"Reflections & Hopes" -- UUSE Virtual Worship, December 28, 2025
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Welcome and Announcements
Centering
Prelude
"Edelweiss"
by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Service Introduction
Chalice Lighting & Opening Words
Chalice Lighting #448 in Singing the Living Tradition
by Christine Robinson
We gather this hour as people of faith
with joys, sorrows, gifts and needs.
We light this beacon of hope,
Sign of our quest
For truth and meaning,
In celebration of the life we share together.
Opening Hymn
"My Life Flows on in Endless Song"
#108 in Singing the Living Tradition
Words from an Early Quaker Song
Music from an American gospel tune
My life flows on in endless song above earth's lamentation.
I hear the real though far-off hymn that hails a new creation.
Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear the music ringing.
It sounds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing!
What though the tempest 'round me roars, I know the truth, it liveth.
What though the darkness 'round me close, songs in the night it giveth.
No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that rock I'm clinging.
Since love prevails in heav'n and earth, how can I keep from singing!
When tyrants tremble as they hear the bells of freedom ringing,
when friends rejoice both far and near, how can I keep from singing!
To prison cell and dungeon vile our thoughts to them are winging;
when friends by shame are undefiled, how can I keep from singing!
Time for All Ages - Our Favorite Things
Joys & Concerns
Reading
"Notes for Radical Living"
by Tilda Swinton
Make friends with chaos
Hold a calm mind
Let things shake
Forgive human frailty
Champion second chances
Defy unkindness
Reverence fellowship
Listen to the quiet
Respect the young
Seek growth
Trust in change
Treasure learning
Inspire faith in evolution
Hold faith in miracles
Reach beyond the binary
Be wary of the doubtless
Honour the brightheaded
Grow plants
Attend to the weather
Be electric
Cherish language
Celebrate silence
Dance daily
Bless the handmade
Sing into pain
Find joy in shadow
Challenge assumptions
Follow the wind
Swoon under clouds
Look upwards
Face forward
Feel your courage
Read history
Open your ears
Drop your shoulders
Bend your knees
Raise the roof
Keep breathing
Be trustworthy
Take care of yourself
Believe in goodness
Head for the light
Musical Interlude
Reflections from Clare DiMaiolo
Offering
"We do not gather our gifts only for ourselves, but to share with the larger community"
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, Cornerstone Shelter (Rockville).
Offering Music
"The Sound of Music"
by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Reflections from Gianna DiMaiolo
Musical Interlude
Reflections from Kate Kimmerle
Closing Hymn
#346 in Singing the Living Tradition
"Come, Sing a Song with Me"
Words & Music by Carolyn McDade
Come, sing a song with me,
come, sing a song with me,
come, sing a song with me,
that I might know your mind.
(Chorus)
And I'll bring you hope
when hope is hard to find,
and I'll bring a song of love
and a rose in the wintertime.
Come, dream a dream with me,
come, dream a dream with me,
come, dream a dream with me,
that I might know your mind.
(Chorus)
Come, walk in rain with me,
come, walk in rain with me,
come, walk in rain with me,
that I might know your mind.
(Chorus)
Come, share a rose with me,
come, share a rose with me,
come, share a rose with me,
that I might know your mind.
(Chorus)
Closing Words
#684 Closing Words in Singing the Living Tradition
by Duke T. Gray
The blessing of truth be upon us,
The power of love direct us and sustain us,
And may the peace of this community
Preserve our going out and coming in,
From this time forth, until we
Meet again.
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.
Postlude
"So Long, Farewell"
by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II