Hi Everyone,

Well, after experiencing all the seasons (in one week), Spring came rushing in a week ago with some of our warmest March temps ever, including 89 degrees about a week ago. Wasn’t it only about a month ago, we had an ice storm, temps in single digits, and power outages, and I was sleeping on a friend’s floor because my home was too cold to stay in? The old cliche still holds–if you don’t like the weather here, wait a minute!

A few weeks ago, CSLN welcomed our new Head Minister, Rev. John Adams to lead us through the next phase of our journey. I believe it is quite rare for a spiritual community to go for several years without a head minister, but our Board of Trustees and our practitioners kept things going, rotating speakers on Sundays, while Larry Faragalli and the CSLN Band kept our incredible music going. It took a long time to find the right person, but we wanted to get it right, and I believe we have. Rev. John is a warm and authentic human being, well versed in our teaching, who, despite having just moved here from Chicago, has already gone out of his way to get to know many people in our CSLN community, as well as some of our activities like our CSLN Coffeehouse. Welcome, Rev. John!

Speaking of the Coffeehouse, our next one will be Friday, April 3rd. As usual, we will start with our Open Mic from 6:30 – 7 P.M. (Signup starts at 6 p.m. with 7 slots open). If you are so inclined, please share an original song, poem, comedy bit or short story (Maximum 5 minutes per presentation, please). Our 3 Spotlight Performers are Steve Brown, Lisa Firestone, and Rique. Please see flyer below for brief descriptions of each Spotlight. They are all very different but all very talented, which is why we are having them back. Potluck snacks and drinks, and love offering to CSLN greatly appreciated.

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A couple of weeks ago, Brian Wright–long time friend of many of us at CSLN–made his transition. An exceptional lead guitar player, he was a staple of the CSLN Band for 20 years, hardly ever missing a Sunday Service. He backed me on lead guitar more times than I can count, whenever I needed to put a band together for a special event, as well as at writers nights around town. He was also very generous with his time and energy in other ways, taking me to several medical procedures over the years, when I was not allowed to drive myself home. He co-organized the annual CSLN camping trips for many years, hikes around Radnor Lake, and trips to Nashville Sounds baseball games. With a quirky sense of humor, Brian was always up for a good time, and I will keep my good memories of him, long after the sadness has left. Be at peace, my friend–you will be missed.

There will be a Celebration Of Life for Brian on Saturday, April 18th. The details are still being worked out, but, it will take place at the Coronado Condominiums off of Hwy. 70 in Bellevue. Look for more info on Facebook and in the CSLN weekly newsletter over the next couple of weeks. I may also send out a short notice through this newsletter.

Well, that’s it for this month. As always, be safe, be well, be you.

Gordon

Hi Everyone,

In my last newsletter, I mentioned that there was a mean storm coming, but I didn’t realize it was going to be mean to me (LOL). The heavy snow they originally predicted didn’t materialize–we only got about two inches–but then it turned to sleet and especially freezing rain for over the next 24 hours. And with increasing cold. We often assume that if the temp is below freezing, we’ll get snow, and that is usually the case, but with this storm, there was a layer of warm air above the cold air on the ground, so the snow melted coming down from the clouds as it hit the warmer air, then re-froze as sleet, or hit the ground (and the snow on the ground) as rain, and immediately froze. We had between a half to three quarters of an inch of ice, and anything over a half inch can cause trees to fall on power lines, making them snap, which is what happened.

My power went out sometime before dawn on Sunday, Jan. 24th, and did not come back until yesterday (Sunday) around noon. I slept at home the first night, and despite adding more and more layers, it was almost unbearably cold. The next day (Monday), my thermostat was showing 45 degrees around lunch time, and I know it must have been even colder overnight. Fortunately, my friend Caroline offered to put me up Monday Night (Probably the coldest night), and when I checked my home the next day, it was 38 degrees inside, and hovered between 38 and 43 degrees for the rest of the week.

My friend Gary let me stay at his place the next 5 nights, which was better for me, because he lives one neighborhood over, so I was able to go home twice a day to monitor the situation. I had the hot and cold faucets running freely (I have found that dripping or even trickling, can subside over a few hours, so I couldn’t take a chance on anything less than a stream of water). Thirty eight/thirty nine degrees is probably no warmer than my fridge–I can’t sleep in it either (LOL), so I was grateful for Gary’s graciousness. Each time I checked, the water was running, but power was off. Finally, yesterday (Sunday), power came back, but my place warmed slowly. It took nearly 12 hours to go from 39 degrees to 64, and that’s still pretty chilly. So after a week, I finally got to sleep in my own bed. Yes, Dorothy, “There’s no place like home.”

I want to thank everyone who offered me a place to stay during the past week, and I sure hope our electric company, NES, will be a lot more prepared in the future!!!!!

Meanwhile, this Friday, Feb. 6th, CSLN will be hosting our first Coffeehouse since we moved into our new building, and I am proud to be one of our three Spotlight Performers, doing a 25-30 minute set of original material. The other two Spotlight Performers will be the lovely and talented Ashley Welte , who has performed several times at Sunday Services, and for the first time, A.J. Bigler, the Leader of the Coffeehouse (I am just the MC and his “co-leader–he’s da man”), who performs regularly around the Nashville Writers Night Circuit, and has some really cool original tunes and independent cuts.

I am pasting a flyer below, but here is the pertinent info in text:

Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, From 6:30 – 8:30

Please join us in the Main Hall, for a night of entertainment, snacks, and fellowship.  

Sign up for Open Mic is at 6 p.m. 

Open Mic 6:30 – 7 P.M.  (Seven slots available) Original songs, poems, short stories, stand-up comedy.  (Please limit your presentation to 5 minutes).

Spotlight Performers at 7 p.m., 7:30, and 8 p.m.

GORDON ELLIS

ASHLEE WELTE

A.J. BIGLER

Potluck snacks and drinks and love offering to CSLN appreciated.

CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING  160 BELLE FOREST CIRCLE., NASHVILLE, 37221

Questions?  AJ Bigler: [email protected]

          Gordon Ellis: [email protected]   

Finally, our new Minister John Adams will be leading his first service this Sunday, Feb. 8, at 10:30. You will love his authenticity and humor!

That’s it for now. Stay warm, be safe, be well, be you!

Gordon

Hi Everyone,

Well, here in Ellisville, we are bracing for Winter Storm Fern, expected to hit Saturday Morning and continue through Sunday (BTW, did you know that the National Weather Service doesn’t name winter Storms–it is a practice started several years ago by The Weather Channel, and it has caught on). They were initially predicting 8″-12″ of snow here, but now they are saying about 4″ of snow then mixing with sleet and freezing rain–then possibly ending as more snow. Yuck!

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The CSLN COFFEEHOUSE will be resuming on Friday, Feb. 6th, from 6:30 to 8:30. This will be our first Coffeehouse in our new building, as we weren’t logistically ready in October and there was a scheduling conflict in December. I am proud to be one of the three Spotlight Performers that night, along with Ashlie Welte and AJ Bigler, each doing about a 25 minute set.. Ashlie has a great voice and has performed several times at our Sunday Services. She is also a songwriter and will no doubt be sharing some of her original material. AJ has had several independent cuts over the years and performs regularly at writers around town. He is also part of the CSLN Audio/Visual team.

Here are particulars:

Sign up for Open Mic is at 6 p.m. 

Open Mic 6:30 – 7 P.M.  (Seven slots available) Original songs, poems, short  stories, stand up comedy.  (Please limit your presentation to 5 minutes).

Spotlight performances at 7 p.m., 7:30, and 8 p.m. Potluck snacks and drinks are appreciated, along with a love offering to CSLN. Please join us for a night of entertainment, snacks, and fellowship.   160 BELLE FOREST RD., NASHVILLE, 37221 (Don’t look for a church–we are part of a small shopping strip, across from the Animal Hospital.

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And finally, after an exhaustive search by our Minister Search Committee, and an overwhelming “Yes” vote by our members, Rev. John Adams has become our new minister and will start leading our services on Sunday, Feb. 8th. He will be moving down from Chicago, and will be here 2 Sundays a month, until he is fully situated in Nashville. We were very impressed with his authenticity and his humor.

Well, that’s all the news to share for now. Be safe, be well, be you.

Gordon

Hi Everyone,

It’s been a while since my last post, mainly because I didn’t have a lot of news to share, and didn’t want to waste your time with unimportant stuff. I do apologize for not sending out a post that the CSLN December Coffeehouse had to be cancelled, due to a scheduling conflict. We hope to get back on schedule the first Friday of even numbered months, so the next one is set for Friday, Feb. 6th. I don’t have word yet on Spotlight Performers, but I will include that in the next newsletter.

I hope this has been a good year for you. The truth is, I’ve had better. I contracted Bell’s Palsy at the end of April, and it took a few months to get over it–the muscles on the left side of my face went numb, affecting my appearance, vision, speech and singing. Fortunately, that’s better now. I was also told that a biopsy showed there was a 50% chance that a mass on my thyroid was cancerous, but now they think that is less likely–I will get another ultrasound in April to confirm–expecting good news. Other stuff too–I’m looking forward to a brand new year.

On the positive side, I am in the process of re-assembling the Gordon Ellis Ensemble. My keyboard player, who had 3 major back surgeries in the past year, is able to play again, so he, I and our drummer have gotten together a few times to re-familiarize ourselves with the repertoire. During the long hiatus, we lost our lead guitarist and bass player, so we will be looking for replacements after the first of the year, and I hope to start booking gigs again in 2026.

During stressful times, I am grateful to have my friends, the CSLN community, and our teaching to lean on, as well as my music. As this year winds down, I hope that you have people in your life to lean on if you need it, and people to share the good stuff with, as well. I wish you all a happy holiday season and a great 2026.

Be safe, be well, be you.

Gordon

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Hi Everyone,

Not a whole lot to share at the moment; however I wanted to let you know that the CSLN Oct, 3rd Coffeehouse has been cancelled. There were a number of logistical reasons–not necessary to go into here–but we hope to get back on track in December.

SCAM ALERT: I got an email from the Interim Minister at CSLN, who flies in once a month to do the Sunday Service and lead a workshop or seminar. She said she was doing a presentation and wanted to present two of the participants with gift cards, but she didn’t have time to get them–would I purchase them and she would reimburse me. Now I have heard of scams like this, so normally I would have sent her a separate email to verify that this really came from her, but I didn’t have her email or phone number, and when I clicked on the sender’s email, it did not show up as another email address (Normally a tip-off with a scam). Furthermore (This is the scary part), it was worded in a way that sounded like her (I guess AI captured her writing style and used it in the original email as well as her responses to me). I won’t go into the details here or the back and forth exchanges, but I will admit that I got scammed and have lost some money, simply trying to help someone I knew. I don’t know how you guard against this if you don’t have the senders email in your own address book, or their phone number, but I think in the future, if I can’t verify that the sender is who they say they are, I will not respond. Fortunately, the loss isn’t so bad that I can’t absorb it, but it pisses me off that our government can’t seem to do anything to prevent these scams–the criminals are always 10 steps ahead! They can also do this with phone calls. So, beware, folks.

Well, that’s all for this month. Enjoy fall (When it finally actually gets here–LOL).

Be safe, be well, be you.

Gordon