The final installment of the “Possum Feel Stressed” series of videos:
As usual, full script is below….
N.B.: In the UU Church of Palo Alto, the Water Ritual is typically known as “Water Communion.” I deferred to local usage, rather than using the origina name of the ceremony.
Possum: Sharpie, you were going to show me one last spiritual practice.
Sharpie: Don’t worry, I didn’t forget. I’m going to show you my personal favorite spiritual practice.
Possum: Is it hard? Yoga was too hard. And I couldn’t memorize prayers, though you said it was OK if I just read them out loud. I don’t want something that’s too hard.
Sharpie: I don’t think it will be too hard for you.
Possum: Is it something I can do with other people? Sitting meditation and mindfulness was too much inside my own head.
Sharpie: It’s something we can do with other people.
Possum: Wait. You said “we.” We’re going to do it? You’re going to do it, too? I noticed you didn’t do any of the other spiritual practices with me. You just told me how to do them.
Sharpie: We’re going to attend a Sunday service with our congregation.
Possum: Wait a minute. That’s a spiritual practice?
Sharpie. Of course it is. And this week, we get to attend the annual Water Communion service.
Possum: Uh. Remind me what a Water Communion is?
Sharpie: Water Communion is where we each share a bit of water symbolizing who we are or where we’re from. It’s a feminist reinterpretation of an old religious ritual, showing that we’re embodied beings, where our intersubjectivity is revealed, not through some disembodied intellectualism, but through our very embodiment…
[bell sound]
Possum: Wait a minute. I just heard the bell. They must be starting the service already. We better hurry.
Sharpie: Ms. and Mr. Bear!
Mr. Bear [off stage]: Coming.
Sharpie: Elephant! Nanas!
[Elephant trumpets offstage]
Sharpie: Hurry up. We don’t want to be late for the Water Communion.
Possum: Yeah, hurry up, you guys.
[Mr. and Ms. Bear, Elephant and Nanas, hurrying to get to the service]
[All six stuffed animals in the UUCPA video studio]
Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern: Hi everybody, I heard you might be coming over. I’m so glad. I see Possum and Nanas, and Sharpie Ann and Elephant, and Mr. and Ms. Bear. It’s really great to have you here at our Water Communion.