Rev. Shayna Appel preaching, with Kyle Belmont, Charlyn Bethell, Lynn Bratley, Missy Shay, Guy Urban, and the FPW Choir!
You have heard it said, “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” And while this may be true, it also begs the question, “Is this outrage serving us?” Living in these times which demand so much of our activism, what are the lessons we might learn from nature and how can those lessons help ground us in our Unitarian Universalist values?
We are thrilled to welcome Rev. Shayna back to FPW! She has served UU and UCC churches in Hamden, Connecticut, Brattleboro, Vermont, Hanover, Peterborough, Jaffrey and Milford, New Hampshire, and Townsend, Massachusetts. Rev. Shayna retired from parish ministry in the spring of 2023 and now co-leads equine retreats with Wisdom Horse at Stepping Stones Farm in Temple, NH when not camping or playing (at) golf.
Reading: “When I Am Among the Trees,” by Mary Oliver
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out,
Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.And they call again,
“It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come into the world to do this,
to go easy, to be filled with light,
and to shine.”