May 30, 2025 

Dear Beloved Friends,  

The 1998 drama-comedy film "Pleasantville" depicts a town that models a 1950s sitcom, which is literally in black and white, and there is never a conflict or problem. The town leaders maintain this mundane and predictable lifestyle through subtle oppressive values. The residents are willing to live their ‘colorless’ life because they are unaware of anything different.  When 2 siblings accidentally travel to this town, they begin to introduce new concepts by challenging gender stereotypes, encouraging authenticity, and exposing them to art, literature, and music,  As the residents considered these ideas, color began to appear, first in their faces and then in their clothes, books, paintings, and flowers. The town leaders attempted to stop the change, but it was too late.  The residents had been awakened to a more expansive and more colorful world.  The tagline for this movie is “Nothing Is as Simple as Black and White.”

At the NV Center for Spiritual Living, we know nothing is as simple as black and white, and we are grateful for the complexity and diversity of human expression. We welcome and embrace diversity because it is the natural evolution of all life, and diversity adds wisdom, intelligence, creativity, and ‘color’ to our community and the world.  We also want to provide a peaceful haven for all people because many individuals and groups have been oppressed, discriminated against, and treated violently because of their uniqueness.  We are actively working towards a world that accepts all people and gives them opportunities to belong. June is Pride Month and we honor the clarity and courage of all LGBTQ+ individuals to be who they truly are and to show up fully in the world. We are grateful for your presence in our community and in Napa Valley.  Please know there is always a safe and judgment-free place for you here at the Center for Spiritual Living.  

Sundays in June, we will expand on these ideas of boldly living with our new theme, “Living in Color.”  We are invited to cast away our desires to keep things small, predictable, bland, and colorless, and open to celebrating unity, diversity, and unique expressions. Neither nature nor humans are meant to live life in black and white.  We align with Ernest Holmes' beliefs that, “It should be considered right to live and to enjoy living. To be well, happy, and to express freedom is to be in accord with Divine Law and Wisdom.” Let’s live in Color this June to affirm our uniqueness, and if you so choose, wear bright clothing and hats.   Rev. Georgia Davis will offer affirmative prayer and spiritual reflection. Helen Mead returns as our feature musician, singing her colorful songs of inspiration. 

                    Much Love and Many Blessings,   Rev. Jay Lang

Weekly affirmation:
I fully embrace the spectrum of my human experience.