“We Begin, Again, in Love: Renewal, Resurrection, and the 7th Principle”
In the past several years many UU congregations have begun honoring the Jewish High Holy Days each autumn with the responsive reading “We forgive ourselves and each other and begin again in love,” from A Litany of Atonement, written by UU minister Rev. Rob Eller-Isaacs. These holy days occur near the fall equinox, which is the time when the dark hours of the day begin to surpass the light hours here in the Northern Hemisphere. As we join together on this Easter Day, it feels fitting that we honor spring’s longer day-light hours with a reminder to renew our commitment to love and healing, to begin the resurrection of the growing season with reconnecting to the Earth and the web of life that surrounds us. We are not separate from the Earth, and we are called to connect with all life in service, love, and a commitment to mutual well-being.
Rev. DiAnna Ritola is an Interfaith Minister and a Dianic Wiccan priestess. Her community-based ministry centers on spiritual counseling for trauma, intimate relationships, and sexuality along with rituals to honor life events and passages. DiAnna lives in NYC with her wife, Michele, two dogs (Brigid and Finnbar) and a cat (Lilith), and is doing her best to transform her small yard into a food and flower oasis. In May 2020, she published her first book Mismatched Luggage: Unpacking Your Sexual Baggage for Your Spiritual Journey. Her website is www.DiAnnaRitola.com
Rev. Ritola’s presentation may be viewed at: https://www.facebook.com/FirstExistentialist/videos/167091241833574