Services for December 2020
Soul Matters theme: Stillness
Unless otherwise noted, services include sermons preached by the Rev. Andrew Clive Millard and take place on Sundays at 11am via Zoom: https://uuma.zoom.us/j/920676087
December 6th: “Finding An Inner Tranquil Holiness”
As we continue our journey through Advent together, let’s take a moment to pause. Setting aside the busy-ness of the season, let’s take a little time to be still, to open ourselves to the beauty of
the world around us, and to listen to the silent spirit that dwells within us. What wisdom, what comfort might we find when we embrace peace both inside ourselves and beyond?
December 13th: “Joining Our Yarn”
Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean Revolt. Observed for eight nights in Jewish households around the world, candles are lit on a menorah, games of dreidel are played and fried foods such as latkes and sufganiyot are enjoyed. Let’s learn from some stories both old and new about the meanings of resistance, persistence and joy!
Blue Holidays Service!
7:00 p.m. on Thursday December 17
In a human lifetime, some years are harder than others. Some holidays are harder than others. We might be feeling the grief of loss: loss of loved ones who have passed away or broken off relations. We could be missing someone who is on a military deployment or is otherwise far away. Or we might be feeling sad for any number of very human reasons. And this year, we also grieve the loss of the ability to safely be in the physical presence of people whom we love. You might not feel very jolly during these holidays. It might be helpful to set aside time in religious fellowship during this holiday season to acknowledge the complexity of this time of year and to practice kindness to ourselves and to each other.
Join us for that time. Light a candle with us, share a memory, support a friend. Show us a photograph or an ornament. Tell us the story that helps you feel just a bit better. Or simply give us the gift of your online presence. The UUFP’s Blue Holidays service will be in the same Zoom room as our Sunday services. We hope to see you there.
December 20: “Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days!”
This service honors four Holidays/Holy Days with short reflections, readings and hymns: December 10 – Hanukkah; December 21 – Yule; December 25 – Christmas; and December 26 – Kwanzaa. Come join us in this season of Holidays and Holy Days!
The Rev. Dr. Qiyamah A. Rahman is a Unitarian Universalist minister and resides in St. Croix VI where she served the UU Fellowship of St. Croix from 2012 to 2018. Besides her passion as a minister and writer, she is a social worker, researcher and community activist focused on social justice. Rev. Rahman has worked with numerous non-profits in her chosen field of social worker for twenty-eight years. She has published several essays on Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, a Unitarian, abolitionist, author and activist that lived in the 1800s. Inspired by the interfaith and social justice witness of Unitarian Universalism, Rev. Rahman devotes her research to the richly diverse narratives of UU Black women. With a doctorate in Africana Women’s Studies, she has conducted research on violence against women in Ghana, South Africa and the United States. Rev. Rahman challenges us to expand our scholarship on the presence of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) UUs. She was the Minn’s Lecturer for 2020 and presented three lectures on Black UU women and Black UU clergy women. Rev. Rahman is currently working on an anthology on Black Unitarian Universalist Clergy Women to be published by Skinner House Books. She has just received a grant from the UU Women’s Federation to create a website devoted to Black UU Women and Girls featuring research, interviews, news and resources. Stay tuned! Rev. Rahman earned her Bachelor’s in Education and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan. She is a Master of Divinity from the Meadville Lombard Theological School and holds a doctorate from Clark Atlanta University in Africana Women’s Studies.
Christmas Eve Service!
5:00 p.m. on Thursday December 24
Let’s celebrate the Christmas story and all that it means for bringing hope, peace, joy and love into world. We’ll use the same Zoom room as our Sunday services, with carols, Christmas music and some of our beloved traditions reimagined for our virtual sacred space. Join us!
December 27th: “Determining What’s to Come”
As Unitarian Universalists, we believe that “what we choose is what we are, and what we love we yet shall be”. Bidding good riddance to 2020, let’s look toward 2021 and envision a better year to come. We know we can’t go back to a “normal” that was riddled with injustice and inequity, so let’s decide what we want from — and what we’ll give to — a fairer future for all.