Reports & Articles
The Power of Kindness
from Katie Olmstead
I love when a Small Group Ministry topic seems obvious yet yields deep discussion. Starting with the
notion that it is always good to be kind, we played with touchy areas, like “how about being kind to
yourself?” and “is there such a thing as being too kind?” There was story telling around who has been
kind to us in our lives and how we remember them, and what does it feel like when you offer someone
else kindness, perhaps when that person isn’t the easiest person to get close to? We even delved on a
grand scale, talking about world peace. Is kindness feasible outside a personal sphere? Could kindness
between nations happen when sides were drawn long ago and seem indelible?
We always close with asking two questions: What touched you tonight? What will you carry with you?
I will answer that for you. A member told us of a kindness that her mother expressed every year on her
birthday. From as young as she can remember, throughout her mother’s life, Audrey Szlachetka would
tell her daughter, “Oh, that’s such a NICE age.” It took her a while to catch on that her mother said
that every year. What a kind and expansive thing to say. I want to remember to use that in my life.
Ms. Szlachetka would have liked this quote from H.R. White: “Each smallest act of kindness reverberates across great distances and spaces of time, affecting lives unknown to the one whose generous spirit
was the source of the good echo, because kindness is passed on and grows each time it’s passed, until a
simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage years later and far away.”
SPRING FLOWER ORDERS
For Our Festive Spring Worship April 20, 2014
Your Name(s) ________________________________________________________
Number of Flower Orders at $12 each ____________________________________
In honor of __________________________________________________________
In memory of ________________________________________________________
Total amount enclosed ____________
Please make check out to: Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence
Please circle your preference:
I will collect my spring flowers after
the April 20 service
I would like you to deliver my flowers
to someone in the congregation.
Please return completed form with payment to the office by APRIL 4
The Pioneer 10