Dear Ones,

Rev. Mike and I are so grateful to have enjoyed and celebrated another beautiful year with you, our Beloved Community, and happily anticipate a Bright New Year for all of us, as we “Thrive in 2025!” We have moved through many important changes, individually and collectively, and are more than ready to continue to deepen and expand consciousness, as we look forward to walking and working together in the months to come. This is a Sacred Place of Community, where we rest from the outer world with each other, loving and lifting one another, then bringing the overflow of our love and intention out into our homes, our communities, and the world.

Please join us in as many classes and activities as you can, as your presence and participation make a divine difference in our gatherings. I will be teaching a four-week, love offering class on, “The Four Kingdoms of Consciousness” each Tuesday in January on Zoom from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. Eastern Time. This class offers effective tools for understanding and moving through the four phases of consciousness we all experience. Click here to register.  

Do plan to join us for the Community Visioning on Sunday, January 12th at UCC’s Fellowship Hall from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time for a wonderful opportunity to open our hearts and minds to Spirit’s Vision for GPCSL in the years to come, as well as forming your individual visions. Your input is valuable, as we co-create together a New Possibility for ourselves, personally, and for our Beloved Community. We expect to invite our distant friends and members via Zoom, as we wish everyone’s participation.  Click here to register.

Our theme for 2025 is, “Deeper Understanding; Greater Aliveness.” This Thursday, January 2nd begins the month of “A Firm Foundation,” in which we review the basics of our teaching, as found in the first four chapters of Ernest Holmes’ Science of Mind. We focus that evening on, “The Ground of Being,” and it’s a great way to begin the new year. If you wish to arrive at 6:30, you may join a Practitioner in the Meditation Room, then enjoy a warm and wonderful evening in the Sanctuary at 7:00 P.M. Of course, it will be aired on our website www.cslphilly.org next Sunday at 10:30 A.M.

Our Licensed Professional Practitioners are standing by to assist with any concerns or challenges you may be facing. Contact any of them on the Practitioner Page of our website.

With great love and respect,

Dr. Maxine

Dear Ones,

What a wonderful Winter Solstice we enjoyed last Saturday, with several interfaith presenters, great music, and a delightful crowd of warm, bright and appreciative folks from many faith traditions. Our philosophy celebrates Unity in Multiplicity, and we are honored to facilitate such opportunities to come together, as we learn about and love each other.

It feels lovely that Christmas and Hanukkah are being celebrated at the very same time this year. I love Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ statement: “For my faith is not yours and your faith is not mine. If we are free to light our own flames, together, we can banish some the darkness of the world.” Let’s all let our lights shine brightly, warming and blessing our environment, and joining with other lights in the world.

We would love to have you with us the evening after Christmas, this Thursday, December 26, as we wrap up this year, look forward to 2025, and “Celebrate Everything!” If you wish to arrive at 6:30, you may join a Practitioner in the Meditation Room, then enjoy a warm and wonderful evening in the Sanctuary at 7:00 P.M. Of course, it will be aired on our website https://www.cslphilly.org next Sunday at 10:30 A.M.

Our Licensed Professional Practitioners are standing by to assist with any concerns or challenges you may be facing. Contact any of them on the Practitioner Page of our website.

With great love and respect,

Dr. Maxine

Dear Ones,

Whether or not all the greeting cards have been sent, decorations are up, gifts wrapped, meals and baked goods planned, etc., we are just about a week away from Christmas and Hanukkah!  Sometimes, simply enjoying the lights and décor of our neighbors or downtown merchants seems sufficient to bring a smile to our faces.  You see, it can be wonderful to let others delight us, not always needing to be the ones who bring the joy.

After all, each giver requires a receiver, so everyone is blessed when we open our hearts to each other and let the Divine Circulation flow! As we relax into the sweetness of the season, we encourage each other to enter more deeply into happiness, especially when difficult circumstances may be present. Let’s all add to one another’s wellbeing, greet everyone with an authentic desire for hearts to be lifted and goodwill to prevail.

Be sure to attend our Thursday Celebration this week, as two beautiful practitioners and dear friends from Center of Peace share the pulpit at UCCVF, speaking on, “A New and Glorious Morn!”  Hazel Spears and Zulma Gonzales have just returned from a marvelous, Spirit-filled adventure in Egypt and have much to share with you, while Rev. Mike and I spend a few days in Bethlehem (PA!) A very special evening is planned for you, so arrive at 6:30, if you wish to join in the Meditation, then enjoy a beautiful evening in the Sanctuary at 7:00 P.M.  Of course, it will be aired on our website www.cslphillyorg next Sunday at 10:30 A.M.

Our Annual Winter Solstice this Saturday, December 21^st, is a MUST-SEE, as five bright and caring interfaith leaders will present their faith tradition’s views on “Honor the Darkness; Rejoice in the Light,” and Ray Adkins and Jim Wade will thrill us with their music.  Doors to the Sanctuary open at 6:00, and it begins at 6:30 P.M. with delicious refreshments following.

Although we are all able to contact our Source and work prayerfully through challenges, our practitioners are always standing by to assist when we may be too close to a problem. Contact any of them on our Practitioner Page to receive spiritual mind treatment and a raising of consciousness.

With great love and respect,

Dr. Maxine

Dear Ones,

Wow! What an amazing group of celebrations we enjoyed last Sunday afternoon in UCC Fellowship Hall. It began with a memorable glance back at the genesis of our Center, thirty-two years ago, including messages from Dr. Gwen Gillespie, Dr. Bob Deen, and Rev. Jackie Dougherty.

Then, we received three beautiful members, one in person, and two out of state. The rededication of our Practitioners included receiving their new stoles, badges, and service pins. Those out of the area were part of the ceremony by Zoom. Rev. Mike was duly installed as Assistant Minister, and my tenth anniversary with GPCSL was lovingly acknowledged. What a marvelously meaningful and moving day! Thanks to all who brought it together.

Remember the Bountiful Bouquet you designed by bringing your individual flowers to the empty basket at our Thanksgiving Eve Celebration? This demonstrated clearly what we can create together when we each bring our own hearts, minds, and gifts to one another. We have arrived at a new place in consciousness where we are ready to move with confidence and joy into the next chapter of the Greater Center for Spiritual Living, and Rev. Mike and will do our best to keep up with you, as we do!

Our next amazing event will be the Annual Winter Solstice on Saturday, December 21st, in the Sanctuary at 6:30 P.M., featuring many faith traditions and wonderful music, followed by refreshments in the Gathering Place. This is the actual date of the Winter Solstice, and we honor both the darkness and the emerging Light. Let’s celebrate it together.

Our weekly Thursday Celebration takes place at 7:00 P.M. in the Sanctuary, we gather in the Sanctuary, this week’s topic being, “Seeing Through God Goggles.” It is as we rise above human interpretations and judgements that we are able to align our consciousness with the Divine and begin to see things from a higher perspective. Be with us if you are local or tune in on Sunday morning, December 15th at 10:30 A.M. at www.cslphilly.org.

Our Licensed Professional Practitioners provide spiritual support for your human concerns. Their page on our website provides all their contact information, so select any of them for assistance.

With great love and respect,

Dr. Maxine

Dear Ones,

Thanks to all who made last Wednesday’s “Evening of Gratitude and Community” such a wonderful experience! The sanctuary was filled with gorgeous music, beautiful flowers, and loving, grateful people whose hearts were open to Spirit and to one another. The “feast” that followed was magnificent, not only because of the amazing dishes you all brought, but also because of the laughter and deep connections we shared with each other. I continue to hear, “Let’s do more of this!”

Now, we have entered the delightful holiday month of December, enjoying the festive decorations, and looking forward to Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations. This is the first time in a long time that both holidays are on December 25^th, that being the first day of the eight Days of Light. We have so much to celebrate this month.

On Sunday, December 8^th, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will meet in UCC’s Fellowship Hall to acknowledge GPCSL’s 32^nd anniversary, receive new members, rededicate our practitioners, and officially install Rev. Mike as Assistant Minister (click here to let us know you will be joining us).

Then, on Saturday, December 21^st, our annual Winter Solstice will again take place in the Sanctuary at 6:30 P.M., featuring many faith traditions and wonderful music, followed by refreshments in the Gathering Place. This is the actual date of the Winter Solstice, and we celebrate both the darkness and the emerging Light.

This Thursday, at 7:00 P.M., we gather in the Sanctuary, focusing on the month’s theme: “Release, Reframe, Rejoice,” as we “Let It Go and Let it Be.” This is the time to reflect on the past year, gratefully complete what has been, see events from a higher perspective, and enter joyfully into the celebration of a new birth within our own hearts. Be with us if you are local, and tune in on Sunday morning, December 8th via our website at 10:30 A.M. www.cslphilly.org if you are in another area.

Challenges occur in our human experience, and we are wise to turn to our Licensed Practitioners for spiritual support when they do. Their page on our website provides all their contact information, so whomever you select will be glad to schedule an appointment in person or on the telephone.

With great love and respect,

Dr. Maxine