Downloads: PDF for September 2026 on BEGINNINGS here       PDFs from previous months here

DAILY PRACTICE

Chalice Lighting: “Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who make the morning…best preacher that ever was… Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.” – Mary Oliver

Reflection: “By the grace of the Divine Power, which is larger hearted than we can ever imagine we are constantly given the opportunity to begin again…” – Rev. Marta I. Valentin

Chalice Extinguishing: Go with faith, not the kind that is called to move mountains,but the quieter sort that calls us to take the first step even when the whole staircase sits beyond our view.” – Rev. Scott Taylor

FOR PONDERING

  • What are some of the lessons you’ve learned from one of your joyful beginnings and one of your most painful beginnings?
  • Reflect on an ending in your life that turned out to be a beautiful beginning.
  • What "really good thing" in your life began with a small, uncertain step and where did it lead?
  • For you, what are the pros and cons of figuring everything out ahead of time before you begin something and figuring things out as you go along?

QUOTES

  • “One can waste years systematically postponing precisely the things one cares about the most.” - Oliver Burkeman
  • “Our fears around starting something new are genuine… I also know that if there is one thing more daunting than writing a song, it’s not writing one... A job left undone is its own torment, a dream unrealized, its own kind of hell.” - Nick Cave
  • “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” - Adelaide Anne Procter
  • “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.” - Louis L'Amour

 

BOOKS

 

MOVIES

  • “There Will Be Blood” Loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s Oil! - a haunting critique of capitalism and the men that benefit most from it.
  • “Beginners” explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver who comes out of the closet at age 75.