theme: Celebration
Services include sermons preached by Rev. Andrew Clive Millard unless otherwise noted.
December 3rd: “Hope is here.”
For what do you hope this season? What is it that really matters to you? What do you wish to see in the world? What do you wish to do in the world? What do you need from the world that will truly nourish your soul, sustain you into an uncertain future, and give you the strength to embrace your better self?
December 10th: “Faith is here.”
In what do you have faith in life? What is it that gives you a sense of being truly at home? Where can you find a quiet moment to calm your mind, to rest your body, and to renew your spirit? How can you offer that to others, smoothing out the wrinkles in our complicated lives, stepping back and taking stock in how we are in the world?
December 17th: “Joy is here.”
What brings you joy? What is it that lights up your eyes, that quickens your step? Who are the people that delight you, that put a smile on your face when you see them? How do you find joy in what you do? How do you bring joy to those around you, near or far, friends or strangers?
Special music for Hanukkah will be provided by the ChorUUs!
December 24th (9:30am and 11:15am): “Love is here.”
How do you love? Does love touch you, hold you, fill you, fling you into the world? Whom do you love? Are there family members or friends, close to you or far away, living or departed, their faces in your heart? Does your love reach out, to heal, to soothe, to comfort, to feed the hungry and warm the cold?
Special Services for Christmas Eve!
5:00pm on December 24th: “Finding Refuge”
7:00pm on December 24th: “Celebration in Words and Music”
We hold two services on Christmas Eve! The earlier is a family service exploring the path of finding refuge through story, song and an interactive challenge; the later celebrates the season through poetry and prose. Both services feature traditional Christmas carols and will conclude with the beloved ceremony of passing the flame.
Special music will be provided by the UUFP’s fabulous musicians!
December 31st: “New Year’s Resolutions”
New Year’s is a rather strange little holiday. Is it mainly a way to extend the festive season for an extra week? A chance for some adult revelry after the Santathon? What makes January 1st such a big deal? It has no major astronomical or historical significance, so why has it become the start of the New Year? And what have resolutions got to do with it all? Jim Sanderson will explore the New Year celebration and invite your participation in an end-of-year ritual.
UUFP President Jim Sanderson is a long-time Unitarian Universalist. He has served as chair of the Sunday Services Committee, as UUFP Vice President, and as a Fellowship Circle facilitator. Before joining the Fellowship, Jim served as the locally ordained minister of the Jenkins UU Fellowship in Petersburg and for a decade as chair of the Religious Education Committee at First Unitarian in Richmond. A retired librarian, Jim has a strong passion for UU history, finding much in our past that can inform our present and future
