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March 7th, 2011 by Nancy SamuelsChristmas Eve
December 28th, 2010 by Eric KaminetzkyYou are beautiful on Christmas Eve.
Sitting in the pews, bumping knees and shoulders. Bouncing gurgling babies and balancing candles.
It’s a lovely, quiet moment in the midst of holiday rush. I relish it, though it’s shot through with moments of dread revolving around the importance of the ritual and the emotional content invoked in such a setting.
I love worship. I love it as one who has grown up with it in many forms and settings. Worship brings forth in me a gratitude for the existence of a space in which we ask to be and are reminded of who we are.
I know the hall doesn’t decorate itself, nor does the music spring from mouths and instruments unpracticed. But because I neither administer nor direct them they seem miraculous to me. These are Christmas Gifts for which I give thanks and praise.
Another of the Christmas miracles is your showing up on Christmas Eve. You show up. Thank you for showing up. It’s not the same if you’re not there.
I suppose we would hold the service on principle even if no one showed. It is a celebration after all, a remembrance and a ritual.
Perhaps for some it’s simply a habit. A well worn path we tread because we expect to walk the labyrinth of memory and mystery at that time of year.
John Lennon wrote, “And so this is Christmas. And what have we done? Another year older. And a new one just begun.”
What I love most about the services on Christmas Eve is the mix of people. Old ones leaning into friends and acquaintances, young adults back to the nest for a visit, youth staying up late, parents fluffing imaginary feathers as if to keep warm broods of babes now grown who don’t really need it anymore but who allow it, welcoming, if only for a moment, the memory of family postures nearly forgotten.
There are people returning to the pews to try out the community again, and new sojourners trying out the community for the first time, having absorbed the cultural and spiritual and religious message that if strangers are going to be welcomed at any time it will probably be most true in a church on Christmas Eve.
So. Welcome! And welcome back.
It is good to be together.
So many ways into the season…
December 13th, 2010 by Eric KaminetzkyThe tree is up! It’s the first live tree in our home in a decade, and it smells wonderful.
I enjoy the end of the year holidays even though it takes me some time to become engaged by them.
Today, a long-time friend posted a link to a video about a man who gave up his job in order to invest in his profession.
He provides nourishment to those in need.
There are so many ways into the season.
Sometimes we just need reminding.
It is my prayer that the holidays you keep return the favor.
Blessings, eric
Musical Notes
December 4th, 2010 by Barbara PurnAnyone who knows me well knows that I love music. It seems to fill a place in my soul that would be void without it. I can’t profess that I am good at creating it, but I sure love to listen to it. I’ve always been the one in the crowd at a concert that can’t sit still – I’m always tapping my foot, bobbing my head, or whispering along with the words. Music has a real affect on me, in positive and visceral ways.
EUUC has some tangible ways for me to follow my love of music. I feel so blessed to have so many opportunities right here in Chapman Hall. From the concert series of guest performers every year to opportunities for us to make our own music, we have choices. We are so fortunate to have Wil who brings us some new options this year – Drum Circle and Singing classes on Saturday mornings. I am enjoying the challenge of the drumming class so much that I had to go out and get my very own drum! The group will get a chance to play along with the choir this month and in January.
I love the opportunities for people to get up and share their own musical talents with others in our monthly Open Mike evenings, though I am only an avid fan at this point. Vespers, with its beautifully quiet songs, poetry reading, flute playing and singing bowls makes for an amazing evening. If you haven’t made the event on a Friday evening you must come and experience the sense of peace and quiet happiness you feel as you leave afterward. A truly meditative way to end your week.
And of course we have our choirs. I love being in our adult choir but I am so impressed with how our children’s choir has grown in body and ability. They rock the house! It is so fun to hear them share music with our congregation. Of course I can’t write about music at EUUC without acknowledging the part our pianist, Tomoko, shares in making it beautiful and inspiring. She is amazingly talented. Wil is such a versatile music director and I can’t thank him enough for the variety of musical ways he feeds my soul on Sundays and beyond.
How I Became a Unitarian Universalist
December 2nd, 2010 by Mae“Unitarian Universalism” What is that? A religion, you say? Never heard of it.
That was me a little over two years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
Updating Web content with WebYep
November 24th, 2010 by Nancy SamuelsThe content on some pages of the website are updated with WebYep an easy-to-use content management system. If the webmaster has given you a login and password to maintain website pages, follow these instructions to login and keep your info current.
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Musical Notes
November 15th, 2010 by Barbara PurnNotes from a Choir Member.