Descriptions of Sunday Services
FINISHING
Marc Xuereb
As the year draws to a close, let's celebrate with a tribute to the year-end ... or is it the beginning?! Expect a mostly unscripted service, with whimsical musical tributes to 2008 by Stephen Preece and Tom Nagy, and lyrical tributes by those of you moved to contribute. Bring a poem or short reading on the theme of closure or beginnings, and be prepared to wish away the parts of 2008 you wish to leave behind.
OUT OF THE STARS WE HAVE COME - CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE
Rev. Jessica Rodela and Stephen Preece celebrate the Christmas story with candlelight, music, reflection, singing, and story.
HEALING THE EARTH: HONOURING OUR SEVENTH PRINCIPLE - WINTER SOLSTICE OBSERVANCE
Rev. Jessica Purple Rodela and some members
Rev. Jessica Rodela and Pagan-affiliated members of "Women on the Not-So-Rigid Path" invite everyone to an intergenerational participatory ritual to usher in the change of seasons with music, offerings from many faith traditions, and dancing.
WARMING UP TO WINTER
Rev. Jessica Purple Rodela
Music: Clara Hilts and Spirit of Life Choir.
In her poem "Depression in Winter," Jane Kenyon writes: "There comes a little space between the south side of a boulder / and the snow that fills the woods around it." In this time of family ingatherings and ceaseless celebration, what "space" might the lonely and displaced among us find?
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTMAS
Rev. Jessica Purple Rodela, and Betty Boomer
Music: Clara Hilts and Spirit of Life Choir.
Why (and how) do Unitarians celebrate Christmas? This intergenerational family service explores the traditional Christmas story through the humanist lens of our Unitarian Universalist principles.
Today we collect donations for the Mitten Tree. Stay afterwards to celebrate together with food, activities, and fun downstairs in the coffee area.
UNWRAPPING THE HOLIDAYS
Rev. Jessica Purple Rodela
Music: Stephen Preece.
In the flurry and frenzy of surrounding consumerism and the prevailing economic downturn, how might we create the holiday observances we need? Come hear how my own encounters with the Buddha, the Rolling Stones, and Those Amazing Sea Monkeys serve as a point of discernment between "want" and "need."