Sunday December 27, 2015: No Service

There will be no Sunday service or religious education classes on December 27, 2015. Our next service will be on Sunday, January 3, 2016.

On Thursday, December 24, some members of West Fork Unitarian Universalists will be attending First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta’s “All Ages Christmas Eve Candlelight Service”. Note that their service starts at 6:00 p.m. this year. See their site at http://fuusm.org/ for further information.

For further information about West Fork Unitarian Universalists, email westforkuu@gmail.com or visit our website at https://westforkuu.org/

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Sunday December 20, 2015: Celebrate the Light

Prelude: Ring Solstice Bells by Jethro Tull

Welcome

Chalice Lighting

We gather in the chill of winter solstice,
finding warmth from each other, nourishing
hope where reason fails.

Grateful for small miracles, we rejoice
in the wonder of light and darkness
and the daring of hope.

I’d like to invite each of each who has brought a candle to come forward and light your candle while we sing “Come, come, whoever you are” three times.

Song and Candle Lighting: Come, come, whoever you are
Wandererer, worshipper, lover of leaving
Ours is no caravan of despair
Come, yet again come Continue reading

Sunday December 13, 2015: The Virtue of the Uncarved Block

“The Virtue of the Uncarved Block” with John Hall

Block of stone being carved by a chisle

Please join us for coffee and conversation at 10:45 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association’s Uptown Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, West Virginia.  The worship service starts at 11:00.  Our ongoing Religious Education classes begin at 10:00.

For further information, email westforkuu@gmail.com or visit our website at https://westforkuu.org/

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Sunday December 13, 2015: Politics and Religion

Welcome

Welcome and Happy Holidays, Happy St. Nicholas Day, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Abolition Day, Bodhi Day (Tuesday), Second Sunday of Advent

Chalice Lighting
~ Kimberly Knight, Minister of Digital Community, Extravagance UCC

No, my prayers will not stop the killing.
No, my prayers will not bring back the innocent.
No, my prayers will not relax the gnarled fist of hatred.
No, my prayers will not open the greedy hearts of those who profit from death.

But, my prayers can gently break the silence of despair.
But, my prayers can channel my rage at the machine.
But, my prayers can embolden me to be the hands and feet of The Divine.
But, my prayers can encourage others of faith to awake, arise and act.

I do not pray for God to send us a miracle.
I pray for God to remind us how to be the miracle.

I am because you are and only together, with a radical belief that a paradigm shift is possible, active hope and faithful resolve to be the change we seek, can we make it stop.

Continue reading

Sunday December 6, 2015: Politics and Religion

Politics and religion are inseparable.  Lisa deGruyter will explore this and some practical ways to live our  Fifth Principle: “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large”.

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Please join us for coffee and conversation at 10:45 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association’s Uptown Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, West Virginia.  The worship service starts at 11:00.  Our ongoing Religious Education classes begin at 10:00.

After the service on Sunday everyone is invited to a potluck lunch at Robert and Lisa’s house. A vegetarian soup will be the main course. If you would like, bring bread, or a dessert to share. If you cannot bring a dish, don’t worry, there will be enough to spare.

A Meeting for Business will follow lunch, for members and anyone else who would like to participate in the discussion and planning.

For further information, email westforkuu@gmail.com or visit our website at https://westforkuu.org/

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Why Do People Become (Islamic) Extremists

My friend who reposted this on Facebook commented that it does not just explain Islamic extremism.  Today in class, we talked about human nature, and the service was on our tribe, our community.  Part of our human nature is to want a tribe, community, order, and certainty in our lives.  But when we don’t question what that community teaches us and see for ourselves, we are in danger of becoming a mob of extremists. — Lisa

https://www.facebook.com/prageru/videos/897194363656754/