Welcome to October!
In the last two weeks I had the opportunity to participate in two ceremonial rituals. The first was the memorial service for Rev. Marcus Capone, who served ISD as its Pastor/Director until he retired in June, 2012. The second was as an officiant of the wedding of two friends. In the past, I might have thought of one of these rituals as being "sad" and the other being "happy." After all, it certainly is difficult saying goodbye to someone we care about after they have transitioned into spirit. And it is wonderful to be a part of the union of two people who are starting out on a wonderful new adventure together.
In my role as a minister, however, I was struck by what these two ceremonies had in common. Both of these ceremonies had rooms FULL of people who loved and cared for the people who were being honored. One room was in the sanctuary of ISD. One was in a beautiful DC apartment. But both places were filled with SO MUCH LOVE. It was almost overwhelming to feel the rush of it swirling about. And so, though one ceremony was about saying "goodbye" to a loved one, and another was about saying "hello" to a newly united couple, BOTH were CELEBRATIONS of the only thing that is really important in any of our lives. LOVE. If we are sad at the loss of someone we love, or joyful at the happiness of someone we love, then, my friends, we have LOVED WELL.
What a gift it is that our Spiritual Home is a place where we can continue to learn and expand our ways to LOVE WELL. We can continue to learn more about ourselves...we can continue to deepen our connection to others. "Loving Well" can be both our state of being, AND our goal.
So won't you join with your fellow ISD-DC family this Fall with all the ways we can LOVE WELL? Classes, events, our upcoming annual pledge program, our holiday services and events. There is always a place and experience for you at ISD to "align with the Divine..." the Divine in you and the Divine in other.
Here are just a few of the upcoming ways to expand how we can LOVE WELL:
with Rev. Martha Saenz
Tuesdays, October 4, 11, 18, 25, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 5, 7:30 p.m.
The Body - Your Temple of Spirit
Learn the basics of how we can apply our spiritual principles to how we practically manage and manifest the well-being of our bodies on a day-to-day basis?
with D'Lynne St. Pierre
Thursdays, October 6, 13, 20, 27, 7:30 p.m.
Practical Reiki Level 3 Certification
with Alice Langholt Saturday, October 8, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Message Circle
Saturday, October 8,
7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 9, 11 a.m.
Sunday, October 23, 1 - 3 p.m.
For those interested in keeping Rev. Marcus' 25-year legacy alive, we have set up a memorial fund. To make your donations to this fund, click here.
Needing some inspiration or a recorded guided meditation to help you attune to Spirit? Check out
ISD's Soundcloud page for a comprehensive list of past Sunday Service homilies, Sunday Wellness meditations and Evening Meditations.
Align with the Divine!
Loving well in October and always,
Rev. Rob Banaszak
Pastor, Institute for Spiritual Development, Washington, D.C.
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