November 2014 Ritual: You Are Home
By Diann L. Neu
Take a minute. Make yourself a cup of tea or drink of choice. Light a candle. Think about what it means to be home for the holidays.
Home can be a source of joy and a cause for pain. Home is an important and meaningful place for many. Yet some are made homeless because economies favor a few, differences divide families, violence leaves scars, and some spaces are unsafe.
Home is that place within yourself where you can rest, take a deep breath, and be safe.
Come home to yourself, and be nourished. Welcome home!
“Maybe journey is not so much a journey ahead, or a journey into space, but a journey into presence. The Journey is Home.” ― Nelle Morton, American feminist theologian
“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” − Matsuo Basho, Japanese poet
Come home to your friends, family, family of choice, and be supported. Welcome home!
“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are…” − Maya Angelou, American poet
“Home is where you feel at home and are treated well.” − Dalai Lama, Tibetan leader
Come home to WATER and your community, and find hope. Welcome home!
“All I was doing was trying to get home from work.” − Rosa Parks, American activist
“I am not going to die, I’m going home like a shooting star.” − Sojourner Truth, American activist
Bless Your Home
For believing that I am home, thanks!
For creating a home with others, thanks!
For having a home where people love me for who I am, thanks!
For welcoming others into my home, thanks!
For those who provide a home to people who do not have a home otherwise, thanks!
Song: “Coming Home” by Carolyn McDade
Refrain:
We’re coming home to the spirit in our soul.
We’re coming home and the healing makes us whole.
Like rivers running to the sea,
we’re coming home, we’re coming home.
To create a world of joy and peace,
where the power of justice does release
Love abounding, wars forever cease.
We’re coming home, we’re coming home. Refrain:
Coming Home, Copyright @ 1980 Surtsey Publishing. Words and Music by Carolyn McDade. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Act at Home
• Welcome friends to your home for the holidays.
• Let go of any pain and hurt connected with home.
• Be thankful for the spaces where you have felt athome and for the homes you have created.
• Volunteer at a local shelter.
• Educate yourself on why people are made homeless.
