Upcoming Services and Special Events!
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Sunday November 24th

Pre-Service Meditation from 10:00-10:15 a.m.  

10:30 a.m. Service –  Guest speaker Carolyn Cruso will share her music, journey, and insights on “Music and Spirituality: How They Intertwine in My Life.”

Sunday December 1st

Pre-Service Meditation from 10:00-10:15 a.m.  

10:30 a.m. Service – In this family service, our Youth & Family Coordinator Christina Scott along with our youth will share reflections and inspirations in “Seeing the Season with Fresh Eyes: Insights from Our Youth.” All youth classes will join us in the sanctuary, with nursery care provided for infants and toddlers.”

- After the service – First-Sunday Potluck at Unity. Bring a MAIN DISH OR SALAD. Unity will provide dessert.

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

A Message from Reverend Sherry Lady

This morning, I found myself waiting for a taxi home from a medical appointment. I was perched on my walker outside a tall building in a crowded downtown area just watching people go by, exchanging nods and smiles and noticing the beauty of the day in spite of the cloudy gray sky. It always surprises me how friendly people in general can be when an older lady with gray hair is sitting somewhere, choosing to smile and greet as often as possible. Eugene still has that quality if we look for it, as do other places.

At one point, as I was looking across the street at a special noodle place that holds fond memories for me, a tall, good-looking younger man stopped to ask for a direction. As we were chatting, a disheveled, age-undiscernible woman, pushing a loaded cart with apparently all her belongings stuffed inside stopped a few feet away and watched us. I thought: Oh dear, I think a request for a handout is coming my way. The young man glanced her way, then after thanking me for help and telling me to keep warm, walked energetically on his way. As the woman came toward me, I thought: Don’t mess this up, Sherry. This is someone’s daughter, doing the best she can based on the level and perception of her experience. (I learned this wonderful expression and outlook on people from a dear friend of mine, and it has served me so well!)

As the woman approached me, I smiled and she smiled in return. When she got closer I saw that she had enormous, beautiful brown eyes obscured by rather scraggly hair, and smooth skin with a dark red birthmark on the left cheek. There was a photo attached to a ribbon she was wearing around her neck. We began a conversation about all sorts of things, including our children. The photo around her neck was one of a young boy, about age 9 or 10. She got quite misty eyed when telling me that he and his parents were killed in a car accident two years ago and because she could not keep up rent payments she had to leave their house where she had been staying with them. She showed me the newspaper clipping that described the accident so I could know it was the truth and that she wanted to stop being homeless and find a place soon. As she began to walk on, I of course reached for my purse, but she put out her hand and said, “No way. No way. That was not my intent when I came to you. You just looked friendly, and I haven’t had anyone to talk to yet today. Your acceptance was so kind.” What a beautiful moment and experience.

Here I had been perched, admiring the beauty of the leaves still falling, the handsome face of a young man, the beauty of an Asian couple that had walked by carrying noodles in large cups, an adorable baby in a stroller, and a colorful, art-deco jacket worn by a young woman. Then someone who did not look “beautiful” by most standards approached me. This made me realize once again that beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder and is often perceived not from the visual appearance but from that within us that is touched and opened to receive, experience and feel love, acceptance, and the oneness of kindred spirit, no matter the outer wrapping.

It’s the same sort of thing when people view paintings or other works of art. Some will be touched within their being, be inspired, and even have a life-changing experience. Others will walk right by it and not even notice, but will be attracted by something else.

It’s true that our openness to beauty can transform the ordinary into the sacred, but what is beautiful for one may not be beautiful for another. And sometimes, “ugliness,” in whatever form it might take, can provide a window on beauty as well. I am reminded of the classic story “Beauty and the Beast” where, in spite of the perceived ugliness in the beast, the hidden beauty of his heart and soul and mind shine through. When we hold those underlying dimensions as sacred, all things can become beautiful. Like the song, “Everything is beautiful, in its own way…”

May you accept your beauty, let it shine through, see it in others, and may every moment in time be perceived as one of grand potential for discovering the beauty in all of life. Mother Theresa saw the beauty in all the souls she ministered to. May we perceive the same.

I’ll see all of you beautiful people on Sunday. Bring your smiles, open hearts…and chocolate! (Ha ha.)

With Love,
Sherry

Week of November 18th to November 23rd

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Week of November 25th to November 30th

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