Our November/December theme packet on what it means to be a people of hope is now available. Instead of options this month, we are all invited to do one single exercise together:

Spend some time remembering how you’ve been saved by hope. And then bring that story of hope to your group to share.

Hope rarely descends or magically appears. Most often, it’s passed on. It comes to us as a gift. We don’t find it, as much as we receive it. And almost always, that gift comes in the form of a story.  Hearing tales of others finding their way through the dark helps us trust that light is waiting at the end our tunnels as well. Listening to others talk about their sources of hope helps us notice the many resources available to us. Simply put, hope can’t spread without our stories. Light doesn’t travel through the dark on its own. It hitchhikes on the tales we tell each other.

So this month, let’s give each other the gift of hope by sharing the gift of our stories. We all have them. Some of us will talk about that person whose belief in us enabled us to believe in ourselves. Others will talk about how we held on through depression for the sake of kids. More than one of us will name that moment when we realized that the darkness was not our enemy but actually contained a gift. At least one of us will likely talk about the magic of “faking it until we made it.” Still others may share their experience of stumbling upon one of those beautiful “It Gets Better” videos.  In the end, the details of the stories are less important than the act of bringing them all into the room. Surrounded by each other’s stories, the circle can’t help but become lit up.

Besides bringing a personal story of hope to your group, consider also bringing in a symbol or token that represents the essence of your story. You might also want to keep that symbol or token close to you during the weeks before your meeting, as a way of both helping you remember the details and offering gratitude. During your group session, after everyone has shared their story, be sure to leave time for everyone to talk about what happened as the many stories of others washed over them.

Have you signed up to join a small group yet? We have two groups that meet to reflect deeper on the theme.

• The first one meets on the last Monday of November from 7-9 pm. In December, this group will move to meet on a regular basis on the third Monday of each month.
• The second one typically meets on the last Wednesday of each month from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

If you’d like to join a small group, please let Rev. Samaya know.