Christmas Eve Candlelight Service Almost two millennia ago a child was born around whose story much of history has been touched by and turned. While the child who would come to be Jesus Christ was certainly born on a holy night, truly each night any child is born anywhere is a holy night. This evening, … Continue reading Night Divine
Come this darkest night of the year the lands of this northern hemisphere shiver beneath a blanket of cold. Now is the time for the settling in, the dreaming of dreams, and the sharing of fire and light. This evening, let us gather under darkness that we may better attune ourselves to the light that … Continue reading Yule: The Gifts of Light & Darkness
Throughout this week Jewish communities across the world gather to celebrate Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights”. In Hebrew, the word Hanukkah can be interpreted to mean, “dedication”. The eight nights of Hanukkah commemorate a lineage of rebuilding through crisis, forging pathways of resilience, and the surprising light of possibility present in the hardest of times; … Continue reading Light One Candle: Hanukkah & the Spirit of Rededication
Unitarian Universalists are not passive people. Most UUs take the words of Henry David Thoreau to heart when he writes, “I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” But how do we ensure that we live our most full and meaningful lives in the face of all the challenges that … Continue reading Expectation: A Conscious Endeavor
Much has been made about the perilous condition of our time. No doubt much more will be made still. Through this past month we have spoken of gratitude as the grounds for the hope that would bear us through such an age and empower us to meet life’s challenges and realize Love’s demands. But what … Continue reading A Rose in the Wintertime
Throughout this month we have explored the living force of Gratitude as more than a feeling, but as the fundamental emotion of the life of faith; that which orients us away from apathy and cynicism and into a fuller, richer experience of life despite the pressures and pains that so often plague the day. This … Continue reading The Grounds of Gratitude & the Seeds of Hope
Held in our particular, individual human lives, the idea of evolution can seem like a mere idea; a means of explaining the everyday but with little bearing on our daily lives. This Sunday, on the eve of the anniversary of Darwin’s publication of On the Origin of Species, let us reflect on our own interwovenness … Continue reading The Evolutionary Epic
There are many things that make this Unitarian Universalist community special, but chief amongst them must be the radical welcome people experience when they come through those doors. As simple as it seems, such is the everyday magic that suffuses this space. This Sunday, let us revel in gratitude and cultivate our generous spirits as … Continue reading The Radical Welcome
It’s no secret that we live in deeply polarizing times. Trust can seem in short supply, and so we may find ourselves moving through life with our heads down, afraid to engage meaningfully with strangers and thus cutting ourselves off from the world. Even the most gregarious amongst us may feel the twinge of uncertainty. … Continue reading The Everyday Magic of Kindness & Gratitude
All Souls & La Santa Muerte November 2nd marks All Souls Day in the liturgical calendar of some Christian communities, and in many parts of Central America and throughout the Mexican diaspora it also coincides with the observance of El Dia De Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Cemeteries come alive with marigold wreaths … Continue reading Holy Death
