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Online ritual invitation and instructions

Dear friends,

With finals just being past and a new semester already started and a
niece just moved to a new apartment and variety of Church duties in
various stages of incompleteness, I unfortunately can't write a separate
and unique email to cover each specific circumstance.  Therefore I'm
using this as an invitation to those who have not yet participated in
our online ritual, a reminder of our next meeting Tuesday night at 10 pm
EDT,
and instructions for those who have requested them.

Welcome to the Creation Spirituality Celebration Circle! We are a
community scattered across the Earth who meet weekly for ritual and
discussion.  My goal is to create safe space to explore our connection
with the Earth, with each other, and with the Divine. We shall welcome
into our circle peoples of all spiritual traditions who seek to find
fellowship with people of various traditions in a spirit of openness and
equality.

Our rituals will not be specific to any particular spiritual tradition,
although our members draw upon many. We begin by calling into our circle
the entire web of life; we then state the theme of the week's ritual,
and share a few readings. Then follows a period of free discussion on
the week's topic, after which we pray for the Earth, for our
communities, and for ourselves, closing our circle with an exchange of
Peace.

You may join us on any Tuesday evening at 10 pm EDT/7 pm PDT on the
ChatNet IRC network by connecting to one of the following servers with
your IRC client (which would need to be configured to these):
     Portland.OR.US.Chatnet.Org
     SF.CA.US.Chatnet.Org
     WalnutCreek.CA.US.Chatnet.Org
     LosAngeles.CA.US.Chatnet.Org
     Pensacola.FL.US.Chatnet.Org
     Stillwater.OK.US.Chatnet.Org
     Tupelo.MS.US.Chatnet.Org
     Pocatello.Id US.Chatnet.Org
     SLC.UT US.Chatnet.Org
     RockHill.SC US.Chatnet.Org
     Louisville.KY.US.Chatnet.Org
     Manchester.NH.US.Chatnet.Org
Europe:  Frogn.NO.Chatnet.Org
Australia/New Zealand: Auckland.NZ.Chatnet.Org
Once connected to the server, execute the following command:
      /join #creationcelebrcircle blessing
That will put you online with the group.  As we proceed I'll "pass the
talking stick around."
 
While I am an Orthodox Christian priest, we are and shall continue to be
open and inviting to ALL spiritual traditions.  Some rituals may be
conducted by others who observe some of these other traditions.  We are
not affiliated with any religious institution, and will govern our
affairs in a democratic manner.

We will begin by ritualizing and discussing the themes in Matthew Fox's
Original Blessing.  A typical ritual follows this format:

  * Gathering: In this we call all of the universe, all creatures,
directions, seasons and stars into our circle to celebrate with us.

  * Statement of Theme: For example, Theme 3 from Fox's Original
Blessing: "Humility as earthiness..."
  
  * Readings: From anywhere, but not too long, please. As many as people
have brought...

  * Discussion: We speak only from our own experience, and honor the
beliefs and experiences of others.

  * The Prayers: Praying for the earth, and for the spiritual lives of
all beings...

  * The Peace: A blessing passed around the circle closes our ritual.

*We should point out that we will not be all Christians in our Circle,
but we recognize that the Cosmic Christ--the idea that divinity is
united with nature--is found in many traditions

Our Creation Spirituality Celebration Circle will be an open, inclusive
electronic community committed to respect and honor for all of
creation.  We shall honor the wisdom traditions of all peoples. I
believe that current environmental and social crises are fundamentally
spiritual issues.  My hope is that we may heal ourselves and the planet
by reaffirming our right relationship with the natural world,
recognizing our interdependence. To this end, let us gather to celebrate
the Creator's abundance; and to support and challenge each other as
Co-Creators of healing and balance.

I hope you will be joining us.  If you have questions, I shall endeavor
to answer them or get an answer.

-- 
Blessings,
Father John Missing, NOSB
Christ is Risen!
      Truly He is Risen!
(jmissing@gte.net)
(http://home1.gte.net/jmissing/index.htm)
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