This is our “Year of Living Covenantally”
Soul Matters theme: Wonder
Sunday Services take place at 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. You can also connect via Zoom at https://uuma.zoom.us/j/920676087 or telephone to 646-876-9923 (Meeting ID: 920 676 087). Children’s RE (in the Sanctuary building) and the Forum (in the office building) both take place at 9:30 a.m. so that families can attend the service together. Nursery care will be available throughout.
The Rev. Andrew Clive Millard
December 4th: The Transient and Permanent in Unitarian Universalism”
While Unitarian minister Theodore Parker is best known (at least amongst UUs) for originating the concept of the arc of the moral universe, as well as for keeping a loaded pistol on his sermon-writing desk in case he needed to assist someone escaping slavery, Parker’s greatest influence on our living tradition is found in his 1841 sermon “The Transient and Permanent in Christianity”. He preached that certain elements of religion may be regarded as permanent and essential, while others are transient and accidental, subject to transformation with the passage of time. Let’s consider how Parker’s nineteenth-century insight applies to twenty-first-century Unitarian Universalism.
December 11th: “Glad Tidings"
Advent is a time of spiritual preparation for the good news of Christmas. During this season of shorter days, gloomy skies and barren trees, what is our own good news for the world? Called to “Grow in Wonder” by our UUFP Mission, what glad tidings do we have to share with one another as well as our neighbors and friends beyond our walls?
NOTE that a Special Membership Meeting to vote on a congregational covenant will follow this Service.
December 16th: "The Sun Will Return"
NOTE TIME: 7pm at the UUFP
All are welcome to EarthRising’s thirty-fifth Yule! When nights are at their longest, we celebrate that the Sun will return. We also reflect on our past and present, while looking forward to the future. This Yule will be informed by the different traditions that EarthRising members bring together, with a special focus on the goddess Ọya.
In-gathering is followed by the Ritual and a potluck feast! If you’d like someone to guide you through the Ritual, we can pair you with a friend. Children are welcome with their parents. To request childcare or ask other questions, please email EarthRising@uufp.org.
December 18th: “Wonderings of Winter Nights”
I wonder more this time of year; the night is dark and cold.
I wonder about the big things I've seen, known, or thought I knew.
Do you find yourself wondering more this time of year as well?
Join us and explore our Wonderings on Winter Nights.
roddy bell-shelton biggs (lowercase preferred) is a Queer, Nonbinary (they/them pronouns), BIPOC seminarian, and aspiring Public Theologian. roddy is serving as a two-year part-time intern minister for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fredericksburg. At the same time, they continue their seminary education at Meadville Lombard Theological School. Owning both the Christian faith and the African spiritualities of their ancestors, roddy is grounded in Unitarian Universalist faith communities by choice. roddy is called to lead radical love, care and sanctuary movements, simultaneously disrupting patriarchy and all systems of oppression plaguing our world.
December 21st: “Longest Night of Remembrance and Healing”
NOTE TIME AND LOCATION: 5:30pm at Hilton Christian Church,
100 James River Drive in Newport News
Join us for this interfaith service marking the longest night of the year as a time for remembrance and healing. Everyone is invited into sacred space to reflect and look ahead. The service will be followed by light refreshments for those who would like to stay for conversation.
December 24th: "Do-It-Yourself Nativity Scene"
NOTE TIME: 6pm at the UUFP
This Christmas Eve, join us for carols and a telling of the nativity stories from Matthew and Luke as we assemble our cast of characters and create our own nativity scene on stage. The service will conclude with our beloved ceremony of passing the flame, and special music for Christmas will be provided by the UUFP’s singers and musicians!
December 25th: "We Keep Christmas Day"
After the Puritans succeeded in banning Christmas from New England, the Universalists and the Unitarians brought it back as a public religious holiday. With the First Day of Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, let’s celebrate with songs of hope and joy, the kindling of new light, the ringing of bells, and the sharing of gifts with one another.
Join us after the Service for a special Christmas Brunch!