Simone Monique Barnes

Our theme for November is Comforting Light. Here are some resources for community care, to hold your joys, your concerns, your wellbeing, and the fullness of you this week and beyond.

— Simone
Simone Monique Barnes, Director of Membership and Spiritual Life

Jump to Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, music


Quiet Practices for Everyday shared by Unitarian Universalist Association

Friends, as we enter into a week – and perhaps longer – filled with deep uncertainty, anxiety, and fear, UUA chaplains the Rev. Dr. JJ Flag and the Rev. Victoria Safford offer some simple, quiet practices to tend to our spirits and souls, and remind us that through weariness and trouble, love will guide us.

Today, we center Interdependence:

🌿 **It’s time to go outside. Sometime today or this evening, make time to go out, rain or shine. Touch the living earth: soil, leaf, water, or just let the air touch you. Find a quiet place where you can stop a while, just quietly. In your mind, or whispering, speak to the earth as if it were a loving grandparent, an elder. Say (in your mind or whispering) what you’re most afraid of now. Stay still a little longer, and then offer a small prayer, perhaps like this: “Right now, what I need most is _____.” Breathe deep, and touch the earth again, with gratitude.** đźŚż


Breathing Meditation (from Cole Arthur Riley, Black Liturgies)

INHALE
The world is loud.

EXHALE
I listen for my voice.


Tuesday

Prayer Vigil

Hosted by our campus partner Faith Presbyterian Church (1314 E Oltorf Street). Rev. Amy Myhand (she/her/hers), aka Pastor Amy, will be on hand in the sanctuary from 10 am to 2 pm on Tuesday, November 4th.

You can also view and read Faith Presbyterian’s Election Day Prayer Guide


DRUUMM Election Evening Gathering Space (BIPOC-only space)

Tuesday, November 5, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM Central Time (8:00 PM – 11:00 PM EST) Diverse and Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries (DRUUMM) is hosting a space for support and spiritual care on the evening of Election Day. They’ve designed this as a BIPOC-only brave space to share music, readings, poetry, prayers, meditations, etc., and to provide sustenance to each other. Please register (https://druumm.org/events/) and join for any part of the time.

This event is BIPOC-only, a sacred space reserved for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color and UU or interested in Unitarian Universalism. DRUUMM recognizes every Community of Color is impacted differently, and each community maintains its own unique identity and culture. BIPOC/People of Color/Person of Color/Community of Color is a political identity of survival and being in resistance to racism and colonialism, one that builds solidarity and creates positive change. White allies with questions or concerns are strongly encouraged to reach out to Allies for Racial Equity.


Election Night Care Space – Tuesday, November 5, 6:30 CT

Hosted by the UU Women’s Federation

It’s been a L-O-N-G election season. We know that whichever way it goes, we will continue our work towards justice. UUWF invites you to spend some election decompression space with us on Election night.

We’ll start one hour before the polls close on the East Coast, and make space for you to reconnect. Join us for music and inspiration.

Register here.

(UUWF builds covenental relationships among Unitarian Universalist Women and Femmes
that equip us all to be better co-conspirators and allies in the movement for collective liberation.)

Wednesday

Coffee and Conversations, Wednesdays at 10 am

(For the Zoom link, check your Wildflower newsletter or contact the care team on this form or email careteam@wildflowerchurch.org.)

Come check in about life, the universe and everything with other Wildflowers, Chaplain Bis, and the Pastoral Care Team. Chaplain Bis is also available 1:1 Zoom sessions, which you can sign up for at calendly.com/wildflowerpastoralcare

Laughter Yoga with Simone

Simone is hosting a special laughter yoga session Wednesday on Zoom, at 10am to 11am Central Time.
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYtf-mopj0tG9JpYy5djkpwJTBOY6ZrfSLO

Laughter Yoga is open to all bodies and all experience levels. You don’t need props or tools, just bring yourself. Laughter Yoga is the union of unconditional laughter and deep yogic breathing. You can practice it anywhere, anytime.

UUA Forward Together: Anchoring in Community Post Election

Wednesday, November 6, at 7pm Central

 Find Support & Community in Our Post-Election Series

Join Side with Love, UUA Congregational Life, and senior UUA leadership for a series of online gatherings to help us reflect, respond, and prepare together following the 2024 Election. Each session provides spiritual grounding, practical insights, and community support.

đź—“ Session One – 11/6: After Election Day
Ground yourself, connect with UUA resources, and get insights from Side With Love.

đź—“ Session Two – TBD (When Election is Called)
Join UUA President Rev. Dr. SofĂ­a Betancourt and others for reflection and immediate action steps.

đź—“ Session Three – 11/19: The Way Forward
Discuss next steps and hear from Side With Love on the movement landscape.

⏰ All sessions at 8pm ET / 7pm CT / 6pm MT / 5pm PT.
đź“Ś Register to attend and receive updates! https://bit.ly/4e5EzGJ


Thursday

TXUUJM Action Hour with Rev Erin J. Walter, 7pm – 8 pm

All are welcome to join the Texas Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry (TXUUJM) as Rev Erin J. Walter hosts this week’s weekly Thursday night justice gatherings on Zoom from 7pm – 8pm CT. It is a time to check in and connect with folks from around the state and be in community. Invite friends, UU or not, Texan or not. ALL WELCOME. Learn more about these programs at txuujm.org. Register for Thursday’s Action Hour here.


Sunday

Wildflower Church’s Sunday Worship, Sunday, November 10, 11:45 am on Zoom

“The Wonder of Who You Are,” speaker Simone Monique Barnes.

As we continue our month-long theme of Comforting Light, we will take time to meditate, dream, imagine, and breathe, honoring our own inner light and the comforting lights that surround us.

After the virtual service, the Wildflower Community Room will be open from 2pm to 6pm for our Community Recharge Day. It is a self-guided afternoon of restorative activities, community, and quiet time; whatever it is that you need to recharge your own batteries.

This is a Zoom-only service. There will be no children’s and youth religious education classes.

Zoom link available on our home page https://wildflowerchurch.org/

Community Recharge Day Sunday, November 10, 2 pm to 6 pm.

Come as you are, take what you need. Stay for a few minutes, or stay all afternoon. A self-guided afternoon with space to quietly contemplate and space to engage. It’s a relaxing day of both fellowship and solitude, to recharge your batteries.


Music: “My Little Light”

My Little Light” by Beautiful Chorus

Lyrics:

This little light of mine
Used to be too scared to shine
When mine met yours it would run and hide
But in time I came to find
I wanna shine so bright
It makes this whole world smile
And pay back the beautiful feeling
That allows me to be
Whatever I wanna be
And I am gonna be
Free and easy

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drops of water, rippling the surface of the water

This month our worship services center around the theme of WATER. (For inspiration, enjoy this Peter Meyer song, “Water.”)

Our services, learning, and gatherings are geared to support your rest and nurture our sense of community this summer.

OUR SUMMER WORSHIP

Sunday worship services held at 11:45 am (Zoom link is available of our website’s home page):

Our services will have a noticeably different feel for the summer, with an intergenerational focus centering our services on Time for All Ages and music to guide our personal reflections and connections to the themes of the month (TFAA and music are our summer sermons). You’ll also notice that some of the music and readings will repeat throughout the month, offering us a chance to deepen our experience with them. Our Zoom tech may also look a little different as we offer simpler camera angles for the summer. We’ll also pause our potluck and popcorn after services in exchange for popsicles each Sunday. Our summer services allow us to allow Sundays to function with a slightly smaller worship team and volunteer team (allowing for varied travel schedules, summer school schedules, family needs, and the heat of the day) and offer more time for meaningful connections after the service.

JULY

Our worship services will explore the theme of WATER. 

Our Wildflower band’s music theme for the month is “Happy” by Pharrell.

  • July 7 (blended): Story: Tale of the Sands – by Idries Shah. Do you resist changes? How have changes transformed you?
    • Join us for popsicles and conversation in the Community Room after service.
  • July 14 (on Zoom): Story “Rainbow in the Cloud” (Maya Angelou) How can you be a blessing in someone else’s life?
  • July 21 (blended): Guest Worship Leader Jesus Garcia, of The Herbal Action Project. Nature gives us tools for our healing. With garden herbs and water,  Jesus Garcia will guide us in co-creating blessing water as a spiritual practice and a way to nurture our sense of community. We will also learn about the history of indigenous groups of Tejas that have been harvesting native botanicals through their lineage rites.
    • Join us for popsicles and conversation in the Community Room after service.
  • July 28 (blended): Story: Splashdance by Liz Starin. Community is more fun when we’re all included, and working together can make a positive change. How do we work together to ensure we’re all included?
    • After the worship service, we will have some creative water play for all ages. (If you are participating in the afternoon activity, we recommend wearing clothes that you don’t mind getting wet).

AUGUST

  • Our worship services will explore the theme of CARING AND SHARING. Our  Wildflower band’s music theme for the month is “Rise Again” as performed by the Urban Voices Project. (Special Back to School celebration on August 18.)

And Save the date for the annual WATER COMMUNION held on Sunday, September 1.


SPIRITUAL FORMATION

OUR SUMMER CONGREGATIONAL-WIDE BOOK READING

Wildflower’s Spiritual Life team met for a half day retreat in the Community Room on Saturday, June 29, 2024, to begin to plan for Fall at Wildflower, as well as have time to nurture ourselves as staff and lay leaders of the congregation. It was a gathering of 15 people representing worship, adult religious education, membership, fun and fellowship, children and youth religious education, music, and the director’s teams. As part of our day, together, we worked on the spider web exercises in Chapter One of We Heal Together (and also in Practice One of the journal), mapping our community and our relationships as individuals, and then mapping Wildflower’s community and relationships as a congregation.

Throughout the summer, we hope YOU, too, will read through the exercises of the book and the journal, and post your comments here: https://padlet.com/wildflowerchurch/we_heal_together

OUR SUMMER READING LIST

  • We Heal Together: Rituals and Practices for Building Community and Connection by Michelle Cassandra Johnson (and the supplemental We Heal Together Ritual and Practice Journal)
  • You Are Not Alone by Alphabet Rockers (picture book)

Both titles are available at your favorite online and local bookstores, the UUA bookstore, and the public library (including its Libby App). The We Heal Together journal is a free PDF download. These are what I call slow reads, meant to be savored and read as they nourish your spirit and sense of community.


OUR SUMMER ACTION: WATER

  • Keep our community hydrated. Be it unhoused neighbors, service and utilities workers, pets, elderly, family, or friends, a cold drink of water is a summer kindness. We encourage everyone to keep spare bottles of water to share with the people and pets in our community as needed. (Bonus: freeze a few bottles to give away so you can offer a cool drink during a hot day or night). 
  • CYRE will be assembling care packages on July 7th, and asks the congregation to pick up a few packs, and then hand them out in the community during the week. Caring for our unhoused neighbors and others at risk for dehydration and isolation is a way for us to share that we are not alone and that we heal together.
  • Pick up trash whenever you are outside to help keep our rivers, lakes, and streams free of debris.

2nd Offering Recipients for the Third Quarter of 2024

In our work to support the community, we collect an offering for a non-profit who is making a difference in the world and who is in alignment with our values. The beneficiary of our 3rd quarter gifts (July, August, and September 2024) is Austin Youth River Watch. This organization transforms and inspires youth (including youth at Travis ECHS) through environmental education, community engagement, and adventure. There’s also a Wildflower serving on their board. We’ll be sharing ways that Wildflowers can engage with the organization, through service projects, and other community activities.


We also continue our summer at Wildflower focus on REST. How are you nurturing your spirit this summer?

This essay by Omid Safi, The Disease of Being Busy, is a meaningful, worthwhile read. In the essay he writes:

“In many Muslim cultures, when you want to ask them how they’re doing, you ask: in Arabic, Kayf haal-ik? or, in Persian, Haal-e shomaa chetoreh? How is your haal?

What is this haal that you inquire about? It is the transient state of one’s heart. In reality, we ask, “How is your heart doing at this very moment, at this breath?” When I ask, “How are you?” that is really what I want to know.

“I am not asking how many items are on your to-do list, nor asking how many items are in your inbox. I want to know how your heart is doing, at this very moment. Tell me. Tell me your heart is joyous, tell me your heart is aching, tell me your heart is sad, tell me your heart craves a human touch. Examine your own heart, explore your soul, and then tell me something about your heart and your soul.”

Omid Safi

I was grateful that I had taken some time off this week for rest; a few days without meetings or being tethered to my laptop or phone. As a result, when I asked a dear friend how they were doing, I had the capacity to fully listen, unrushed, to their heartfelt answer. Rest supports our ability to have a “ministry of presence” for ourselves and for those in our lives.

This summer, I hope we all have time to ask, and to be asked, “How are you? How is your heart doing?” and that we each have the time to listen, and to be listened to when questions are answered.

As a lay led congregation, we are all lay leaders in this community. In closing, I leave you with the wise words of the “Less is More: Keep Church Simple” by Rev. Susan Frederick Gray, Past UUA President:

“As leaders, be sure to spend as much time in worship, small groups, social gatherings, etc. as you do in meetings. Encourage one another to pay attention to meeting the spiritual needs of everyone, especially you — the leaders.”

Peace,

~ Simone

Simone Monique Barnes
Director of Membership and Spiritual Life
Wildflower UU Church, Austin TX

This summer at Wildflower our focus is on REST. 

We’ve got a lot of healing and restoration to do as a congregation. That’s hard to do when operating in overdrive. It’s also hard to focus on nurturing our relationships as a community when we don’t have the time nor bandwidth to.

What does rest mean? Here’s some guiding words from the book Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey. She says:

Rest must be practiced daily until it becomes our foundation.

Resting can look like: 

  • Closing your eyes for ten minutes. 
  • A longer shower in silence. 
  • Meditating on the couch for twenty minutes. 
  • Daydreaming by staring out of a window. 
  • Sipping warm tea before bed in the dark. 
  • Slow dancing with yourself to slow music. 
  • Experiencing a Sound Bath or other sound healing. 
  • A Sun Salutation. 
  • A twenty-minute timed nap. 
  • Praying. Crafting a small altar for your home. 
  • A long, warm bath. 
  • Taking regular breaks from social media. 
  • Not immediately responding to texts and emails. 
  • Deep listening to a full music album. 
  • A meditative walk in nature. 
  • Knitting, crocheting, sewing, and quilting. 
  • Playing a musical instrument. 
  • Deep eye contact. 
  • Laughing intensely. 

OUR SUMMER CONGREGATION-WIDE READING LIST

  • We Heal Together: Rituals and Practices for Building Community and Connection by Michelle Cassandra Johnson
  • You Are Not Alone by Alphabet Rockers (picture book)

Both titles are available at your favorite online and local bookstores, the UUA bookstore, and the public library (including its Libby App). These are slow reads, to be read a little at a time, process, journal, reflect, and discuss with others.


OUR SUMMER ACTION: WATER

  • In the month of June, CYRE will be collecting supplies for our unsheltered neighbors. In early July, children and youth will assemble the supplies into packets that the congregation can give out to those in need of care. Here is the list of supplies that we are collecting if you’re interested in contributing!
  • Keep our community hydrated. Be it unhoused neighbors, service and utilities workers, pets, elderly, family, or friends, a cool drink of water is a summer kindness. We encourage everyone to keep spare bottles of water to share with the people and pets in our community as needed. (Bonus: freeze a few bottles to give away so you can offer a cool drink during a hot day or night).
  • Pick up trash whenever you are outside to help keep our rivers, lakes, and streams free of debris.

OUR SUMMER WORSHIP

Sunday worship services held at 11:45 am (Zoom link is available of our website’s home page):

JUNE 

Our worship services will explore the theme of JOY OF COMMUNITY. 

Our  Wildflower band’s music theme for the month is “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga (Orville Peck version).

  • June 2:  “Higher Love” a celebration of Queer Joy! We welcomed back the Extragrams for a Drag Church Service.  We’ll also read and be inspired by the picture book You Really, Truly Do Belong written by Gina Casazza and Illustrated by Lia Ampleva. With our potluck social in the Community Room, followed by our congregation’s annual meeting.
  • June 9 (on Zoom): “Part of the Whole.” What happens when we struggle to find our place in a community, to balance our individual journeys with the needs of the whole? Bettina Lehovec will lead us in an interactive lay-led service.
  • June 16 (blended): Flower Ceremony. Sometimes referred to as Flower Communion or Flower Festival, is an annual ritual that celebrates beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. In this ceremony, everyone in the congregation brings a flower. We collectively bless the flowers, and they’re redistributed, with each person bringing home a different flower than the one they brought. Our flower ceremony coincides this year with the celebration week of Juneteenth. Joy is our human birthright and this month we celebrate the palpable joy felt in our Texas communities and beyond. We celebrate Black Joy as one of the beautiful flowers that makes our bouquet of Wildflowers complete.
  • June 23 (blended): Singing Bowl Sound Bath for the Summer Solstice. We celebrate this time of reflection, nourishment, and rest as guest worship leader Sandee Conroy aka the Singing Bowl Lady offers a chance to “be bowled” with a crystal singing bowl sound bath.
  • June 30 (on Zoom): The joy of our connection to the wider UU community, join us for a virtual watch party of the Sunday Worship Service of the UUA General Assembly (our denomination’s annual conference).

JULY AND AUGUST:

Our services will have a noticeably different feel for the summer, with an intergenerational focus centering our services on Time for All Ages and music to guide our personal reflections and connections to the themes of the month (TFAA and music are our summer sermons). 

You’ll also notice that some of the music and readings will repeat throughout the month, offering us a chance to deepen our experience with them. 

Our Zoom tech may also be a little different to accommodate for summer vacation and travel schedules, family needs, the heat of the day, and more importantly rest for the team. 

While we love variety at Wildflower, to make that happen means the worship team, mostly filled by volunteers, has a lot of busy, ever-changing work to do every week. (Did you know that there are over 20 roles/tasks needed every Sunday to produce our blended services?) We want to be able to function with a slightly smaller team, so that they have a little space to relax and be fully present enjoying the worship services for themselves. 

We’ll also pause our potluck and popcorn after services in exchange for popsicles and meaningful connections after Sunday services.

  • JULY: Our worship services will explore the theme of WATER. Our Wildflower band’s music theme for the month is “Happy” as performed by Pharrell. (Special water play after service on July 28.)
  • AUGUST: Our worship services will explore the theme of CARING AND SHARING. Our  Wildflower band’s music theme for the month is “Rise Again” as performed by the Urban Voices Project. (Special Back to School celebration on August 18.)

And SAVE THE DATE for the annual WATER COMMUNION held on Sunday, September 1.


In closing, I leave you with the wise words of the author and Nap Ministry Bishop, Tricia Hersey:

“You were not just born to center your entire existence on work and labor. You were born to heal, to grow, to be of service to yourself and community, to practice, to experiment, to create, to have space, to dream, and to connect.”

Tricia Hersey

I hope as we refresh and rest that this summer yields deeper relationships within our congregation, and that our nurtured spirits allow us to collectively heal and grow as a community.

Peace,

~ Simone

Simone Monique Barnes
Director of Membership and Spiritual Life
Wildflower UU Church, Austin TX

From the Wider Community (Invitation to this sacred gathering for Black the Community)

The next ROOTED gathering, on Saturday, June 1, at DAWA HQ, 916 Springdale Rd, Bldg 4, Ste 109, in East Austin.
ROOTED is a bi-monthly Black sacred collective worship experience by and for black folxs of all faiths.

Our spiritual gatherings honor Black wisdom, music, rituals, ceremonies, healing, and text from many experiences and traditions.

Families with children are welcome.
Elders are welcome.
ROOTED is LGBTQIA+ affirming.

DAWA (Diversity Awareness and Wellness in Action) is a platform that invests in BIPOC community and culture.
🖤🤎🖤

This month our worship services explore the topic of CELEBRATION. 

Celebrations are important because they give us opportunities to:

  • Appreciate ourselves
  • Appreciate those in our lives and in our community
  • Take note of how far we’ve come
  • Make memories
  • Reflect
  • Be present
  • Inspire others
  • Find community
  • Mark the passage of time

Join us for our upcoming Sunday worship services held at 11:45 am (Zoom link is available on our website’s home page) and other community gatherings in May.

  • Sunday, May 5th, 11:45 am, (hybrid): “Joy of Joy.” Wildflower’s mission is growing spiritually together, spreading love, justice, and joy! Join us as we celebrate World Laughter Day with Laughter Yoga and other joy practices. We will also celebrate welcoming our newest members of the congregation. Stay afterwards for our popcorn social in the Community Room. (Speaker: Simone Monique Barnes)
  • Wednesday, May 8th, 7 pm (on Zoom and Livestream) DRUUM Public Worship Service, “Choosing Joy! Living with Intentionality and Purpose.” Discover how a joyful heart can be your sanctuary, even when spirits are tested. A celebration of resilience, purpose, and the healing power of joy. (Guest Preacher: Rev Ali K.C. Bell, Director of Music: Saunder Choi, Liturgist: Rev. Carol Thomas Cissel.) Wildflower is one of the sponsoring congregations of this public worship of DRUUM (Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries). For the Zoom link or Livestream, RSVP on DRUUM’s website https://www.druumm.org/events/
  • Sunday, May 12th, 11:45 am (on Zoom): “Celebrating Transformation on the Path” On this day, we look to Buddhist teachings and practices as a source of inspiration and celebration, as many Buddhists observe Buddha’s Birthday (also known as Vesak or Wesak) this month (Speaker: Sarah Riehl)
  • Sunday, May 19th, 11:45 am (hybrid): Milestone Sunday! On this day we gather together to celebrate the many milestones of our community, such as graduations, recipients of our scholarship program with Travis ECHS, career milestones, and much more. Want to share a milestone with the congregation? Complete this form. (Speaker: Simone Monique Barnes and others). Stay afterwards for our potluck (and bring your favorite dish, entree, or snack to share)
  • Sunday, May 26th, 11:45 am (hybrid): We celebrate joy with our guest preacher of the day, Rev. Krista Weber Huang

During our social hour after services on the 1st and 3rd Sundays in the Community Room, look for our new table talk conversation starters prompts, to help spark meaningful conversations on the theme of the day.

And, speaking of celebrating our community, our 2nd offerings this season will focus on deepening our connection and relationships with the youth, educators, and families of our neighborhood and the Travis ECHS community.

We will also have a special offering for DRUUM (Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries), which we support as a congregation, which aids in their good work, public worship, and much needed good trouble in our world.

Lots to celebrate!

In closing, the vibrations are still resonating from last month’s service celebrating the music and message of Prince, which was so rich with the diverse gifts of the congregation and the community, with LOVE being our master plan (love, not dogma, policies, politics, nor anything else that divides us; only love), and amplified by the many other iterations of love that we uplifted in April, I leave you with these simple, yet wise words of the Purple One:

“Instead of hate, celebrate.”

Prince

In joyful celebration,

~ Simone

Simone Monique Barnes
Director of Membership and Spiritual Life
Wildflower UU Church, Austin TX