Group celebrates summer’s arrival at Unity Church in Liberty

By LINDA M. LINONIS

linonis@vindy.com

liberty

Summer stormed into the Mahoning Valley Tuesday with heat, humidity and scattered showers, as if to say “take notice, a new season has arrived.”

None of that dampened the spirit of the 50 or so people who turned out for the summer solstice ritual celebration Tuesday evening at Unity Church Centre, 1226 Naylor Lloyd Road, to mark the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The word solstice comes from a combination of Latin words meaning “sun” and “to stand still.” On the solstice, the sun shines in the sky longer than any other day and also is at its highest point. Conversely, Tuesday marked the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, the shortest day of the year.

Kirk Kupensky, minister of music, led the program, which combined contemplative passages projected on a screen, music and meditation.

Various threads of thought were woven through the program, one being the power of the world as a circle. Seasons are a great circle of change,” Kupensky said.

He also spoke about air, represented by incense; fire, by a lighted candle; earth, by soil; and water, by itself. Kupensky asked everyone to think about the natural disasters involving these elements ... air in tornadoes, fire in the wildfires, soil upheaval in earthquakes and water in flooding. Kupensky said thinking about the natural disasters that have occurred throughout the world prompts “praying for peace of the elements.”

A rhythmic chanting of “We are a circle within a circle, we are a circle within a circle ...with no beginning and no ending,” was inserted.

“Ceremonies are powerful because of the intent behind them,” Kupensky said. He noted that Unity services conclude with the singing of “Let There Be Peace on Earth” because peace is a strong belief within the denomination. The goal is that “peace prevail on earth.”

Kupensky said the summer solstice, the longest daylight of the year, gives people ample time to think about balance as it pertains to themselves and the earth. “We need to give back as much as we take from mother earth,” he said. “We’re all rooted in the same earth and need the same sun.”

He also noted that the earth is in perfect balance to the sun ... if it were farther away it would be too cold and too close would make it too hot.

Participants went out to the church garden, where they planted annuals as a symbol of giving back.

Cynthia Oliver of Warren, who recently started attending Unity, said she came to the program because “it is something unique.”

She said she liked the idea of emphasizing giving back to the earth.

Rosemary Fuller of Youngstown said she attended because the solstice seemed like a good day to “think about mother earth.” The meditation parts allowed her to remember her much-loved dog, Mona, who recently died at 15 years old.

Wearing a solstice T-shirt, Samia Kupensky of Masury was suitably attired. She said the solstice is a “landmark day” in that it’s the beginning of a new season.

Unity has scheduled a peace pole dedication at 6:30 p.m. July 9, with a concert by Seraphim Chorus at 7:30.