Gathering Music
Welcome & Announcements
Centering
Prelude
"Concerto in C minor for Violin and Oboe (adagio)"
by J. S. Bach
Performed by Anhared Stowe, Marilyn Krentzman, Ryan Ford, & Mary Bopp
Chalice Lighting
Words paraphrased from "Inner Practices for the Twelve Nights of Yuletide"
by Anne Stallkamp and Werner Hartung
The twelve magical nights of the Yuletide season are a single great festival, a threshold, a time of transition, a moment in which to stop and take stock and yet a time for looking ahead to the coming year.
In general, we believe that the end of something simultaneously marks the start of something new. However, there is a space between an end and a new beginning, an interval. Right now, this space is Yuletide.
Given the busy time in the lead up to the holidays, the beginning of this period might not appear to be the most convenient moment in which to take some time out to explore our feelings, but in fact, it is particularly sutitable.
The space between the ending and the beginning will suddenly open up, and the gates of time will unlock. Today is calling on you to stand still, to pause for a moment, and to be completely calm. Fill this space of silence and emptiness, this place of power, creation, and creativity with your love and your truth.
Chalice Lighting Music
"One Candle, One Flame"
by Linda Sobo
Performed by UUSE Choir with Dorothy Bognar, pianist
Opening Hymn
#253 "O Come, All Ye Faithful"
O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him born the King of angels;
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
Lo humble shepherds, hasting to his cradle,
Leaving their flocks in the fields, draw near
We, too, with gladness thither bend our footsteps;
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;
O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
Story: "The Shortest Day" by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Carson Ellis
Musical Meditation (9:00 a.m. service only)
Children's Choir (11:00 a.m. service only)
Welcoming Visitors & Sharing of Joys & Concerns
Offering
Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of December will go to three area shelters: McKinney Men's Shelter (Hartford), East Hartford Community Shelter, and Cornerstone Shelter (Rockville)
Offering Music
Holiday Favorites
Performed by the Ford Family Trio
(Margeaux, Simone, & Ryan Ford)
Responsive Reading: "We are Waiting"
This is the season of anticipation,
Of expecting, of hoping, of wanting.
This is the time of expecting the arrival of something--or someone.
We are waiting.
This is the time of living in darkness, in the hues of unknowing.
Of being quiet, of reflecting on a year almost past.
Waiting for a new beginning, for a closing or an end.
This is the time for digesting the lessons of days gone past, anticipating the future
for which
We are waiting.
Waiting for a world which can know justice.
Waiting for lasting peace.
Waiting for the bridge to span the divides which separate us.
Waiting for a promise or a hope.
For all of this
We are waiting.
Amen and blessed be.
Music
Shine on Me
by Rollo Dilworth
Night of Silence
by Daniel Kantor
One Candle
by Andy Beck
Performed by UUSE Choir
with Dorothy Bognar, piano; Steve Dauphinas, drums
Closing Hymn
#388 Dona Nobis Pacem
Dona nobis pacem, pacem,
Dona nobis pacem.
Dona nobis pacem,
Dona nobis pacem.
Dona nobis pacem, dona nobis pacem.
Closing Words excerpt from "Winter Solstice" by the Rev. Rebecca Parker
Let there be a season
When holiness is heard, and
The splendor of living is revealed.
Stunned to stillness by beauty
We remember who we are and why we are here.
There are inexplicable mysteries.
We are not alone.
In the universe there moves a Wild One
Whose gestures alter earth's axis
toward love.
In the immense darkness
Everything spins with joy.
The cosmos enfolds us.
We are caught in a web of stars,
Cradled in a swaying embrace,
Rocked by the holy night,
Babes of the universe.
Let this be the time
we wake to life,
Like spring wakes, in the moment
of winter solstice.
Extinguishing the Chalice
Closing Circle
May faith in the spirit of life
And hope for the community of earth
And love of the light in each other
Be ours now, and in all the days to come.
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