Author Toko-Pa Turner wrote: “Our longing for community is so powerful that it can drive us to join groups, relationships, or systems of belief that give a false impression of belonging. These places of false belonging grant us conditional membership, requiring us to cut parts of ourselves off in order to fit in.” How true! … Continue reading Fitting In or Belonging?

Order of Service September 14, 2025 9:00 AM Love at the Center of Our Belonging Led by Rev. Deborah Bennett Thank you to this morning’s Worship Team Pianist:  Nonetta ShatakhtsianUshers:  Paula GreenwoodTech Host:  Lance Collins Centering Thought: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within … Continue reading Order of Service

Our September / October Share the Plate Recipient is; The Womxn Project Education Fund The Womxn Project Education Fund works through 3 pillars of activism to protect those whose reproductive rights are in danger. LGBTQIA+ discrimination, and who may not be able to receive the care they desire due to governmental constraints. We are building … Continue reading September – October Share the Plate 2025

Our Summer Share the Plate is: The TOMAQUAG MUSEUM  The Museum seeks to educate all relations (everyone) about Indigenous cultures of the Dawnland (Southern New England). It is Rhode Island’s only museum entirely dedicated to telling the story of the Indigenous peoples of this land. Programs there share Native perspectives on traditional health and wellbeing, … Continue reading Summer Share the Plate –

Taking ourselves too seriously is one of the great sorrows of our lives. Yes, intense, sad, unjust things are happening all the time, but the spirit loves to be lightened and humor is one of the greatest ways to do it. Studies show that humor heals and can sooth our stress – ask Dr. Patch … Continue reading Minister’s Musings on Joy

Our April Share the Plate Recipient; Climate Action RI is an action group focused specifically on climate change and what can be done on national, local, and individual levels. Based in Rhode Island, it is a local 350.org affiliate. Climate Action RI is committed to climate and environmental justice across all sectors to foster a … Continue reading April Share the Plate

After experiencing some time down with illness the past few weeks and knowing we were entering the month to explore the practice of trust, I found myself frequently asking: “what does trust in a situation like this even mean”? Did I “trust” that I would get well? Yes, and yet …  And yet, as I … Continue reading In This I Trust

I am quite sure that, like most children, I spent most of my earliest years living in a wonderful state of presence. In fact, watching my now 1 year old granddaughter live her life I am reminded how young children possess an incredible ability to not only be present in the moment but to allow … Continue reading The Myth of When-Then

March Share the Plate is The Gentle Farm. The Gentle Farm welcomes all visitors, including those living with dementia, those experiencing trauma, folks of all abilities, grandparents with their grandchildren, moms, dads, teens, toddlers, and everyone else. The farm is home to goats, chickens, rabbits, donkeys, and mini horses. Since opening in 2020, the Gentle … Continue reading March 2025 Share the Plate

When I ran support circles for metastatic cancer patients, we had a practice of affirming anyone who shared something challenging by simply saying together: We see you. We hear you. You are held. You are loved. Those affirmations helped the person to feel grounded enough to come a little bit more present to whatever difficult … Continue reading I Am Here