Spirit Matters
Spirit Matters is an ongoing column by member and writer Marcia Rutan.
Marcia Rutan
Marcia Rutan is a longtime member of Seattle Unity who has served as Prayer Chaplain, Prayer Team member, greeter, Earthcare leader, and more. Her spiritual background includes a Christian upbringing, residence at the Findhorn Community, staff member with the Whidbey Institute, and in-depth learning from teachers such as David Spangler, Pema Chodron, and Werner Erhard. Writing and love for the Earth have been lifelong vocations. She lives with her husband, Carl Woestwin, in Seattle and is always grateful to hear from readers.
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Spirit Matters
Spirit Matters: September – Take Courage
Spirit Matters Take Courage September 2026 Take Courage lighthouse image In the last months of my father’s dementia, he shifted from relatively happy guy to distressed. I remember pressing the elevator button to visit him in memory care, and hearing him shout my name so loudly I could hear him three floors below. He didn’t…
Spirit Matters: August – For What It’s Worth
Spirit Matters is an ongoing column by member and writer Marcia Rutan. The full Spirit Matters column page is here. Spirit Matters: August – For What It’s Worth When I was twenty, I marched with thousands of other fired-up protesters on the freeway in Seattle against the Vietnam War. It was May…
Spirit Matters: July – D-Day
Spirit Matters: July – D-Day I was born on D-Day, five years after the end of WWII. This was never discussed as I was growing up. My father had been a Marine on Iwo Jima where he was wounded, and came home with a Purple Heart and Silver Star. This was also never talked…
Spirit Matters: June – This Wild World
June – This Wild World I’m lucky to live on the edge of a city ravine, Willow Creek rippling below. As I write here on our deck, song sparrow, western warbling vireo, American robin, dark-eyed junco, chestnut-backed chickadee, Anna’s hummingbird, house finch, American crow, Stellar’s Jay, and spotted towhee serenade me (according to my free…
Spirit Matters: May – Flower Moon
Spirit Matters: May – Flower Moon Dear Friends, If you were a flower, what would you be? The familiar rhododendron in dazzling pink, red, lavender, gold, or apricot? A rose, lovely, fragrant, yet spiky to touch? A sweet pea, tender and innocent, as aromatic as summer herself? A shy violet, content to hide in grasses…
Spirit Matters: Beauty of the Earth
Spirit Matters: Beauty of the Earth Dear Friends, Here we are, April already! – Earth Day, National Poetry month (the world’s largest literary celebration), and my husband’s birthday. Poetry and nature are spiritual lifelines for me and I became curious to look back to see how that evolved. As a child in Palmer, Alaska,…
Seattle Unity: Rising Up!
Seattle Unity: Rising Up! As a church group engaging in political action, The Risers seek to continually embody the foundational spiritual principles of Unity: love, prayer, inclusiveness, and wholeness – rather than divisiveness. We operate within legal guidelines for non-profit organizations, meaning no endorsement of or opposition to candidates. Instead, we focus on issues…
Spirit Matters: Peace of Mind
Spirit Matters: Peace of Mind Dear Friends, Let’s start with a poem. As we lean toward Spring, our longing grows to throw open the windows and let in fresh air, plant seeds, make room for new possibilities. But like me, you may be burdened like the Ancient Mariner’s Albatross with detritus accumulated over decades,…
Spirit Matters: Love In Action
Spirit Matters Spirit Matters is a new column by Marcia Rutan. Marcia has been a member of Seattle Unity since 2007, and has served as greeter, Earth Care leader, and Prayer Chaplain. She lives with her husband Carl Woestwin… [and is] focused on writing. A published poet, her background includes three yearlong programs (Popular and…
Spirit Matters: Hat Over the Wall
Spirit Matters Spirit Matters is a new column by Marcia Rutan. Marcia has been a member of Seattle Unity since 2007, and has served as greeter, Earth Care leader, and Prayer Chaplain. She lives with her husband Carl Woestwin… [and is] focused on writing. A published poet, her background includes three yearlong programs (Popular and…