Quest April 2022
April 2022
One lives in the hope of becoming a memory. —Antonio Porchia
Articles
What is Memory?
I am terrible at remembering names. I have tried all of the tricks to be able to do that, but nope, not for me. Thank goodness for name tags! Read more »
Notice of the CLF Annual Meeting
Per Article VII, Sections 1 and 2, of the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) Bylaws, the 49th Annual Meeting will be held via video/telephone conference call and screen sharing on Sunday, June 5, 2021 at 7:00PM EDT. Read more »
The Shape of Memory
A phrase landed in me during the week that my mother was dying, as I grasped at any words I could find to make sense of the enormous shift in front of me. Read more »
Quest March 2022
March 2022
All are caught in an inescapable
network of mutuality, tied in a single
garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects
all indirectly.
—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Articles
The Aunties Have Always Known
When I was a teenager, I loved Ralph Waldo Emerson, particularly his essay on self-reliance. Read more »
Forgive Us Our Trespasses
In April of 2019, I led a youth and adult delegation from the local congregation I serve on a service-learning trip to Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Read more »
A Message To The Community: A Letter From Prison
I offer my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones… And became victims to the violence… Read more »
Quest February 2022
February 2022
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. —Thich Nhat Hanh
Articles
Whole and Holy
I came fractured, I healed, and now I live in a stained glass mosaic of faith. Read more »
Daily Compass
The Daily Compass is a ministry of the Church of the Larger Fellowship crafted by Rev. Michael Tino of the Lead Ministry Team and other CLF staff members. Read more »
Representing the CLF at GA 2022
Would you like to represent the Church of the Larger Fellowship at General Assembly (GA) this summer? Read more »
Quest February 2022
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. —Thich Nhat Hanh Read more »
Quest January 2022
January 2022
If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer,
a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er,
a magic bean buyer…
If you’re a pretender come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in! Come in!”
—Shel Silverstein
Articles
Inviting You into Community
As we enter the third year of the global pandemic, there has been a general malaise and exhaustion. Read more »
To Whom It May Concern
Last picked for softball… first to be blamed… taunted and jeered at… hiding in shame… Read more »
The Eclipse of Our Lives
I’m a volunteer Suicide Companion, assigned to watch over and talk to other prisoners who are in crisis. Read more »
Ora Et Lobora
A task is only as dull as its suitor… and if you listen, you can hear your work… Read more »
Quest January 2022
“If you are a dreamer, come in, If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer… If you’re a pretender come sit by my fire… For we have some flax-golden tales to spin. Come in! Come in!” —Shel Silverstein Read more »
Quest December 2021
December 2021
The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery. —Anaïs Nin
Articles
Quest December 2021
The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery. —Anaïs Nin Read more »
Mysterious Ways
About a decade ago, my husband and I traded in our old cell phones for iPhones, a move that heralded a subtle but profound change in our lives. Read more »
Collective Lights of the Holidays
The theme of this issue is mystery, which is defined as something difficult to figure out. Read more »
For Your Reflection
The theme of this issue is mystery, which is defined as something difficult to figure out. Read more »
Quest November 2021
November 2021
Let peace begin with you. Let peace begin in your heart. Find your center, a little bit at a time. —Rev. Dr. Michael Tino
Articles
“When all else fails…”
WTF?!?! Those three letters and what they mean seem to come to mind and sometimes roll off my tongue with more regularity these days. Read more »
Centering
What does it feel like to have your experience centered? How do you find your own center? Read more »
I Am Now Whole
To find a gathering of like minded souls… Makes me feel at home, I am now whole… Read more »
Daily Compass
The Daily Compass is a ministry of the Church of the Larger Fellowship crafted by Rev. Michael Tino of the Lead Ministry Team. Read more »
Centering: A Little Bit At A Time
If there is to be peace in the world… There must be peace in the nations… Read more »
Quest November 2021
Let peace begin with you. Let peace begin in your heart. Find your center, a little bit at a time. —Rev. Dr. Michael Tino Read more »
Quest October 2021
October 2021
Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. —Mahatma Gandhi
Articles
Praying With Our Everything
I love the phrase “praying with our feet.” It often comes to mind for me in protests at the Texas Capitol, when I wait in line to vote, and perhaps most especially every Friday, when I lead my Zumba class, where we pray with our arms, our hips, our everything. Read more »
Prayer
Little things, big things, anything; people pray for them. From the mundane, like to perhaps hit the lottery, to the serious, like for someone’s life. Read more »
Phoenix Rising
Looking at the night sky, Staring at the galaxy, Watching the Milky Way swirl… Read more »
Calling on G.R.A.C.E.
I am often asked by folks who don’t have a belief structure how they can “connect” or reflect on their own growth. Read more »
Upcoming Quest Themes
Do you have any thoughts related to these topics? All CLF members, both incarcerated and living in the free world, are welcome to submit entries for future issues of Quest. Write to us! Read more »
Quest September 2021
September 2021
The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. —Maya Angelou
Articles
Quest September 2021
The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned. —Maya Angelou Read more »
May This Be My Last Time?
Last semester, in a class on global Christianity at Meadville Lombard, I was reading examples of the early Christians in the Roman Empire taking a stand and becoming martyrs. Read more »
Home
We posed the above question in the most recent issue of the Worthy Now newsletter (a biannual newsletter sent to all incarcerated CLF members), and received the responses on the next two pages in response. Read more »
Hello from the CLF Board Chair
Hello beloveds, I’m Rev. Aisha Ansano, and I am thrilled to be serving as the new Chair of the Board of The Church of the Larger Fellowship! Read more »
‘Tis Mabon
After the close of Summer, before the land lies ‘neath snow, there comes the Magic of Autumn when all nature is aglow… Read more »
Widening the Leadership Table
Over the last year, the CLF Board, Nominating Committee, and Lead Ministry Team have been examining how to best serve and be accountable to our membership, nearly 50% of whom are currently incarcerated. Read more »
For Your Reflection
In this section, we offer questions for reflection based on ideas explored in this issue. You may wish to explore it individually or as part of a group discussion. Read more »
Quest July/August 2021
July/August 2021
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. –Maya Angelou
Articles
Quest July/August 2021
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. –Maya Angelou Read more »
Love the Limits
Creativity isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Neither is freedom—at least absolute freedom. Read more »
Updates from UUA General Assembly 2021
We were honored to send over 20 CLF member delegates and 16 religious professional delegates to Virtual General Assembly 2021. Now that it’s over, we want to let you know some of what happened. Read more »
Creativity in Cakes
I have been locked up for four years now and I have seen all things created in the penitentiary. Read more »
Reshaping the Soul
To create or to reshape. My understanding is that these are two different things. Read more »
Art as Creative Practice
For many years, you all have sent us your incredible works of visual art along with your poems and essays. Read more »
If You Want to View Paradise (Don’t Ask Me For A Picture)
Yeah, I know you want something a little more up-beat… Read more »
Flowers
Just like a flower, we bloom into ourselves, Taking our precious time as we open up to the world… Read more »
Quest June 2021
June 2021
When we heal our own trauma, individually and collectively, we don’t just heal our bodies. By refusing to pass on the trauma we inherited, we help heal the world. –Resmaa Menakem
Articles
The Slowest Part of Ourselves
The body is the slowest part of ourselves. Our thoughts, emotions, spirits — these can move at lightning speed, switching from one state to another in an instant. Read more »
Loss as a Gateway to Compassion
This might sound strange, but I have felt the most present, the most interconnected mentally, spiritually, and physically when I have experienced loss. Read more »
On Grief and Embodiment
Thank you to Rachel for your above piece, “Loss as a Gateway to Compassion” — this reflection is prompted by and written in response to your words. Read more »
Updates from the CLF’s 2021 Annual Meeting
The CLF held its Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday June 6, 2021. Read more »
A Farewell Note from Rev. Jennifer
This is my last column for CLF in my capacity as Learning Fellow for the Worthy Now Prison Ministry. Read more »
Quest June 2021
When we heal our own trauma, individually and collectively, we don’t just heal our bodies. By refusing to pass on the trauma we inherited, we help heal the world. –Resmaa Menakem Read more »
© Copyright - Quest for Meaning