciated to support Unity.
EVENTS & MUSIC
Healing Music Sundays
5:30 to 6:30 PM at Unity with Robin Hanbridge (gongs and didgeridoo)
Cost is $10 to support our musician and Unity.
Come in comfy clothes and bring a mat, pillows, and blankets to relax and let the beauty of the music and sounds soothe your soul.
Transformational Breathwork and Sound Healing Journey
with Eostar and Mathias
Friday, Sept. 23rd from 7 to 9 PM at Unity
Are you one of the many people who have tried to meditate for years but could not get out of the prison of compulsive mind chatter? Most people only need to try breathwork only once to achieve amazing results they never thought they would have. Eostar trained at The Breath Center in a technique called “Vyana Vayu”. It is a dynamic active meditation that will quickly take the participants to altered, higher states of consciousness. Participants will be encouraged to breathe dynamically using a certain technique that will be explained prior to starting.
The breath work will be gently followed by a return to physicality on the wings of sound healing instruments played by Eostar and Mathias. They create sound-scapes using didgeridoo, tank-drums, kalimbas, drums, monochord, crystal bowls, Tibetan bowls, guitar, and Gong.
Cost – $15 to $30 sliding scale
Eostar and Mathias in Concert!
Saturday, Sept. 24th from 7 to 9 PM at Unity
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Eostar and Mathias have been submersed in the tribal, conscious and medicine music subculture for over three decades. Hungarian born Eostar Kamala channels deep lyrics and original songs from the mystical muse. Mathias delivers masterful transcendental guitar improvisations that take the listener on an inward journey.
Cost – $15 to $30 sliding scale.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Volunteers for Family Kitchen Needed
Saturday, Sept. 24th from 9 -1 PM
We have a regular Unity volunteer team that prepares and serves lunches every other month. If you are interested and available to help on Sept. 24th we are looking for additional volunteers. Please contact Ande Cardwell.
Donation Day for Bend Food Project is Oct. 2nd
Every other month our community does a food donation to Bend Food Project. Consider picking up an extra item or two the next time you’re out grocery shopping.
Message from Bend Food Project – the demand for food assistance has increased substantially over the past 3 years due to the pandemic and now high inflation. The need today is greater than ever before. In fact, the demand for food has grown 38% this year alone. THE BEND FOOD PROJECT IS RISING TO THE CHALLENGE AND WILL MEET THIS INCREASED DEMAND HEAD ON. To do this we need to increase the numbers of food donors. Word of mouth is our greatest advertisement. WE ASK YOU TO SHARE THE BEND FOOD PROJECT STORY WITH YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO JOIN US! Thank you for being part of this generous Bend community that has committed to combatting hunger this simple and intimate way. You are the reason the Bend Food Project works. You are, indeed, part of something very special. Know that together, we are fighting hunger and changing lives – one green bag at a time.
GATHERINGS
Senior Lunch Bunch
Thursday, September 15th at Noon at Unity
We’re inviting our elders to gather together, sack lunch in hand, to plan and dream. Pre-pandemic, we had a dynamic “Sageing Together” group and it’s time to see what our elders are longing for now. Rev. Jane and Kathryn Kendall, a longtime Unity member and Central Oregon transplant, are hosting this at our Unity. Please join them!
Course in Miracles Study Group Starting
Tuesday, Sept. 27th from 5:30 to 7 PM with Cylvia Hayes at Unity
Cylvia will lead this group on the fourth Tuesday of each month. This is a gathering to discuss the wisdom in A Course in Miracles. Each session will include a talk on a key Course teaching and then open Q and A and discussion. Perfect for people with a lot of experience with the Course and those who are just starting out or curious.
Love offerings are appreciated.
Ongoing Programs for Adults
Women’s Activity Group – Join others for hikes and other fun adventures. Contact Suzanne Landry to be notified of what’s happening this Wednesday at 10 am and for other activities.
Men’s Group – Gatherings are held on the 1st and 3rd Monday at 6pm in the Unity Foyer. Contact Jim Pasmore for more info.
Singing Group – Join Unity SolShine Music director, Dave Finch every Wednesday at 7pm in the Unity sanctuary (except this week). No experience is necessary and all ages are welcome! Contact Dave for more info.
Member Appreciation
This week we’d like to appreciate our Nest volunteers. If you’re not sure who I’m referring to, The Nest is the new name for our kid’s classroom. Our Nest volunteers are Genesis Ilada, Jim Pasmore, Leia Napoli, and William Gregory. Young animals are often nurtured in a nest for the first part of their lives by their parents before they are able to survive on their own. If they are well cared for, they will be able to take on the next phase of their lives with the needed skills and confidence to thrive. We are so grateful for our volunteers who have stepped up to encourage our young community to shine their light and love as they navigate this amazing and complicated world. We are blessed to have you!
If you’re interested in helping with our children’s program contact Clare Kubota. We are always looking for volunteers 😁.
POEMS
Time Out to Hope
by member Joanne Daley
Impromptu… organic…
Driven from within
We came … we heard…
From wherever we had been.
To stop now… to breathe…
To listen to each note
To softly sink… to rise again…
Our hearts and minds afloat.
To honor… as we paused
With tinkling piano keys…
With softly singing bowls
And flute to ride the seas
To places we not know
Except in times gone past.
Tho welcomed as before
As consciousness does last
And takes us softly home
Our feelings now to comb.
Our thots on those now lost
How it’s added to the cost
But focuses our attention
To create a new suspension
That mends the many tears
In fabric greatly worn
Like wool as tangled hairs
From sheep too often shorn.
And yet we hold the vision
Of riding a new stream
And dreaming a new dream…
Of sharing…. and caring…
Of love not gone awry
It’s our plaintiff mournful cry:
To see our species find its way
Thru clouds back to the sky.
LANDING IN A BETTER PLACE
by member Donna Benjamin
Where is hope in the midst of pain
Where is grace in the midst of suffering
Where is support in the midst of feeling disenfranchised
Where is love in the midst of the darkest of storms
I don’t have answers to these questions
But I bet you doI guarantee you have seen sorrow
Yet somehow created a better tomorrow
I know you have risen like the phoenix
Time and time and time again
And survived
Even thrived
We need not search outside ourselves
The answers lie within
You my friend are a treasure trove
Of hope
Of grace
Of support
Of love
Your capacity for caring goes beyond the notion of infinity
It goes beyond all the unanswered riddles of the past
As to why humans act the way they do
So sit right down
Right now
Make a list of the world you envision
Set your intentions for a better world
And add action to hope
For hope by itself falls flat
Add inner peace to grace
For grace comes from embodying stillness
Add an outstretched hand to support
For support is an action not just a thought
And add wisdom to love
For love is so much richer when experienced deeply
Share your stories
Tell the tale of what has moved you out of despair
Reflect on how our ancestors rose up to shine their light
Learn from the children and the elders
For they are beaming beacons of truth
Observe nature and how it replenishes itself after natural disasters
Find your resilience
Dance your truth
Sing your solutions
Know that hope is within and around every corner
And is ever more potent when action is taken
Move the needle toward more
More hope
More grace
More support
More love
And see if that doesn’t land us in a better place than all the AR15s, ammo and violence ever could
Have Something You Think We Should Include in Our Newsletter?
An appreciation, blog content, poem, event, or class? If it fits our guidelines we’re happy to share it. Contact Clare Kubota.
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Unity Community
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