Click HERE to view Rev. Beci Rohkohl’s guided meditation during the service.
Well, Happy New Year again, everyone! This is one of my favorite services – the White Stone service – because it’s so powerful. It’s about claiming your spiritual intention: your spiritual trait that you want to embody this year.
The White Stone ceremony is about giving yourself a new name or a new energy from which you’ll move through 2026. What do you want to be? How do you want to be in it? What do you want to express this year? These are the questions we’re going to ask your intuitive self – your Higher Self – in just a few minutes.
The new year is usually about new possibilities; hope for a better version of ourselves or our lives. And, of course, we know that January 1st things don’t magically become better. But today really is about this powerful reminder that we are here to evolve; that we’re here to grow spiritually; that we’re here to evolve our spiritual understanding. So, this morning really is this powerful reminder that we’re here to unfold into the fullest expression of the spiritual being that you came here to be. That your soul is here to be and express.
So, last week we had a Burning Bowl Service. And the meditation today, done so beautifully by Rev. Beci – it was about releasing: releasing what no longer serves us. And when we release, then an opening is created. It’s like when you clean out your closet, right? You’ve got a full closet; you let go of the clothes, and then it’s got more room … unless you go buy more clothes. [Congregants laugh]
But when we release/let go, an opening is created. And now: What are we going to fill that space with? What are we going to fill that opening with? Something new. And we know that there’s a Higher Power – a Divine Wisdom – that’s available to all of us. So, today during our White Stone Service, we have that opportunity to claim our spiritual truth by tapping into this Divine Intelligence and listening to our soul’s calling. It is within us.
The White Stone Ceremony was created by Unity Minister Rev. David Williamson. He took a traditional church’s ceremony and he Unity-ied it [congregants laugh] – unified it – for us. And it’s based in Roman history. Because during Jesus’ time, those who served a prison sentence were given a white stone upon their release. So, the stone that you have – which was quarried in Bethlehem; that’s the sacredness of the stone that you hold right now. And it’s a symbol of your own personal freedom. That stone is a symbol of your own personal freedom.
The ceremony is also inspired by Revelations Chapter 2, Verse 17, which you also have in that pack that you got; the little Ziplock you got. But it’s here on the screen, as well. Let me read it for us:
“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.”
So first, let’s look at that first line: “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what Spirit is saying to the churches.” Meaning: get quiet. Turn within. This is why meditation is so powerful! We get quiet; we listen to that still, small voice within us. That’s your Higher Self; that’s your soul. And then church, in this case: metaphysically, in Unity, we say church is that being of your own sacred body; your own sacred self. So, Spirit is speaking directly to you.
And then: “Anyone who conquers …” Meaning: Are you ready to conquer your own limiting beliefs? Are you ready to conquer the next phase – the next big thing – in your life? Whatever is next in your life: Are you ready to conquer it?
And then “manna”: That’s that sustenance … if I can say it: sustenance. But it’s that reminder of our daily nourishment; that it’s provided for. You don’t need to sock away your resources. You don’t need to sock away your dreams, your ambitions. If you listen, you’ll be given an abundance of divine ideas. Divine ideas are our prosperity. So, our divine ideas will be given to you.
And finally, “only you know what your spiritual name” – what your spiritual nature – is to be this year. Only you will hear how God – Creative Life Force – needs you to express in this new year.
So, the message from this passage in Revelations – in our White Stone Ceremony – is: let yourself be free. Let yourself be free by listening to your own inner, sacred voice and express who you’ve come here to be. Listen as an expression of God’s beauty. Listen as God’s wisdom. Express your divinity – your divine identity – and, in doing so, you free yourself from your own human limitations; your own human ego. And you then allow other people to do the same thing.
It’s about listening. And I always like to say there’s a warning label. [Congregants laugh] Because when you listen to that inner voice – your Higher Self – it can change your entire life.
Two years ago, I was still in California. I’d accepted the job here. But I had no idea just exactly how many beautiful souls/individuals I was going to meet – the fantastic, deep experience I was going to have here. I heard the voice after building up the church there in California, and creating a beautiful home for 18 years. And to hear that voice say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Now I need you in Phoenix.” [Congregants murmur] That was scary! It took a lot of meditation to keep hearing the voice over and over and over again. Okay; I guess it’s unrelenting!
Once you hear the voice, it’s unrelenting. So, when you hear that voice – because it’s our voice, but it’s not our voice. It’s your voice, but it’s not your voice. And when you hear it, what it’s usually telling you to do is to let go. It means that there’s change happening in us and around us. And often, we resist that intuitive voice – that gut feeling – because our human self, our ego self, wants to keep us safe.
And yet, once you hear that inner voice – once it’s heard, once the calling is heard, once the answer is heard – you can’t unhear it. Because you know your soul is speaking to you. Your soul is connected to that One Power, One Presence: the Divine; the Creative Life Force; God.
And intuitive knowing – that voice of Spirit – again, it doesn’t work for just one of us or some of us. It works for all of us.
And in this time in history – this time in history, it’s time for each of us to be spiritual leaders in our corner of the world. It is to bring light to wherever you are and wherever you go. Wherever you step, bring light. Bring your spiritual identity. That is what is needed right now.
And a word about “names.” Because the White Stone Ceremony is about taking on a new spiritual “name.” Names are important to us. They’re our identity. When someone forgets our name, or pronounces it wrong, our feelings get hurt, right? We feel, “Ah.” Because it’s our identity.
I know for even my own self, I kept my maiden name – Macros. It’s funny, because it’s my father’s adopted name. It’s a Greek name; we’re not Greek. [Congregants laugh] I don’t got any Greek in me, everybody! But it was important for me at that time to keep that name. “Stacy Macris” was the one who got the bachelor’s degree, the master’s degree, did the accomplishments. And then we had a family, and I really wanted to identify with that family unit, so I added “Ros” at the end of the name. Because now we became a family unit. That’s how I identified; that was what was important to me.
So, names are important. Historically, names have been descriptive. They describe virtues or abilities or skills. So, for example, Richard means brave or strong. James – as in Rev. Jimmie – that means “holder of the heel” … meaning: closely follows God. Rebecca – the formal name for Beci – means faith, divine guidance. Stacy – derived from the Greek word “anastasia” – means “of resurrection.” I can tell you I’ve been through a lot of resurrections in my life. [Congregants laugh]
In the Bible, a change of name signifies a change in consciousness. It usually means a change in the person’s direction, or purpose in that individual’s life. So, we have Abraham. Starts with Abraham –
A-B-R-A-M, meaning high father, or father of faith. Changes to Abraham, which means father of many nations or father of multitude. Because he’s the first of the three great Jewish patriarchs.
We have Saul, first king of Israel. Saul means demanded. His name changes to Paul, which means humble. So, he’s persecuting the Christians; he’s demanding. And then he starts to follow Jesus as an apostle. He becomes humble, meaning: he went from ego-centered, personal will, demanding to spiritual understanding and humble.
And even Jesus’ name. The original Hebrew/Greek meaning of Messiah or Christ is the anointed one or the sacred one; the appointed one.
So, we, too, can expand our consciousness and take on a new name: a new name that represents a new attribute that we want to embody and be in our life. A new name for the new way we consciously choose to show up and embody our purpose and our soul’s calling this year in 2026.
And you may think you know your word for this year. You may have come in there and thought, “I’ve got my word” – that spiritual attribute or word of inspiration that you want on your stone. But I will say: Be open to listening. Because I’ve done this ceremony many times over a few decades now. And I always come in thinking I know what my word’s going to be, only to go into the meditation (which I’m going to lead us through in just a moment) and a different word pops into my mind. My soul/spirit has a different idea for me.
In fact, I remember at the beginning of this year, my word was patience. And I thought, “I don’t got patience for patience.” [Congregants laugh] Patience?!? Just listen and be open to what your soul needs for you this year. And maybe don’t tell your husband; he might remind you throughout the year. [Congregants laugh] “Remember your white stone word, honey?” Patience.
So, while we’re in meditation, allow your Higher Power – your intuitive knowing – to tell you how you are needed this year. Are you needed as peace? As gratitude? As harmony? As wisdom or a teacher? As a leader? As Love itself? And maybe one of our 12 spiritual powers?
Don’t write it yet. But I will say: Make sure you have your stone and your pencil out of your bag. Just place it on your lap. Have it ready. If you’re at home watching later, you can get a piece of paper out.
So, now we’ll prepare for meditation. Just leave it there. We’ll have meditation; Jamie will be singing us into deeper meditation, as well.
So, quiet your mind. We’ll have some quiet music start to play; Jeff, thank you. And just take a breath through your heart. And out through your heart. Close your eyes if you haven’t done so already, or lower your gaze. Taking another breath in through your heart and out through your heart.
Imagine an opening within your soul – sensing that your soul’s ready to listen. Feel the presence of Divine Love, of living, loving Spirit opening even bigger and greater that space within you to receive.
And then imagine opening your heart even a little bit more to receive your highest and best. As we listen and go even deeper in meditation with a song, “Something’s Calling Me.”
[Soloist Jamie Parnell]: “Something’s calling me. Something’s calling me. Something’s calling me a little bit deeper than I’ve ever been before.”
What is calling you? What attribute does Divine Presence/God need you to embody this year? What will your spiritual name/your spiritual nature be in 2026?
As you quiet your mind, open your heart and listen.
[Quiet meditative music]
What attribute does God/Divine Presence need me to embody this year? What will my name/my spiritual nature be in 2026? And when you’re ready – when you’ve got that word – go ahead and write it quietly on your stone with the pencil. Place that word on your stone.
[Quiet meditative music]
And once you’ve written your name on your stone – your new name – just sit and allow yourself to visualize yourself as that quality. Visualize yourself as that quality that you’ve written. Allow yourself to feel yourself as that spiritual quality.
You’ve written it on your stone; now place it on your heart, as well. See that word written on your heart. Feel it wrapped around you like a blanket. Allow yourself to be immersed in that quality. Feel it radiating from you. And see it as the foundation from which you stand. Imagine that word is the word you are standing on. That is your foundation for 2026.
So, taking a moment to just extend gratitude: extend gratitude for receiving that which Spirit needs you to express this year. And as you gently open your eyes, just looking at your stone and that word.
Let that stone – that white stone – remind you of your inner freedom: free from limiting thoughts; free from limiting behaviors that no longer support your new spiritual name. This word on your stone: this is your spiritual identity for 2026.
So, we’re going to claim it and we’re going to affirm it out loud. On the screen you’ll see it says:
God is ____. Therefore I AM _____. I embody and express _____.
You’re going to place your word after each of those sentences. So, just quietly to yourself.
Together. God is ____. Therefore I AM _____. I embody and express _____.
Let’s say it a little louder now: God is ____. Therefore I AM _____. I embody and express _____.
And now again in a whisper: God is ____. Therefore I AM _____. I embody and express _____.
It’s true! It’s true because you are the Divine expressing on earth. You, like the disciple Peter, stand on a rock of faith. So, when your life – when your world – feels shaken, return to your stone. Pick up your rock. Look at your word. Breathe into it. Remind yourself of your truth, and affirm your truth and your I AM – who you really are – again and again as many times as you need to this year.
Your invitation today, friends, is to step into your new you with faith, with confidence; knowing that you know – and that your soul knows – exactly what is yours to do and that all is well. All is well. And so it is.
Blessings and Happy New Year!
Copyright 2025 Unity of Phoenix Spiritual Center/Rev. Stacy Macris Ros