The Pagosa Unitarian Universalist (UU) Fellowship gathers in community to make friends, grow our spirits and do good works.
Last week, we heard from the Revs. Janess and David Sheets, who guided us through a Sufi perspective of social justice. We will apply some of what we heard to our monthly Action Sunday this week, May 25, starting at 10:30 a.m.
Following is a review of our Action Sunday programming we have explored since January this year:
• Putting together care kits to share with others and understanding what mutual aid is.
• Learning about Pagosa Outreach Connection’s longtime work in the community.
• Hearing from the director of Pagosa Community Initiative about its programs.
• Exploring the work of Friends and Neighbors in Need, a newer program doing good.
This Sunday, we will engage with one another and share the variety of ways each of us participates in actions individually, and we will look into the future, finding new energy to live our values with love as a foundation. Find out more at UUA.org/beliefs/shared-values.
The Pagosa UU Fellowship meets in-person on the first and third Sundays of the month at 10:30 a.m. for Sunday service. The second Sunday is the Going Deeper Sharing Circle, also at 10:30 a.m., while the fourth Sunday is for putting our energy toward actions.
Find us in Unit B-15 of the Greenbriar Plaza, 301 N. Pagosa Blvd., on the north side facing Pagosa Peak. We welcome diversity and invite everyone to share in our faith community.
For additional information about the fellowship, please see the website www.pagosauu.org
Meditation practice and dharma talk begins at 9 a.m. each Sunday. For the dharma talk Sunday, we will talk about the art and dharma of conversation. Doing sending and receiving (tonglen) meditation is powerful practice for bringing awareness and presence to all relationships. However, sooner or later, you will encounter difficult conversations with difficult people. It’s inevitable. Bringing awareness and presence into conversation is a critical social skill that can calm your anxiety and improve communication. Being heard is as important to others as it is for you.
The monthly meditation practice schedule is as follows:
• First and third Sundays, 9 to 9:40 a.m.: Calm-abiding and tonglen meditation practice.
• Second and fourth Sundays, 9 to 10:15 a.m.: calm-abiding, tonglen and mantra practice, and a short dharma talk and discussion.
Dan Dempster, the group leader for this Buddhist practice, is a certified meditation instructor and authorized dharma teacher. His insight stems from more than 18 years as a student of Khenpo Migmar Tseten, Buddhist chaplain at Harvard University.
This practice is open to newcomers, and to those with more experience, who want to deepen their practice. The simple yet profound practices focus on cultivating the four immeasurables: love, compassion, joy and equanimity.
You are invited to bring your favorite cookies to share over tea. Come regularly to deepen your practice, as group practice encourages, supports and reinforces your daily home practice. Meditation instruction is always free, and a basket for dana, or the practice of giving, is available.
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