Sunday Gathering

We gather in person every Sunday at Central Park Place.

All events held in the Mackinaw Ballroom in Central Park Place (421 Columbus Ave., GH)

Sunday’s Schedule:

9am Pre-Talk: 

Meet the morning’s teacher in a small group setting for an open discussion of the morning’s theme

10am Gathering:

Welcome, readings, meditation from a community member, teaching, and music

A chance to share questions, comments and stories related to the morning gathering

Each week we provide a safe and welcoming environment for kids starting at 10am. If you are looking for a Sunday morning experience for your kids that includes C3 Values, creative activities, toys, books, games and outdoor fun (when weather permits), we are here to make it happen! Miss Mary is happy to be spending time with your kids!

Sunday, August 4, 2024

Unfolding – Why, that’s me!

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Lead Teacher: Brad Ruggles (he/him) is a former pastor that deconstructed and later left the faith he was raised in after 18 years in ministry. He and his wife Lisa enjoy adventuring and traveling with their two adult daughters. Brad’s interests are diverse and include backpacking, meditation, breathwork, yoga, sport kiting, and photography.

Musician: Sammie Hershock (she/her) almost became a cloistered Catholic nun at the age of 18. Now she travels around Michigan singing songs about not knowing the answers. She weaves her humor and playfulness into the depth of the human existence, so audience members sometimes laugh and cry simultaneously. She is an award-winning Michigan-based songwriter, classically-trained pianist who majored in sacred music with an emphasis on the pipe organ, and she has three incredible children.

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Music: Sammie Hershock

Gathering Host: Mary Ellen Mika

Music: Sammie Hershock

Meditation: Nelleke Knarr

Moment of Silence

Readings/Teaching: Brad Ruggles

The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron  in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.

We are a way for the universe to know itself.

– Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through  our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of  its glory, of its magnificence. We do not “come into” this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree. As the ocean “waves,” the universe “peoples.” Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe.

– Alan Watts

Music: Sammie Hershock

Gathering Host: Mary Ellen Mika

Music: Sammie Hershock