Heart Talk

Thanksgiving is the holiday we most often associate with ‘home.’ It is also the day we most associate with travel. In fact, it’s the busiest travel day of the year, which implies that many people don’t feel ‘at home’ where they are and that ‘home’ is more than a place where we get our mail.

What gives a home it’s ‘home-ness? Is it a certain house, the people who show up there, or the fact that you are part of the stories they tell? Is it the traditional recipes cooked there or the smells that evoke memories of times gone by and people past. Is ‘home-ness’ the promise of safety that reminds you that as long as your street is in view or your house stands, everything will be okay?

These are good indicators for some but for others, ‘home’ is more of a feeling of being taken in; a certainty that a place exists where you will not be turned away, a place where there always waits the promise of an open door and loving welcome no matter how long you’ve been gone.

Everyone who walks through the doors of Unity of Vancouver is asked to help make this house a home. We are guests for only a second before we become hosts. And the reason is that the only magic that UNITY has at being a home is what the people here bring to it. Whatever goodness is offered here, whatever godliness is found, comes because of the hearts and hands that walk through these doors. And the only enlightenment bestowed comes from our collective willingness to share our lives respectfully and generously with one another.

We feed; we nourish, and we fend for each other in this community. That is whatreminds us that we are a family. That is what tells us, when we come here, that we have come home. And, above all, being at home here, means to be good hosts to the people who will come after us.

Click here to view a transcript of a recent sevice by Rev. Bernadette