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ENCOUNTERING THE INFINITE
Meeting the Divine Mother in Nature, Humanity, and the Cosmos
~a contemplative, exploratory inquiry and discovery
Interfaith Prayer for the World:
In the spirit of love and compassion, let us pray:
Spirit of Life, gods of many names, be in our hearts and minds as we come together today to pray for our world. We come today as people of privilege, grateful for this blessing, and hopeful for our future. Let us know that each from our own tradition comes today to lift our spirit in unity.
Knowing that we are part of an interconnected web of life, let us acknowledge and embrace our oneness. We pray that we may be loving and able stewards of this world. We pray that we acknowledge our differences as we seek out our common ground, each of us working toward the good of all.*
ABOUT World Interfaith Harmony Week
World Interfaith Harmony Week is based on a United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/65/PV.34 for a worldwide week of interfaith harmony. It was proposed in 2010 by HM King Abdullah II and HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan. All around the world, organizations and individuals host events during the first week of February (now extended for an entire month) to help neighbors of different faiths get to know each other and build a foundation for more peaceful and friendly communities. World Interfaith Harmony Week encourages grassroots events that link people together in a global wave of understanding, respect, and action.World Interfaith Harmony Week provides a platform—once a year—when all interfaith groups and other groups of goodwill can show the world what a powerful movement they are.
At Interfaith Community Sanctuary we believe that observing World Interfaith Harmony Week is an extension of our mission to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster engagement with the world to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world. Read more:
Read how it began.
Quotes about Meeting the Divine Mother in Nature:
Paramhansa Yogananda: “All nature that we behold is the Mother aspect of God because in nature we find beauty, gentleness, and kindness. The flowers, birds, and the beauties of nature all speak of the Mother aspect of God—the creative, motherly instinct of God. When we look at all the good things in nature, we feel a tenderness rise within us; we can see and feel God in nature.”
Pope Francis: “When we tug at a single thing in Nature we find it is attached to the rest of the world.” When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything in the Universe.” ‘Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect; for all of us, as living creatures, are dependent on one another’ ~ Encyclical “Laudato Si’ (L.S. 42)
Anne Frank: “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
Hildegard of Bingen: “I, the fiery life of divine essence, am aflame beyond the beauty of the meadows, I gleam in the waters, and I burn in the sun, moon, and stars …. I awaken everything to life.”
Sri Sathya Sai Baba: “The five universal human values of Truth, Right Action, Peace, Love and Nonviolence are found in all major religions, faiths and spiritual philosophies of the world, including indigenous cultures and traditions, and in all secular societies. They represent the highest ideals of humanity.
Truth, right action, peace, love and nonviolence are the innate qualities of a human being. To lose awareness of these five values is to lose our humanity.
The five universal human values are within us. They reside in the seat of our soul, in our heart. The highest aim of education and our human experience is to elicit these values from within and to manifest them in all our interactions and experiences with other people and our environment, or Nature and Mother Earth. In this way, we begin to experience the Truth that we are in reality spiritual beings having a
human experience.
When we live our life in tune with the universal human values, Mother Earth is sustained and protected.
Therefore, to protect Mother Earth we must first understand these values and then learn how to practice them in all that we think and do.” ~ Living the Five Human Values for MOTHER EARTH.
ABOUT a Mother Tree:
A Mother Tree fosters mycorrhiza, the symbiotic relationship between fungi and plants that moves nutrients and signals beneath the surfaces of the forest. It is a complex natural system. The root systems of trees join together through fungal networks moving sugar, carbon, hormones between individual trees and defense signals. This complex natural eco-forest system functions in co-operation, mutual support, reciprocity and maternal-like caring. The largest, oldest trees (called hub trees or Mother Trees) are the most densely connected in a model of co-operation, altruism and generosity. In such a relationship, both the plants themselves and those parts of the roots that host the fungi, are said to be mycorrhizal. The largest living organism in the world is thought to be a mycelium that covers 3.8 kilometres in Oregon.
“nə́c̓aʔmat ct”: Coast Salish people say: “nə́c̓aʔmat ct” “We Are One”. “Nothing should be lost. Everything has a purpose, and everything is in need of care.” Everything is connected and communicating with respect, reciprocity and balance. Communities and eco-systems practice kinship, respect of elders, complexity, adaptability, resilience. ~Suzanne Simard (from Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest).
ABOUT Reverend Karen Lindquist
is co-founder and co-minister of Interfaith Community Sanctuary, a spiritual community grounded in circular leadership principles. She co-creates interfaith services throughout the year at the Sanctuary
and with interfaith organizations in the greater Seattle area. For many years she served as a board member on The Interfaith Council of Washington and The Interfaith Network, now continuing as Northwest Interfaith.
Websites: https://interfaithcommunitysanctuary.org/…/ministerial…/, https://www.northwestinterfaith.org/
ABOUT InterSpirituality, also known as interSpiritual, is an interfaith concept where a diversity of spiritual practices are embraced for common respect for the individual and shared aspects across a variety of spiritual paths.
InterSpirituality comes from the work of Wayne Teasdale, who developed this term to reflect commonalities between religious traditions, specifically those that are spiritual in nature. These commonalities across religious practices do not erase differences in beliefs, rather they build community and sharing across practices, leading to the ultimate goal of more human responsibility to one another and the planet as a whole. At its core, this is an “assimilation of insights, values, and spiritual practices” drawn from many different traditions that can be applied to one’s own life to further personal, spiritual development.
DONATIONS INVITED
Interfaith Community Sanctuary is a grass-roots self-governing spiritual community practicing circular leadership principles. We invite your generous gifts to help us continue offering our ongoing interfaith worship services, classes, and study opportunities. We are stewards of a building (built in 1890) requiring ongoing maintenance. We are dedicated to preserving it as a historic landmark and spiritual center despite the encroaching modern condos flooding our neighborhood. Thank you for helping us with these ways of service. DONATE HERE.
https://interfaithcommunitysanctuary.org/donate/ and https://interfaithcommunitysanctuary.org/
INTERFAITH COMMUNITY SANCTUARY
1763 NW 62nd Street
Seattle, WA 98107
USA
*Interfaith Prayer for the World (excerpt) by Claudene (Deane) Oliva
