Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing

It was an honor to be asked by Shannon Lambert Ryan and Fionan De Barra to officiate at the Blessing of their Wedding in Ireland. This was a “spiritual blessing” of the marriage they had begun when officially wed here in the U.S. a year ago. The castle chapel in the Markree Castle in County Sligo was a romantic setting. The music from both families was beautiful. And Shannon and Fionan were
gracious and stunning.

Then Alison and I had the chance of a lifetime to go off on our pilgrimage to many Celtic and pre-Celtic spiritual sites that predated the movement of Christianity into Ireland. These sites dot the landscape with little official recognition, and the guidebooks often just say they are near such-and-such a town. We marveled at the beauty of the countryside and held our breath when we drove down the narrow country roads on the left side of the road and met a large bus or truck.

It was a moving spiritual experience for us to stand on sites that we knew were used thousands of years ago by the very old-time religion of earth-based civilizations to recognize and give honor to the life-giving spirit of the natural forces that continue to sustain life here on earth. One special moment was standing in the totally darkened tunnel of the ancient earth mound in Newgrange and experiencing the re-enactment of the summer solstice as the light slowly entered and drove out the darkness.

As I sit now in our little log cabin in the forest of Maine, I have the wonderful opportunity to reflect on our pilgrimage and contemplate the power of nature and our ability to be co-creators of the natural world or to be spoilers and destroyers. The earth has given us life and continues the struggle to sustain a balance of life, vitality, and beauty in the midst of constant and amazing change.

Life and our awareness is indeed a blessing.