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Life Energy
by Dana Ashrawi on 5/7/2024
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What topics have we been taught are off limits or
uncomfortable? Money is one of them for many of us. One UU workshop on money
asked participants to think about money, and then think of what color the idea of
money is for them. One person thought it was orange, and it was for negative
associations. What color is money for you, and why? It might be good to journal
about that.
I want to share about a great book on the topic of money
that was published decades ago and still holds great value: Your Money or
Your Life. The authors offered a fascinating concept: the money we spend
represents a certain amount of our life energy! For example, if a person is
earning $20/hour, and a pair of shoes costs $40, the shoes represent two hours
of life energy expended by working. The authors also provided a tool for
calculating how much of your life energy is spent on various things. You can
find the calculator at https://yourmoneyoryourlife.com/life-energy-calculator/.
You might try it and figure out if you seem to be spending more life energy
than you want on some items. Of course, there are some items where the costs
are beyond our control, and part of the justice-seeking that UUs are engaged
in, like the unreal cost of having decent healthcare or dentistry. However,
where there is a choice, you could think about ways to reduce those
expenditures.
Another calculator is needed - a spiritual
energy input calculator. I wonder how much good spiritual energy we receive
from good things in our lives. Tapestry UU Church is a special haven, a home
for open-minded and compassionate justice-seeking people from many religious
streams. Being part of this community is life-giving, for sure! Our pledge
represents life energy. And our community provides some kind of spiritual
energy to renew us after what we expend on the daily. What would our pledge
amounts look like if we tried to match, in our giving, the amount of good
energy we receive here? As others have said, give until it feels good. And if
you are not in a financial position to give as much as you would like, we
understand, and we hope for your fortunes to increase.
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Keeping Alisha
by James Moore on 4/6/2024
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I had already been to the congregation many years earlier
while I was in Huntsville when it was in a different location with a different
name, but even back then, I had felt very welcome and at home with the
community there. As a new member, my biggest concern for the future is whether
Tapestry will be able to keep our wonderful minister, Rev. Alisha, due to
budget concerns. With pledges for next fiscal year below the necessary level to
continue employing Rev. Alisha, I fear that our congregation may lose her
without additional financial support. Because of that concern, I have decided
to increase my pledge this year by over 30%.
While I realize that small increase may not make a big
difference, if we all give a little more, then in the end we can continue to
have Rev. Alisha at our pulpit twice a month, and hopefully we can expand her
work with the church if all of our members can give enough support. Not
everyone can give equally, but everyone can do their part to make sure we can
continue to offer a spiritual safe space that recognizes the inherent worth and
dignity of every person. Warmest regards, James Moore Worship Committee Member
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Stewardship UU
by Jasmine Pantuso on 3/16/2024
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Have you ever felt at home?
I mean, relaxed and free to be yourself? This could be in a job, church, town,
neighborhood, etc. Tapestry is the place I feel “AT HOME!” I really can’t believe it. I have been
on a quest my whole life to find groups of folks that were warm and welcoming. I’m living in the Houston area at this time because of a few relatives that I
can’t bear to part with. Now, after being a part of Tapestry, I have another
reason to BE here. I knew that I had found “my people” when I joined up with the camping group for
the weekend. I was amazed to discover that a cooking group was serving us and
there were vegetarian and vegan options! When I attend a service I come away feeling good about life, our country, and
the future of our children. I realize that supporting Tapestry with my time,
talents or treasure will bring us closer to love and light in our lives.
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Howdy, Friends and Neighbors!
by Tracy Cook on 2/26/2024
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My name is Tracy Cook, and I have been a member at Tapestry Unitarian Universalist Church for 17-ish years. I started my journey looking for a community for myself several years ago. I wasn’t out of the broom closet yet, but I wanted somewhere I could go to grow spiritually. I know, that sounds weird right?! Why would I go to a Christian organization to grow my pagan self?! Well, my work friends all attended church together. And I thought I could use my internal translator for the messages. Nope. It was super frustrating and stressful. At one point, all of this hit me hard. I came home nearly in tears and told George I NEEDED something different, and he sighed and said he thought he knew just the place we all could go as a family. He was raised UU, for like 5 generations back. He took us all to NWCUUC (former name) and we met the then-President and her kids after a scheduled Play Group. My kids loved it, I liked what she had to say, and we showed up the next Sunday. George jokes that he saved me, but he really did.
The kids liked that they weren’t harassed on the bus any longer, no more scary stories about going to hell since they could answer that they attended church. They enjoyed learning from the other adults in the community, especially Andy! I embraced my pagan side and found kindred spirits to honor the natural rhythms of our world. So what do I see for our future? What is next?! I see so much opportunity for us to be a beacon to those who feel lost and overwhelmed. I love the home I found here, and I want others to feel they are welcome here, too. Rev Alisha has laid out an excellent plan and timetable for involvement, both here at Tapestry and in the larger community. She put a lot of thought and work into aligning everything we shared, and came up with a wonderful document. I’m going to increase my Pledge in order to help us make these dreams a reality! Who’s with me?!
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Spider-Man
by Eric Huckabay on 2/14/2024
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Spider-Man. That's why I invest in Tapestry. Well, him and the Scoobie gang. Wait... what??! OK, perhaps I've gotten ahead of myself. I should back up. Any of you who have heard me speak on spiritual topics will know that I'm a little obsessed with Challenge and Solace. Those are my spiritual touchstones. To afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, if you want to get Biblical about it. Which brings us to Spider-man. What was his primary motivation, throughout his career, no matter who was writing him? With power comes responsibility. I have great enough power to inherit some of that responsibility, but little enough that it would be irresponsible to try to be a super hero. I won't change the world in my lifetime. But maybe I can change the little things, the local things. The Scoobie gang, whether you mean Daphne and Velma or Xander and Willow, have something in common. No world changing power, but a willingness to be there, and to help. And a second thing -- a discovery that being the hero is hard, but that it gets easier when you have the support of friends around you. People you can count on. Maybe I'll never be a "big damn hero". Tapestry is the sort of place where I feel like I can be somebody's little hero, today, this week, and where I'm in good company doing it. Thank you for being a part of that. You are, in many senses, my super group and my Solace. Blessed be.
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