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Our spiritual theme for November is Generosity.

For me, November is often a month when I am remembering people in my life. We move from Halloween to a variety of Samhain/All Saints/All Souls/etc days, and family and loved ones who have passed are always at the forefront of my mind at this time. Of course, then there's Veterans' Day on November 11. Though not a veteran, I did more than two years of chaplaincy training in a VA and I continue to carry the importance of that day with me. Holding our ancestors close is a wonderful way to begin the last months of the year.

This afternoon I attended an interfaith gathering to pray for peace. Peace in Israel and Palestine, peace for Ukraine and Russia, peace for everywhere around the world experiencing violence. We learned how to say peace in different languages and learned how our different faiths express what peace means and how to get there. The secret, as far as I can tell, is a commitment to working for and being peace, starting with ourselves.

The spiritual theme for November is Generosity. It seems like generosity is often discussed in the frame of "time, talent, and/or treasure," which is a helpful way to think about it. But generosity is also about time in the sense of what and who came before us and what and who will follow. That is the generosity of our ancestors and the generosity we will leave as ancestors.

We'll be exploring these ideas in worship this month. First, the Rev. Katie Culbert will be coming to reimagine Barbie's dream world with us. Then Mark Hopkins will be leading worship with me. On the third Sunday, we will be celebrating our new members in the last year: a thanksgiving of a different kind.

And bonus for our readers: I recently finished The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon by Bill McKibben, the environmental activist and author. It's a fascinating read about his experiences growing up (he turned 1o in 1970, which frames much of his younger person narrative) and the ways his wholesome, liberal values have been turned upside down in the last 30 years. It's a memoir but also history and journalism.

In faith and service, Rev. Kristina Spaude (She/her)

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