Lighting a single candle with candles in the background.
Lighting a single candle with candles in the background.

Statement on Community Amidst Chaos

Common Street Spiritual Center is a love-centered spiritual community, rooted in the awareness of the sacredness and inter-connectedness of all life: each person, each living being, and our whole living Earth is worthy of the utmost respect, love, and care. Central to our mission is the affirmation of the unity of the whole human family. For this reason, we cultivate an inclusive community in which people of all beliefs, cultures, and identities are welcomed in a spirit of unconditional love and acceptance.

At a time of disorder, when hatred and violence loom large, we are called on to remember our community’s mission and the teachings of the great spiritual traditions. When we see the divine and human spirit under attack, we are aware that our community is united and protected by love.

In a time like this, our community is called to moral courage and hopeful action. We support and encourage the members of our community who are discerning what they are called upon to do and finding the courage to act from their divine centers, even in the face of hostility and uncertainty.

When suffering grows to unfathomable heights, and whole nations and populations are targeted for removal from their homes, we remember that no population is our enemy. We remember that there is a higher authority than earthly authority.

When some voices are silenced, we hear them and ask for them to be heard.

Though the challenges we face are daunting, we are never powerless when we remember that we have the power of our community’s spirit and voice. As we look for shelter and calm in the middle of chaos, we will remember to use our personal peace to engage with the world, and to help bring peace and healing to it, consistent with our mission statement to “cultivate activities that bring peace, justice, and healing to the Earth.”

For more information, see Community Amidst Chaos.