Hi Y'all!
I am so excited to let y'all know that I am the new Global Themes (GT) Coordinator for CSL. You will be hearing more from me over the coming months as I look at and update the Global Themes process, as well as begin the team and visioning for the 2025 Global Themes. Each month I will also be sending out a blog post like this; my thoughts, musings, and ideas about the topic for the month.
One of my goals is to be more available for feedback, questions, and ideas from the field. I would like to personally invite you to come to me directly if you notice anything in the Global Themes that is incorrect or unclear. I would love to correct and update GT on the website when things are brought to my attention. I would also love for you to email me with the things that light you up... amazing books that you are reading, podcasts you are listening to, or ideas and cultural trends that are coming up in your community. In this way, GT can become a more relevant, inclusive, and useful tool over the coming years.
To get in touch, you can email me at GlobalThemes@CSL.org
Disclaimers:
This blog post is my personal hot take and not necessarily the views of CSL or Global Themes. Please read the outlines (found here) for yourself.
Folx* means folks and is used to explicitly signal the inclusion of groups commonly marginalized, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community.
This month, and really this year, is an invitation. An invitation to have a grand rising, yes, but also an invitation out of your comfort zone. The phrase "a grand rising" has risen to popularity in young Black spiritual communities. I think we can all agree that young Black spiritual folx* are the minority across our organization. This means that for most of us, this phrase will be foreign, something that perhaps calls us into a deeper knowing or learning, rather than something that immediately lights a fire in our souls and makes us excited for the new day, month, or year.
One of the challenges of ministry, especially in a movement that prides itself on being welcoming and inclusive, is to learn what inclusivity means to people who are radically different from ourselves. We are naturally drawn to community, and often our unconscious preference is for that community to look, sound, act, and believe like us. There is nothing wrong with this, but it does mean that being welcoming and inclusive is going to take more than a statement in our Sunday Service, a banner over our front door, or an elevator speech about the awesomeness of Science of Mind. It is going to take a deep dive into ourselves, the world we live in, and the meaning of "being a welcoming and inclusive community."
So, this year, "A Grand Rising" is an invitation. If you are a part of the amazing Black communities that are using this term, it is an invitation to join us. We see you and honor who you are, the gifts that you bring to the world, and the way that your light is shaping our collective vision. If you are not a part of these communities, it is an invitation to do something different than the historical norm. To step outside of your comfort zone and cultivate soul fire and excitement rather than expecting it to automatically show up just because of a catchy title or cool marketing picture. It invites us to deepen our spirituality to include spiritual practices, principles, and ideas that we may have written off as something that "just doesn't work for me". And finally, it is an invitation to reach out and connect with people whom we haven't had the opportunity to in the past. To listen deeper, hear the stories and ideas they bring, and understand that even though we are a part of the One Mind, we still don't know everything.
My hope for Centers for Spiritual Living and Science of Mind in 2024 is that we truly have a grand rising. One that brings everyone along with us and takes action on creating the world that we always talk about... you know, the one that works for EVERYONE (think sex workers, refugees, corrupt politicians, meth users, indigenous tribes deep in the jungle, billionaires, lovers, fighters, your ex, the abusers and the abused, troublemakers, convicts, and that one person who comes to every single event your Center hosts and you always secretly hope will just decide to stay home and watch Oprah's Super Soul Sunday).
So, A Grand Rising to you.
Rev. Kris Alexander
Global Themes Coordinator, CSL
Thank you for your work, Kris. I appreciate you and the monumental effort it takes to put this in place. I appreciate, especially, your last paragraph about the world we always "talk about." One of the most profound dialogues I hosted in my former Center began with the question, "Who would not be welcomed in your community? Is there someone you would not invite, or want to sit next to?" It was a deep learning experience, and a question that would be valuable for all of us - especially on the ListServe! (But that's another blog topic!) ❤️
Thanks Rev. Kris for this update✅
Thank you so much! I’m definitely signing up for your blog. frankie