Possibilities as multitudes — that’s one way of thinking about this month’s theme. The limitless choices, options, paths, directions, opportunities that can be available to us. The reaches of imagination. The breadth of ideas. The vastness of what can happen. The web of connections and relationships. The myriad ways we learn and experience. Possibilities can be energizing and exciting. They can also be daunting and confusing. For some people and for some times in one’s life, we also know that possibilities can, in fact, be quite limited or restricted.
But the wideness of possibilities isn’t the only way. Possibilities can also run deep. Possibility in singular. One possibility that is explored to its depths, past all that we thought we knew, past our boredom or complacency, past our expectations, into new realms of understanding and ways of being.
The community of UUCM is invited into this possibility of depth. Through the end of the church year, we haven chosen to focus on just two adult programming areas — Soul Matters and Beloved Conversations. Continue reading →
I love reading about the history of when the new year starts. As usual, men in power bickered amongst themselves about how to shape reality to their preferences, and in 1582 Pope Gregory introduced the Gregorian calendar, first to the Catholics and then eventually adopted by everyone. I love that Greece didn’t accept it for years after everyone else did. And I especially like knowing that, historically, “the new year” has been all over the place.
As I write this, I’m looking out the window at the rapidly melting snow around our church home. It’s a little gift really, this “preview” of spring, especially since we know that there’s sure to be more snow and cold right around the corner. Still, the absence of snow has made it hard for me to feel like it’s Christmastime. But then I come to church. I see the holiday decorations up all around the building. I see the sanctuary set up for the Solstice service. I notice the tree which played a starring role in our holiday pageant. I see the candles in the windows, shining a beacon of the warmth and community that this church is. And most of all, I remember all of you. The smiles of welcome as you greet each other on Sunday. The handshakes and embraces as you hear and share difficult news. The parents, holding young ones on laps or in arms, swaying as we sing together the songs of this season. I see all of these things and I know it is in fact, Christmas.
There’s a line in an old U2 song that goes, “You’ve been running away / From what you don’t understand.” Bono is singing about love and telling us again and again in the chorus that “it’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright.”
The worship arts ministry team told me it would happen, but I didn’t really believe them. They told me that, while I was to plan two services “for all ages” in November, families would not actually attend them.
UUCM Happenings 