Inspiration

UU thoughts, sermons, music

Happy Hanukkah

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Tonight starts the celebration of Hanukkah. From Chabad.org, “Chanukah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods.

The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple” Read More here.

Düsseldorf Downtown District Skyline Night Illuminated Sunset Reflection Modern Structure Traffic Building

Light When It’s Dark by Tzvi Freeman

Just Breathe

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Breath Meditation by Rev. Samuel A Trumbore

Let us turn inward now

Feel the rhythm of the breath.

In and out, In and out,

Find the peace of just being with the flow of the breath.

Letting go of yesterday and tomorrow.

Feel the restorative power of the peace of this moment.

A peace, large enough to open

to the concerns and sorrows that trouble us.

A stillness, quiet enough to respond

to the joys and celebrations that enliven us.

There is safety here in the rhythm of the breath.

The ebb and flow of life is enacted with each one.

Taking in oxygen sustenance,

Letting go of carbon dioxide waste.

Taking in the fullness of experience

Letting go of the residue that wants to cling to us.

Cultivate inner peace and inner safety

in this sanctuary

dedicated to cultivating the Spirit of Life

dedicated to being a beacon of love for all beings.

It’s time for Chalica again

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Chalica is a week-long celebration of our Unitarian Universalist Principles. The holiday first emerged in 2005 out of a wish to have a holiday organized around Unitarian Universalist values.

Chalica begins on the first Monday in December and lasts seven days. Each day, a chalice is lit and the day is spent reflecting on the meaning of that day’s principle and doing a good deed that honors that principle. Not all Unitarian Universalists celebrate Chalica, but it has a growing following. There is a Chalica Facebook page, blog, and many Chalica-themed videos on YouTube.

Here is an article from  UU World about it.

This year we will have a daily blog post for all seven days of Chalica. It will include a few activities, a reflection, and a video reading.

Hope you enjoy celebrating this unique holiday with us.

The Sunday of Love

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The Second Sunday of Advent is a celebration of Love. Spend some time today focusing on your loved ones and then focus on how you, yourself, are loved.

You Are the Holiday Miracle by Gwen Matthews

As December opens up before us, we welcome in the gift of reflection. We turn toward our holiday celebrations and search for common threads of meaning.

We begin with Yule, the winter solstice, and we are invited to explore duality, cycles, and seasons, and to witness the Holly King being overcome by the Oak King. Yule reminds us that we all partake in the miracle of renewal.

Hanukkah, the festival of lights, commemorates a time of miracles when the faith of the Jewish people sustained them to reclaim their holy temple and keep the light of the menorah burning for eight days.

Christmas, the celebration of Jesus’ humble birth in a manger, offers us to revisit the miracle of birth and the desire to find saviors to heal the scars of humanity.

Here, in our church, you are just as much a holiday miracle as the turning of the earth, as persistence and dedication to a faith, as the creation of each new life. We see the love you give to others, the space you create to hold one another’s joys and sorrows, and the generosity and spirit you entrust to this community.

You are the holiday miracle. This community is one of miracle-makers.

Glitter Mindfulness Jars

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“When we hear the word “stillness” we immediately think of it as the opposite of movement – but stillness is something quite different altogether. Stillness is an energetic quality of being… Stillness is a choice. It can be felt by living in a state of presence where we remain connected to ourselves and are completely present in our body… In this quality of presence there is something that ‘stands still’, but it is not absent of physical movement. Rather, it is our beingness that remains unaffected by any movement, action or doing even though it moves, acts and does. It is the depth of the ocean unaffected by its waves. It is the ability to surrender to our inner-heart and live from here in all that we do. Therefore, Stillness is not something we have to go in search of nor is it a journey into escapism or numbness. It is where we come from and what we are innately made of and thus it is our natural state of being.” – Serge Benhayon

A fun activity – Make Glitter Mindfulness Jars