For the last 6 months or so, I’ve had the same morning ritual. After pouring my first cup of coffee, I sit down, light a candle, practice some slow-deep breathing, journal some reflections, then offer myself this lovingkindness meditation:

May I be loved. May I be free. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be present and connected each moment of this day. Thank You, thank You, thank You.

It’s been a very life-giving meditation & morning ritual. I noticed recently, though, that I’ve started moving through it with a little less intention and a little more rote-ness. This is usually a sign that it’s time to make some tweaks.

When it comes to the rituals we practice as a faith community, this can also be true. The point of reimagining rituals is not to strip them of meaning, but to make sure their meaning is not lost - to help us remember why we do them in the first place. [click on image to continue reading]

As a community, practicing our faith has always been central to our identity. Most people who find their way to The Well have little interest in checking boxes or attending church because they should. Instead, we are seeking to live in more just, loving, connected and healing ways here. For some of us, this is what it means to practice the way of Jesus - for others who participate in our life together - practicing is simply the path they find life-giving, grounding and more in tune with what it means to be human.

Whichever of these describes you, we invite you to share a simple practice with us during this season of exploring stories of how we navigate change, loss and transition… [click image to continue reading]

So many of the conversations I’ve had lately have been about how to navigate the host of changes we are experiencing all. the. time. Directions, identities, vocations, desires, beliefs, bodies, laws and families change. And that’s just the short list! We are constantly asked to learn new ways of relating and being in the world, which often involves letting go of old ones - and I don’t need to tell you that letting go can be hard.

Despite our discomfort, our dismay and at times our dread, change is an unavoidable part of being human.

During our upcoming Sunday gatherings… [click image to continue reading]

All summer long, we’ve been spending our 4th Sunday “Church in the Wild” gatherings near water. It has certainly helped to have a place to cool off in the scorching heat; but, I think we’ve gained more than just a reprieve from the hot temps. These gatherings have helped to rekindle a deep appreciation and reconnection with water, and a reminder that she is one of our most vital and life-giving resources.

As we floated down the Ichetucknee last Sunday, I was reminded that our rivers and oceans are teaming with life. We caught glimpses of birds, turtles, fish, and other critters who call the waters their home. Dragonflies danced by, herron feasted on minnow and large trees grew out of the riverbank edge offering much-needed canopy. Nourishment, growth, resiliency, and new life were palpable. [click on image to continue reading]

Each fourth Sunday, we gather outdoors to spend time communing with nature. The summer heat caused us to switch things up a bit. Instead of our usual park and wilderness gatherings, we’ve decided to be outdoors together near water. This past Sunday, we were invited to enjoy the hospitality of friends in their backyard oasis. We began with the sounds of singing bowls, the company of new and old friends and these soul-stirring words to guide our conversation… [click on image to continue reading]

“Sabbath is not simply a pause. It is an occasion for reimagining all of social life away from coercion and competition to compassionate solidarity.” - Walter Brueggeman

This blog post entitled I. Can’t. Breathe. was written several years ago, but it could have been written today. This week, families have been struggling to breathe in the face of losing their children to yet another senseless act of gun violence. People of color are still struggling to breathe in a country whose air is polluted with white supremacy. Many of us are struggling to catch our breath as we face the reality of America, the gun capital of the world.

Despair, numbness, anger and apathy fill the air here.

Where do we go from here? What do we do with this mess we find ourselves in?

What comes to mind when you hear the word soulful?

Maybe it’s a particular kind of music or food or poetry. Perhaps it’s a walk in the woods or a conversation with close friends. Whatever comes to mind, I imagine it describes something that stirs what’s deep inside of you. It makes you feel something.

Soulful is about more than that though.

The soul is not just the center of feeling; it’s the core of our being - our truest selves - our lives - and according to Jesus, it’s possible to gain the whole world but lose our own souls.

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I was surprised and giddy with excitement to find myself waking up on the Mediterranean Sea a few weeks ago. I’d been facilitating a monthly gathering of 11 ministers for 3 years and part of our journey together was to include a fully-funded trip to Israel and Palestine. The trip had been scheduled and postponed twice - this was the third try. I don’t think any of us believed we were actually going until we landed in Tel Aviv.

Other than my barely under the 44-pound limit suitcase, I arrived with nothing - no expectations, no assumptions, not even a concrete itinerary.

It was an odd place for me to be. Almost always leading the way, I tend to be in the know about all of the details, and I also tend to have at least some expectations about how things will go. Not this time - not on this pilgrimage. [click on image to continue reading words for the journey from Sunday, May 15th]

He came down into this world,

and even though he made all things,

the world did not recognize him.

Even his own tribe did not welcome

or honor him.

- John 1:10-11, First Nations Version

Betrayed, abandoned & unjustly executed, today we remember that Jesus died a criminal's death. (click image to continue reading)

"Gethsemane" by Mary Oliver

The grass never sleeps.

Or the roses.

Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.

Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.

The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet,

and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,

and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.

Jesus said, wait with me. And maybe the stars did,

maybe the wind wound itself into a silver tree, and didn’t move, maybe

the lake far away, where once he walked as on a

blue pavement,

lay still and waited, wild awake.

Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye-shut, that could not

keep that vigil, how they must have wept,

so utterly human, knowing this too

must be a part of the story.

[click on image to comtinue reading]

Simon Peter asked, “Master, just where are you going?”

Jesus answered, “You can’t now follow me where I’m going. You will follow later.”

“Master,” said Peter, “why can’t I follow now? I’ll lay down my life for you!”

“Really? You’ll lay down your life for me? The truth is that before the rooster crows, you’ll deny me three times.”

- John 13:36-38

Peter's confidence & enthusiasm are so relatable. How many times do we set out believing our good intentions will be enough to help us make the change, achieve the goal, or love our neighbor?

These sobering words from Jesus must have stung Peter to hear and stung Jesus to say out loud. [click on image to continue reading]

Yesterday was the start of Holy Week, a week we are invited to move with Jesus through the final moments of his life.

That final week was marked by betrayal, love and suffering. It was also a week full of surprise, starting with how Jesus arrived into the holy city. He arrived not on a warhorse, but on a donkey. He was not there to mount a takeover, but rather to continue his movement of liberating Love. [click on image to continue reading]

If you’ve spent much time with our community, you know we have tended to be pretty experimental in how we “do” church together. We are not afraid of trying new things, like meeting in nature or gathering on the back patio of a brewery - like not having official membership or deciding to launch a “community space” instead of just having a building of our own. 

Letting go of some cultural assumptions of what it means to be the church has been freeing, but it has also given us the opportunity to decide what we still grounds us in the Way of Jesus. Some of those things have been exploring scripture in community, learning spiritual practices, story-telling & sharing communion. Along those lines, something else that has helped to ground us are the seasons of the church year. Moving through various seasons together has helped to give shape & rhythm to our life together and to ground us in Something Bigger.

It seems like we just finished Advent, a time when we prepared for the coming of Light within the dark, and now it’s time for Lent. But what is the season of Lent & why do we bother to make a big deal about it?

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This past weekend, we hosted two days of conversation, story & community around Faith, Sexuality & Belonging. It was a weekend full of laughter, tears, truth-telling, connection, and…need I say, discomfort. If the stories and sex talk on Saturday had not already made some of you sense some discomfort, Sunday’s drag-queen-led gathering did it for a number of us - including me. [click on image to continue reading]

I still remember the reaction of a colleague when I told him about The Well’s practice of pausing each 5th Sunday to encourage everyone (even the pastor) to receive the gift of rest.

What if people show up and you’re not there? What if someone is having a crisis and the doors are closed?

What I heard him say was: You can’t do that! That’s not what churches do.

I’ve thought about this reaction a lot over the past 10 years of sabbath Sundays, and the many other times we’ve changed courses or meeting places. We have had people show up and find no one there. We’ve had people forget or not get the memo, but these little disruptions have highlighted the need to pay attention, to challenge assumptions, and to reflect on why we do what we do in the first place.

Is the church here to provide a service & fulfill expectations or is our purpose to practice the life-giving, love-centered way of Jesus together? [click on image to continue reading]

Advent begins this Sunday! Advent means “coming” or “arrival” and it refers to the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas. During Advent, we light candles, sing songs and share the stories as we wait for “the Light of the world”. It’s a time to lean in, to pause, to look, to listen & to pay attention. [click image to continue reading about how we’ll move through Advent together]

During Sunday’s annual thanksgiving community brunch, we re-visited our core practices, one of which is “collaborating”. While this has always been a core value of The Well’s, it has been a tough one to live out.

Collaboration sounds fun until you actually put it into practice!

Creating something together is messy, unpredictable and invites us to listen patiently instead of rushing in with our own agendas. It also forces us to give up control of the outcome. Through the years, I have not only uncovered my own blind spots when it comes to collaboration (have I mentioned I love control?!), but I’ve also discovered just how tricky it can be to find co-collaborators... (click image to continue reading)

Earlier this year, our Well community began a new monthly meetup designed to help us support, encourage and learn alongside one another in our efforts toward racial justice. Our facilitator & fellow-learner on the journey, Mae Beth Ragland, shares her thoughts here about what this group has meant to her… [click on image to continue reading]

“We drink from wells that we did not dig. We sit under the shade of trees we did not plant. We stand on the shoulders of and are shaped by those who went before us, even those we cannot see.”

- Stephen Lewis

When I read these words, I was immediately reminded of how seldom we take the time to remember, to reconnect and to honor those whose love and lives are part of ours. All Saints Day was created with such a purpose in mind. It has been celebrated by many in the Church since the 600s AD as a day to remember those who have died and to give thanks for the saints who have inspired us throughout the ages.

In the spirit of All Saints’ Day & in a year when many have endured much loss, we are… (click on image to continue reading)