The Body Aches
A Prayer
O Love,
  Let the ache of my body
  Teach me to listen
  To the ache of Your body 
  Of people stretched too far 
  By needless violence
  Repetitive injury
  And even death.
 
Teach me the exercise
  Necessary for tending
  The mending of joints
  Torn apart by perpetual
  Inattention to aches
  You give as signs
  Awakening a call 
  To move differently
  In the world You love.
 
Let me love my body’s aches
  Enough to awaken me
  To the ache of the world
  Pausing me into exercises
  Of love joining my heart
  To Your heart, O Love.
By this, work your healing
  In me and in the world
  With exercises of love
  Tending the tender place
  Stretching just enough
  Into Your deep desire
  For strength and growth
  Necessary for mending
  The broken place.
 
By this, let no injury
  Of Your body human
  Go untended or ignored
  Languishing in anguish
  For healing and hope
  To rise anew.

-DMLH, June 2022

Premier Film Screening: All the Lonely People
Wednesday, June 22, 6:00pm
Dayton Metro Library, 315 E. Third St, Dayton
 
Loneliness and social isolation are being called the hidden epidemics of the COVID era. The public is invited to attend the Dayton area premier screening of All the Lonely People, a documentary that not only shares first-hand accounts of adults experiencing loneliness but also offers strategies helping people connect. (Do you know about the Happy to Chat bench program?) Sponsored by United Church Homes’ Ruth Frost Parker Center for Abundant Aging, and The Clowder Group, a panel discussion with the filmmakers and local experts about what’s being done in the Miami Valley to combat social isolation will follow the screening. Learn how you/your faith community can plug in and make a real difference for people in your community.  Advance tickets are $15 when purchased online and $20 at the door. #AbundantAging #LiveIt
Still looking for a summer mission opportunity?

We have added weeks to the schedule 
and need your hands in Dayton, OH!
Our collaboration in Dayton 
continues to evolve. 

In response to multiple inquiries about site availability through the summer, we have decided to extend the project site through the end of July.
Our Whole Lives/Sexuality and Our Faith Training!
In conjunction with the Unitarian Universalist Association, we are now offering limited online Our Whole Lives/Sexuality and Our Faith trainings. This is a wonderful opportunity for folks looking for the ability to train without needing to travel. These trainings are accessible via Zoom and an online platform and cost less than most in-person trainings. 

The trainings each take place over a 3-week period and require some online work before the training begins and some work in between twice weekly synchronous sessions. The cost is $250 per person. In addition, each participant needs access to OWL and Sexuality and Our Faith manuals; if they need to purchase these, we offer a 20% discount to UCC people taking OWL trainings. Contact Amy Johnson at JohnsonA@ucc.org for the discount code.

The August training applications for Elementary Trainings (for grades K-1 and 4-6) will be open from June 13-27, and September applications for the next Grades 7-9/10-12 training will be open from July 5 through August 8.
Many have asked if there is a way in addition to our prayers that we may be of aid to those who are suffering in Ukraine. The answer to that question is “yes”! The Heartland Conference S.A.R.A. partnership will serve as a conduit for aid to partners in Ukraine who are suffering as a result of the war. Daily, our partners are bringing food and water relief to displaced Ukrainians in Transcarpathia. Those wishing to make a donation via this channel may do so by clicking below. Please know that your gifts of any size make a difference in this critical time.
The work continues! We deeply appreciate your generous donations and will continue to accept funds to help support the folks in Ukraine. 

To date we have received $89,741.91! 

Your generous donations have helped us provide the following:

  • Food for refugees, poor families, soup kitchens, overwhelmed hospitals, and orphanages.
  • Medications and medical supplies, ie glasses, walkers
  • Medical treatment 
  • Housing
  • Bedding
  • Gas for heating and for transportation