This is our first live streaming Sunday service and everyone is invited to virtually create our beloved community. Feel free to invite others to listen to the service. 

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Gratefulness has often been described as an orientation to life with an unconditional and expansive embrace. One that isn’t reserved for that which is pleasant, desired, or going our way, rather an embrace that accepts and includes the great fullness of life — the entirety of our experience. Such an embrace opens us to the teachings and opportunities within every moment. It offers us what we need not merely to survive difficult times  but to appreciate their gifts, even when the gifts take time to reveal themselves. When life feels too small or too big to handle, too predictable or too uncertain, this is when we need gratefulness most.

It might seem illogical to you, but in the midst of times of uncertainty it serves us to reflect on how gratefulness might help to calm us, reduce fears and expectations, open us to greater clarity and love, and fuel action grounded in our deep intentions. So, what might this mean with regard to how we respond to the immediate concerns of COVID-19? How might gratefulness impact what we do, how we do it, and who we are during this time? How might we seek out and treasure the unexpected opportunities of the moment? In the midst of losses, how can we direct our attention toward the gifts that remain in our lives so as to build greater capacity to face what is challenging?