This service gives us an opportunity to practice compassion, with two guided meditations, inspired by Buddhist and Christian teachings. For one of them, you are invited to hold onto a hand-sized stone…so please gather one prior to the service. A blunt, heavy, hand-sized replacement is fine. Rev. Stephen draws his accompanying message from his experiences in a Vipassana (Insight) Buddhist meditation retreat, hospice spiritual care, Christian scripture, and his childhood. A frequent preacher with us, he is completing his eighth year as a hospice chaplain and has served as a full-time UU parish minister for eleven years.