In a world ravaged by violence, by hatred,
by conflicts that seem eternal and insoluble,
sometimes the only thing we can do
is be still for a moment
to remind ourselves what is real:
the sun that rose this morning,
the dirt under our feet,
the air whispering in and out of our lungs.
try just to be present in each moment as it unfolds.
Your simple attention is what makes these moments holy.
by Elena Westbrook
The Season of Lights has arrived once more on our journey around our Star. The Earth is tilting its farthest away from the Sun and we are summoned by the greater darkness to light brilliant fires in honor of many holiday traditions. The Yuletide season encompasses our congregation’s traditions of celebrating the Winter Solstice, Christmas Eve, Hanukkah, and Kwanza in different measures.
Christmas Eve is our largest service of the year and the theme of this year’s service will be “The Peace of Christmas” in a time marked by so much bigotry, bloodshed, and war. This special candlelight service will be at 6 pm in our historic sanctuary and we hope you will join us for the occasion. We celebrate the birth of the poor Prophet of Peace upon whom’s teachings our liberal religious movement was founded.
Our ministry theme of Living Love Through the Practice of Peace this month is deeply related to peace as it is through the practice of being present that we are often able to cultivate a deeper peace within ourselves and with others. Amidst all of the dazzling lights of consumerism and consumption of this holiday season, it is important that we not lose the serenity that is not found in these materialistic temptations but resides only within the spiritual dimensions of ourselves and in our relationships with friends, family, and loved ones. May this be a season of deepening serenity for ourselves and our world.
Our friends at Soul Matters have generated these excellent list of ponderings to guide our reflections in small group meetings and other activities of the congregation this month:
- What did you learn from your family of origin about stillness and being present?
- How has age altered the way you are present in the world?
- Do you remember the first time you felt completely comfortable in someone’s presence? So comfortable that words seemed unnecessary, and the stillness felt like a second home?
- What do you know now about being in the present moment that you didn’t know when you were younger?
- Do you ever feel like you want to learn how to be present to the days that are left?
- Do reminders about the brevity of our lives and calls to “live every day as if it were your last” help or get in the way of you being present to the preciousness of your days?
- Has the absence of a loved one ever felt as powerful as their presence was?
- How do others most often feel in your presence? Loved? Accepted? Heard? Held? Judged? Unimportant? Understood? And how do you want others to feel in your presence?
- How do regularly practice remaining present to the injustice and suffering of others? How do you intentionally let it touch you, even as our culture tells you, in a thousand tricky ways, that it’s ok to ignore it and shut it out?
- Do you long to be more comfortable with solitude and with being in the presence of just yourself?
- Are your efforts to ensure future security costing you the richness of your current days?
- Would you be more present to your life if you weren’t trying to perfect it or win at it?
- Whose absence feels most present to you during the holiday season? If you could say something to them, what would it be?
- What if winter is a time of being present to the need to withdraw from the world and enter into a time of healing hibernation? How might honoring this alter the way you approach the holiday season?
- Do you remember ever sitting back in the dim evening light and saying to yourself, “Wow. I just got to be present for a perfect day”?
Our Pastoral Care Team knows the holiday season can heighten the experiences of grief and loss and our cultural climate is very difficult for so many right now. They make themselves available to provide a confidential and loving ministry of presence to our members in need. If this would be helpful to you, please email pastoralcare@uusm.org or call the church office.
In this season of joys and griefs, memories and preparation, our congregation would love to hear from you. If you would like to share a joy, sorrow, or milestone with the congregation on a Sunday morning and in the weekly email, please contact joysandsorrows@uusm.org or call the church office.
Bright Holiday Blessings,
Jeremiah
Rev. Jeremiah Lal Shahbaz Kalendae
Developmental Minister
