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Moon Services
at Four Quarters

Revised in 2009

    Four Quarters is an InterFaith Sanctuary, and we work to create a spiritual environment that is welcoming and open to all. We emphasize the Earth Based traditions of the world that honor Nature, and help us learn to recognize our place in that complex web. Over time we have developed our own traditions as well, and our Spiritual Services at Four Quarters have grown, evolved and gathered their own maturity of practice.

    We call them Moon Services in recognition of that most basic natural cycle, and they are held on the Saturday evening that falls closest to the Lunar Full or New Moon as posted in our calendar and on the schedule webpage. Our Moon Service Circles are organized and led each month by invited guests or volunteers from our Membership. In taking responsibility for leading Circle they are able to grow in their own spirituality, and by inviting others to assist them, they make a place for those with less experience to grow as well.
    In fair weather we celebrate within the beauty of the Stone Circle; during the deep winter, services are often held in the Farmhouse. Many choose to reserve rooms overnight in the Sleeping Loft, and in cold or wet weather we can always find extra heated floor space for sleep-overs. Our Moon Service volunteers also prepare the meal that has always preceded our Moon Services, and sharing this Saturday dinner together is a part of our ongoing tradition.

    Because we do not ordain Clergy, our legally binding marriages are celebrated and witnessed by the congregation assembled, the certificates sealed by the President of the Church Corporation. More than anything else, it is our practice of open leadership that has unified our diversity of traditions for over fourteen years of monthly New and Full Moon Church Circles.

    We believe that the people of many cultures and times share spiritual values that are Earth Based. The unifying principles are many, but a short list would include the Circle and its Cardinal Points as symbolic to our place within the web of life. That this part of ourselves we refer to as "Spiritual" can be experienced through the lens of female and male, both and neither. That the human mind creates images that are polytheistic and monotheistic, in order to fit our limited understanding to the greater complexity. And that the ears that hear most clearly are those who live most closely to the Earth, the remaining indigenous peoples of our world.

    We see the Circle as a Sacred Way and honor its Quarters. We Invoke the Spirit in each of us, and remember our Ancestors. We make a special place for our Children, their Parents and those who stand in their support, finding recognition for all of the stations in the Wheel of Life and all of our places upon it.

    At Four Quarters, you will hear the songs of the African Diaspora, Tibetan Buddhist Chant, Wiccan Choral Rounds, and The Native American Drum. These voices and many more create a chorus of Earth Based Traditions that sing a song of wisdom to our times.

    Our Moon Services have become the core experience that binds together the People and Land of Four Quarters, providing the seasonal continuity that lies at the root of our Spiritual sensibilities.

We understand that a first visit for a Moon Service can be intimidating; what to expect, who to meet, how it all works. But please, do call ahead with your questions, bring your children and join us for a Moon Service with the Circle of Standing Stones.