What to Expect at Gaia Ritual
What should you expect when you join us for our Sunday rituals? While there is great diversity depending upon the theme and intention of the day, you will always find smiling faces that welcome you to a space where magic and transformation can happen. We may do this through singing, chanting, dancing, or otherwise raising energy; sacred theater to enact ancient myths or explore our reactions; guided meditation, shamanic journeying or trance to travel deep within ourselves; discussion of values and opinions to deepen our understanding; individualized workshops and tools to carry forward the work of the day in our daily lives.
The “lineage” of our community includes the influences of traditional Wicca, the Reclaiming Community and Feri Witchcraft, Transcendentalism and Humanism, ADF Druidry, ceremonial magic, Kemetic paganism, Hellenismos, eclectic paganism, Goddess spirituality, Huna practice, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and many more sources. This diversity inspires us to create unique ritual in a variety of styles, and to work towards making every ritual accessible to all participants, whether they have years of experience working in the tradition we’re working with, or whether they are learning about it for the first time. Whatever format is employed, the goal is always to empower individuals and the group to find the true light within that enables them to transform their life, reach out to others and heal our ailing Earth.
Each Sunday service, regardless of whether it is a ritual, class, discussion forum, or other type of service, will include the lighting of a chalice to remind us of our congregation’s connection with other Unitarian Universalist congregations the world over. The service will also generally end with a spoken affirmation that we call the Gaia Standard Closing.
When you join us, we encourage you to dress comfortably or in your “pagan finery”, however you want to enjoy our celebration! Sarongs, jeans, skirts, dresses, shorts, various articles of leather clothing, lace, beads, fringes, and more (and less, within reason) are all common sights at our rituals. The emphasis is on your comfort level and participation, not what you feel the dress code is. Occasionally, a ritual dealing with a certain tradition may have suggested dress appropriate for that tradition or culture, but even then, it’s far from mandatory.
Each week, we collect non-perishable food items for Harvesters, Kansas City’s community food network. Harvesters feeds thousands of people in the Greater Kansas City area, largely with food donated by individuals. They appreciate any non-perishable food items, but particularly those items on their most needed list. They are unable to accept food in glass containers.
We also take an offering each week to support Gaia Community. Money collected in the offering pays our rent, compensates our KidSpace teachers, contributes to the Unitarian Universalist Association, keeps our website online and our phone line turned on, and covers other expenses. Offerings of energy and goodwill are also welcome when the plates come around!
Services begin at 4:00 PM. Check the Community Calendar to find out what’s happening this Sunday!