October 19th, 2007 - Giving thanks
Last night, the Oshkosh Covenant Group met for the first time. CGs are intentional small groups within my UU Fellowship, a way to find a deeper spiritual connection within the wider community. We meet monthly for 2 hours for discussion. We also commit to at least one service activity for the Fellowship and one to our community. Since the Fellowship is in Appleton, about a 30-40 minute drive from all of us, this is a way to connect with others without driving so far! (In fact, 3/4s of the group, by coincidence, live within about a 5 block radius and mostly won’t have to even drive to the group, which will meet in each other’s homes.) I like the community service part, because while the Fellowship engages in quite a bit of community work, it is mostly in Appleton since the majority of the congregation lives there. So this is our chance to reach out to our community instead.
Anyway, our topic for next month is Thanksgiving. Yesterday, another blog author said she was going to write 5 things she’s thankful for until Thanksgiving Day. I’m now going to do the same as a way of preparing for the CG. Plus, it’s just a good idea to remind ourselves of the blessings in our lives. I may not do it every day, but I will try. Plus, perhaps this will get me posting more regularly over the next month!
Today, I am thankful for
- fertile soil that gave me a bountiful garden this year.
- a daughter who gets to join me for lunch.
- crunchy leaves to walk in.
- free libraries.
- a group of women who are interested in deep conversation.
Oooh, that was harder than I expected. I started qualifying some of them (like that “But it’s rainy today so the leaves aren’t crunchy.”) but that is not going to be allowed! I still love crunchy leaves even if I don’t get them today!