At the end of a calendar year, following solstice, celebrating holidays alone, with friends, and with family, where are you finding hope? I’ll tell some stories and invite you to reflect on your own.

We gather on the Winter Solstice, as Hannukah nears its end, to reflect on the beauty of darkness in our lives and the gift of light. In this time of year, and this era of human history, where can we find hope within the darkness?

We will tell the story of Christmas as it relates to justice struggles today using fun costumes and a no-rehearsal-needed script. All Ages Choir, First Church Voices, will rehearse at 10am – all are welcome to come and learn the song for service that morning!

Each of us tries to do our best with what we have each day – do our best with our skills, and our energy, and our resources, and our loved ones. Yet so much of life is out of our control. We may hate the places in life where we feel helpless, and yet we know there is meaning to be found everywhere. Where might we find meaning when we have no power to create change?

Join us in a musical service as we celebrate the holiday with hymns, songs, and poems of gratitude and appreciation!

It is easy to feel gratitude when we are happy and life is going well. But how do we find gratitude when it feels like the world is not on our side, when we can’t make ends meet, when “triumph and failure intertwine”?

There is an old belief that this time of year is when the “veil” between the physical and spiritual worlds is at its thinnest – the time when the living and the dead are able to feel each other’s presence. This is part of what has given rise to traditions of Samhain, Halloween, All Souls Day, Dia de los Muertos, and more. Join us as we honor our departed ones with an All Souls ritual, and reflect on our connections to those who have gone before.

“Home” is a metaphor for so many important things – from safety, to comfort, to stability, to family. Yet feeling “at home” in our world is hard for so many of us when we face oppression, are not accepted for who we are, or literally do not have a safe or stable place to live. Join us as we reflect on how to find “home” within ourselves no matter where we are, and work for a world where all people can have a safe and affordable home.

“Can’t go over it, can’t go under it, we have to go through it” chants the refrain of the well-known children’s story, “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.” When we are facing difficult circumstances, how do we find our way to the other side?

The Unitarian Universalist Association frames Pluralism with the following definition and commitment:
“We celebrate that we are all sacred beings,
diverse in culture, experience, and theology.
We covenant to learn from one another
in our free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
We embrace our differences and commonalities
with Love, curiosity, and respect.”
What does Pluralism mean to you and how are you practicing it?

The work of “right relationship” with each other – repairing harm we have caused, healing and finding forgiveness for those who have harmed us – is messy at best, and can feel impossible sometimes, especially if a person dies or leaves our life when we haven’t found resolution. Alongside Jews in our community and around the world who observed Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, this past week, we come together this Sunday to reflect on our own work of right relationship.

In a time when we are beset by so much injustice, and so much loneliness, it is common to want to hole up or check out. And while we cannot change all of the circumstances of life, the choices we make – about how, and where, and with whom we give of ourselves – are what give our lives meaning. Join us as we reflect on belonging, purpose, and commitment!