Here is a responsive reading by Carie J. Johnsen and the choir members of Unitarian Universalist Community Church (Augusta, ME).
Here is a link to a playlist on YouTube of UU hymns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbJ32h-YpQA&list=PL6B257199CC44C6AB
May both of these serve as a reminder of how important music can be in our spiritual lives. What does music mean to you? What are some songs that provide inspiration? What are songs that provide you with hope?
Namaste,
Cricket
#UULent
In Christian churches there is a 40 day period beginning Ash Wednesday and leading to Easter, that is full of meditation, prayer, and sacrifice. This is act of devotion and a spiritual practice.
While this is not a practice that all UUs participate in, it is something from our history and something that we may wish to participate in. The question might come up, “is there a Unitarian Universalist way to practice Lent?” The answer is yes. A calendar has been created by Mr. Barb Greve and Alex Kapitan. The idea is to focus on a particular word each day during lent and on the Sundays we are to reflect on the word and encourage each other to enact it in our lives. Should you choose to participate you can share your reflections with the hashtag #UULent
Here is the calendar for reference.
May your day be filled with light and the coming weeks be filled with introspection and healing.
Namaste,
Cricket
Prelude: P!NK “Don’t Let me Get Me”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asaCQOZpqUQ
Welcome: “All That Lies Within You” by Angela Herrera
Consider this an invitation
To you.
Yes-you
With all your happiness
And all of your burdens,
Your hopes and regrets.
An invitation if you feel good today,
And an invitation if you do not,
If you are aching-
And there are so many ways to ache.
Whoever you are, however you are,
Wherever you are in your journey,
This is an invitation into peace.
Peace in your heart,
And peace in your heart,
And-with every breath
Peace in your heart.
Maybe your heart is heavy
Or hardened.
Maybe it’s troubled
And peace can take up residence
Only in a small corner,
Only on the edge,
With all that is going on in the world,
And in your life.
Ni modo. It doesn’t matter.
All that you need
For a deep and comforting peace to grow
Lies within you.
Once it is in your heart
Let it spread into your life,
Let it pour from your life into the world
And once it is in the world,
Let it shine upon all beings.
Song: Gathered Here
Chalice Lighting: A Spark of Hope By Melanie Davis
If ever there were a time for a candle in the darkness,
this would be it.
Using a spark of hope,
kindle the flame of love,
ignite the light of peace,
and feed the flame of justice.
I invite you now into a time of gratitude, reflection, renewal and hope.
What an unearned blessing to delight in the calming peace of this space;
to hear the robin’s song again at daybreak;
to feel the warmth in this room,
and to enjoy the promise of summer almost upon us.
Each moment of wakefulness has so many gifts that offer energy and delight.
Yet, too often they seem unavailable
as the weight of our troubles press down on us.
The threats to our well being, real or exaggerated,
feel like mosquitoes in the night looking for a place to land.
Minds become captive to rising flood waters: forceful, murky, threatening and ominous.
Even in moments of great danger, the direction of attention is a choice.
Fear can dominate the mind, binding it like a straitjacket.
Or love can unbind it and open it to resource and opportunity.
The soil of the mind can be watered with kindness.
The thorns can be removed one by one to appreciate the buds ready to flower.
Great possibilities await us even if all we can see is the cliff before us.
The grandeur of life, of which we are a part,
scatters rainbows in every direction, even as the deluge approaches.
Holding reality and possibility together is the holy, hope-filled work of humanity
If…we choose it, again and again, in love.
Today is Christmas. It is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. You can read the full story here.
It is a day of celebration. It is also a day to remember how lucky we are and how we need to help others in the world. Christmas is a reminder for us to be a light in the world.
I have included a devotion for today.
Namaste,
Cricket
Now the Work of Christmas Begins
Now the Work of Christmas Begins
Affirmation
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.
Please note that this piece may not be used in any performance or distribution that involves compensation.
Source: “The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations”
Author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader.
“And now is a good time to live up to that promise, to light a candle in the darkness.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/the-hanukkah-christmas-convergence-couldnt-be-more-symbolic-of-the-light-we-must-embrace/2016/12/22/00e05a58-c866-11e6-85b5-76616a33048d_story.html?utm_term=.96b585179472
I really enjoyed this article and hope you do too. Let the light within us all shine brightly.
Namaste,
Cricket
Bring your broken hallelujah here.
Bring your broken hallelujah here.
Bring the large one that is beyond
Repair. Bring the small one that’s
too soft to share. Bring your broken
Hallelujah here. I know that people
Have told you that before you can give
You have to get yourself together. They
Overstated the value of perfection by a
Lot. Or they forgot. You are the gift.
We all bring some broken things, songs
and dreams, and long lost hopes. But
here, and together, we reach within.
As a community, we begin again. And
from the pieces we will build something new.
There is work that only you can do. We
wait for you.
-Theresa I. Soto
My friend Theresa wrote this and I thought that is was too perfect not to share. Hope that you all find it as comforting as I did.
Blessings of Peace,
Cricket
Uncertain Future – Peaceful Present presented by John Hall. We live in a world where things can go wrong at any moment. the future is uncertain, but we can gain peace now.
We would love to have you come worship with us.
Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.
Our Religious Education/ Life Long Learning Class will meet at from 10am to 10:45 am with a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.
Children are welcome. There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.
The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.
The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.
Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information
or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302
~
Namaste
Cricket
This Sunday Cricket will lead us in a worship service focusing on the words of Audre Lorde and the inspiration found within them as we work to build a more fair and peaceful world.
We would love to have you come worship with us.
Our services are Sundays at 11 a.m. at the Progressive Women’s Association Event Center, 305 Washington Ave. in downtown Clarksburg, behind the Courthouse.
Our Religious Education/ Life Long Learning Class will be from 10am to 10:45 am with a coffee gathering before the service. More about us.
Children are welcome. There is childcare and an activity for young children during the service.
The building is wheelchair accessible, with an accessible restroom.
The schedule for the current adult religious education class is here.
Email westforkuu@gmail.com or use our contact form for more information
or write to us at PO Box 523, Clarksburg WV 26302
~
Namaste
Cricket
Image credit Syracuse Cultural Workers
West Fork Unitarian Universalists 