Virtual Release and Renew Ceremony

Forty Days of Releasing and Renewing

February 17, 2021 7:00 pm

Zoom link will be emailed to those on our Virtual Services list.

If you already receive the Virtual Services Zoom links emailed to you – there is no need to sign up again.

February 17, 2020, Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the Lenten season, which is observed by many Christian Faith communities worldwide.  During the season of Lent, the forty days leading up to Easter Sunday, many individuals focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to awaken and be transformed.

New Thought Communities like Unity invite individuals of all faith traditions into the devotional practice of Forty Days of Releasing and Renewing.   Releasing is the practice of relinquishing your energy from thoughts, beliefs, words, and behaviors that stand in the way of living more peacefully, authentically, and with meaning and purpose.  Renewing, on the other hand, is the daily practice of energizing thoughts and ways of being that foster peace, gratitude, appreciation, compassion, personal growth and transformation, and being of service to others.

By consciously engaging your Spiritual Powers of Elimination, Life, and Dominion you have an opportunity on a daily basis during Lent and throughout the year to let go of limiting ways of being and to animate thoughts, words, and actions that enhance our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Please join me in a reflective prayer ceremony where you will have an opportunity to cleanse your consciousness, affirm Truth, and select a Spiritual Power to consciously embody for the next 40 days.  I invite you to bring a dab of oil with you to this service, for it will be used to anoint your forehead, third eye. 

Dear Friends,

Many have shared that they are happy to see 2020 come to a close. This past year has been challenging for us all.  We have navigated our way not only through a pandemic, societal unrest and racial injustice, but also through a polarized election season that has seemed to have gone on forever. Yes, collectively and individually we have been overwhelmed as “our world” as we know it has been cracked open.   

The season of winter is upon us. Metaphysically, winter represents a time of hunkering down, a time of inner stillness and reflection, and a time of release in preparation for new life in the spring.  The seasons of our lives do not always follow the calendar cycle and most would agree that we, as a collective, began our inner experience of winter in the early spring and are longing for it to be over. 
I understand!  

What I wholeheartedly place my faith in is that humanity, on a deep soul level, has said YES to a profound, collective awakening.  I place my assurance in knowing that each one of us is imbued with a resilient spirit, that when summoned upon, will endow us with the patience, strength, and courage we need to endure and transcend our season of winter, regardless of its duration.   

December not only ushers in the official start to winter, but also welcomes the celebrations of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.  Although traditions vary in how these holidays are observed, the one thing they have in common is the symbolism of LIGHT.  As the candles of the Menorah, the Advent Wreath, and the Kinara are lit, many take time to pause, reflect and remember that we do not enter the harshness of our dark and barren times without our INNER LIGHT.  I believe that the light of resiliency, hope, and the promise of new and glorious life is the flame that burns brightly at the Divine core of us all!  

My dear friends, as you participate in your holiday candle lighting this year, I invite you to designate a special candle to light each evening at 8 pm during the next month to symbolize your inner resilience and faith in the promise of new life.  Before lighting your candle affirm, “I am the Light of Divine Resilience, Faith, and New Life.”

Let us also remain connected throughout the holiday season by participating in the virtual special services that are listed below. I hope you will find comfort from the words penned by John O’Donahue in his poem, “The Spaces Between Us” also below. Together we stand in Truth, Love, and Life to bring Light to the darkness. 

Love,
Rev Angela

The Spaces Between Us

This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.
~John Donahue

Holiday Schedule

Dear Friends,

For the last few years, I have had the sacred honor and privilege of presiding over an annual remembrance service. During this service, we came together to acknowledge the members and friends of Unity by the Shore along with your personal loved ones who have made their transition during that calendar year.

During this year’s “A Time of Loss… A Time of Transcendence” service, we will recognize and celebrate the beautiful souls of Rev. Joanne Murphy and Mary Carlucci, as well as, your dear ones who have journeyed beyond the veil in 2020. If a loved one(s) of yours has made his/her/their transition in 2020, and you would like his/her/their name to be acknowledged in a prayer during the service, please share his/her/their full name and relation to you (sister, friend, dog) with me by completing the form below by December 11th. I realize that our pets are precious, so if a winged or furry family member has made its transition, please share its name with me as well.

This year has been filled with many forms of loss, such as, the loss of employment, income, hugs, gatherings, and a lifestyle which we had grown accustomed to. Therefore, I thought it would be healing if our ceremonial practices during this year’s special service were also devoted to acknowledging all forms of loss. Lastly, our ceremonial time together will end with reflecting on the Divine qualities you would like to animate in your life and into the lives of others. Let us remember that death in its many forms is a doorway to new life if we are willing to acknowledge, embrace, and allow our grief to open our hearts to a greater capacity to love and be loved.

On the day of the service, I invite you to have handy with you 2 heart shaped paper cut outs and 1 star paper cut out that will be used during the service. These do not have to be anything fancy. Simple hand traced cut out shapes will do. Additionally, If you would like to include in your Zoom virtual space an image(s) of your beloved(s) or a small memento that reminds you of him/her/them please do so.

Let us come together during our “Time of Loss… A Time of Transcendence” service to hold sacred space for one another, heal, and commit to be transformed and renewed by the healing power of Divine Love and Grace.

Love,
Rev. Angela

Unity By The Shore presents

Virtual Bingo FUNdraiser

to benefit

Center for Family Services

Friday, December 11th
7 PM – 8:30 PM
held via Zoom

BINGO card sales – closed

Would simply like to make a financial contribution to the Center for Family Services, and not join us for Bingo? That’s OK too!

Credit/Debit Card or ACH:
Click the GIVE NOW button on the top right of your screen and select CENTER FOR FAMILY SERVICES.

All proceeds from your donation will be used to purchase specific holiday gifts for children and teens waking up in the Center for Family Services care, making it possible for them to receive exactly what they want off their wish list.

For your financial gift, you will receive the following number of Bingo Cards:

1 Book (5 game cards) = $10
2 Books (10 game cards) = $20
3 Books (15 game cards) = $25
4 Books (20 game cards) = $35
5 Books (25 game cards) = $45
6 Books (30 game cards) = $50

Bonus Cards:

BONUS CARDS will be included with your order for the 6TH and FINAL GAME as follows:

Order 1 – 2 books = 1 Bonus Card
Order 3 – 4 books = 2 Bonus Cards
Order 5 – 6 books = 3 Bonus Cards

Delivery Options: **

>> Curbside pick up at UBTS
>> USPS Mail

**Shipping: additional $5.00 for standard shipping for orders before Dec 1st. $7.95 per order for express shipping for orders placed after December 1st.
** Pickup: Unity by the Shore, 3508 Asbury Ave, Neptune, NJ 07753
Wednesday, Dec. 9th or Friday, Dec. 11th 9 AM – 1 PM

The deadline for ordering BINGO cards is December 4, 2020, midnight.

All payments must have been received by then.

Dear Friends,

During the Sunday Service on November 15^th, I spoke about “The Universal Practice of Benevolence”.  Benevolence is the desire to be an expression of goodwill and kindness to all beings.  Robert Brumet, author of Living Originally, states that the practice of Universal Benevolence calls us into cultivating the intentions of appreciation, kindness, and generosity.

Appreciation is the recognition and realization of the sacred value of others, for all forms of life, and for all the circumstances of our lives.  It is easy to feel appreciation for those who are kind and loving to us, but it is not so easy to cultivate when we encounter individuals and situations we find challenging.  When we can value people and situations as they are, our hearts begin to soften.

Kindness springs forth from a consciousness of appreciation.  Kindness is cultivating a consciousness of empathy and compassion.  Kindness can be expressed in our words and actions like paying someone a compliment, offering someone a smile, or any other kind gesture of acknowledgement and support. 

Generosity is the act of giving for the sake of giving and to give abundantly and often.  There are limitless ways we can express the generosity of our open heart. We can give of our material resources, give of our time and undivided attention, and we can offer our gifts and talents in service to others.   

As this year’s holidays approach and we are physically distanced, let us discover new ways to remain connected and supportive of one another.  One way we can become more connected as a community is by becoming a Buddy of Benevolence.  Please find the details below:

Dec 1^st – Dec 30^th 

Directions

1.  Sign up to become a Buddy of Benevolence by November 29, 2020.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

2.  You will be randomly assigned a buddy and emailed your buddy’s contact information by November 30th

3.  Contact your buddy to arrange a day and time of the week for you to check in with one another to review the Buddies of Benevolence General Practices and to schedule a weekly check in time.  

4.  Each buddy agrees to practice one of the below aspects of Universal Benevolence each week.

General Practices

Week of Dec 1^st

Make your first contact with your buddy to review the general practice of appreciation and to set up a day and time to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of appreciation delineated below:

Appreciation: Softens the Heart

Throughout each day:

* * Recognize what you value about all people you encounter even those whom you may find challenging.

* * Recognize the value of each experience/event even the ones that are uncomfortable.

* * Recognize what you genuinely value about yourself.

Week of Dec. 6^th

Check in with your buddy to say hello and to share your experiences of appreciation from the previous week.  Together review the practice of kindness below and set a day to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of kindness.

Kindness: Opens the Heart

Throughout each day: 

* Recognize ways you can be an empathetic and compassionate listener and presence for another.

* Recognize ways that you can share kind words or perform small acts of kindness for another.

* Recognize ways you can be genuinely kind to yourself.

Week of Dec. 13^th

Check in with your buddy to say hello and to share your experiences of kindness from the previous week. Together review the practice of generosity below and set a day to connect the following week to share your experiences with the practice of generosity.

Generosity: Gives from an Open Heart

Throughout each day: 

* Recognize ways you can be generous.

* Give of your resources, time, undivided attention, and/or gifts and talent.

* Recognize ways you can be genuinely generous to yourself.

Weeks of Dec 20^th – 30^th

Check in with your buddy to say hello, to wish them a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and/or Happy Kwanzaa, and to share your experiences of generosity. 

I hope you will choose to be a Buddy of Benevolence this holiday season and agree to bring Good Cheer and Universal Benevolence into the lives of others.  Your presence has the power to uplift the spirits of your fellow community members and the world,  In turn, you just may be transformed!

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED