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During my sabbatical I twice had the opportunity to visit Hanover, PA, my mother’s birthplace, the town where she grew up—about 40 minutes south of Harrisburg, and 40 minutes north of Baltimore. Her three siblings still live there. For seventy years her family ran W.L. Sterner’s, a hardware and farm store on Frederick St., which my grandfather, Walter Leroy Sterner, opened during the great depression. When I was growing up, Hanover was a rural farming community with a downtown that felt a lot like the downtown in the Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I didn’t know it as a child, but Hanover was already in transition at that time. Today, much of the farmland I loved has been sold off and developed for housing and strip malls. Hanover now feels very suburban, and has become a far, outer-ring suburb of Baltimore. I went there in October to visit nearby Gettysburg College with my son, Max; and again in January with my mom to visit family. On both trips I sat in the kitchen nook in my uncle’s home where a print of Eric Enstrom’s iconic photograph, “Grace,” is prominently displayed. Of course, ‘prominent’ is not an apt description. The image of an older, bearded, white-haired man wearing a flannel shirt and praying over a simple meal of bread and soup, a Bible nearby, is so peaceful, so still, so quiet, that even when prominently displayed, it refuses to take over the room. It’s an unassuming and humble image, soft, muted. It invites inward contemplation, far more than any kind of outward action. A 2018 Minnesota Public Radio story commemorates the photo’s 100th anniversary. The photographer, Enstrom, was a Swedish immigrant who’d settled in the mining town of Bovey, MN. The lore usually identifies 1918 as the year he took the photo, though it may have been a few years later. The man who sat for the photo, Charles Wilden, was a local peddler. I’ve seen some references to him being an alcoholic. Enstrom eventually paid Wilden $5 for the rights to his image, and from then on Wilden is missing from history. There’s also considerable evidence that the book on the table is a dictionary, not a Bible, though Enstrom clearly meant for it to appear as a Bible. The original photo was black and white. Enstrom, and later his daughter, colored the photo (I’m not sure what technique they used) and eventually sold the rights to the Augsburg Publishing House in Minneapolis who mass-produced it. It’s that mass-produced, colorized version that hangs in my uncle’s home in Hanover. I’ve been looking at it every time I’ve visited his home for my entire life. As a child, “Grace” revealed to me a way of being spiritual. Quiet. Still. Inward. Contemplative. Grateful. I would later learn that among German Lutherans in the 1700s and early eighteen hundred, a movement known as pietism downplayed the emphasis on church doctrine and dogma and promoted a more personal faith, a personal relationship with the divine, a prayerful life, a simple life, and again, a grateful life. My mother’s family would have been inheritors of the legacies of pietism—even if they didn’t use that term. I suspect Minnesota’s Lutheran immigrant communities, though more Scandinavian than German, would have brought a similar spiritual legacy with them to the United States. I didn’t fully understand this spirituality as a child. I was being raised in a decidedly humanist Unitarian Universalist congregation in New Haven. Stillness and contemplation, yes. But the idea of a personal relationship with God, accessed primarily through prayer, no. I didn’t  have that spiritual model as a UU kid. And I don’t remember UU adults ever expressing that kind of spiritual need. But there it was, on the wall in my uncle’s home, a different way, and a bit mysterious. It never made me feel that I needed to have a personal relationship with a deity, but it was calming. It was peaceful. And if nothing else, it taught me, very gently, that pausing through the course of one’s day—pausing to express gratitude, to reflect on the events of the day; pausing just for brief moment of quiet—pausing matters. In my young adult years I was active, "Grace" didn't say much to me. First, in my 20s, I was playing in rock bands in Boston. In my early 30s I was in grad school, studying for the ministry, and growing into an activist identity. In my late 30s and 40s I was putting all I’d learned into practice. You are a very active congregation and I have always felt called here to match your activity with lots of energy and enthusiasm. I’ve also been a fighter—for marriage equality, environmental justice, universal health care, affordable housing, transgender rights, immigrants’ rights, domestic worker rights, Black Lives Matter—the list is long. As you know, that fighting—we can also call it organizing, protesting, advocating, witnessing—has been a prominent dimension of my ministry. So during my young adult to middle-age years, I didn’t have much patience for “Grace” whenever I’d see it. I didn’t dismiss it out of hand. It just didn’t speak to me. It seemed to be asking for too great a withdrawal from the world. I felt there was too much at stake in the world for “Grace” to be a guiding image for spirituality and spiritual practice. I needed an image that was engaged, active—grounded, certainly—but moving, flowing, powerful. Here’s a photo I took of my niece, MJ, leading chants at a rally in New Haven two years ago with Recovery for All (now CT for All). What’s important to me about this image is that the values at the heart of her religion—she’s a Reform Jew—values which align very much with our Unitarian Universalist principles—are being professed outwardly, in public, with a bullhorn, during a march. I could also show you photos of game night, the fair, the auction, children and youth ministry here at UUSE. We don't use a bull horn, but there's a lot of action and energy. Contrast such highly active expressions of faith with the quiet, calm, contemplative faith in Enstrom’s “Grace.” It’s also possible “Grace” didn’t speak to me during those years because my childhood image of Hanover—that rural, farm-centered, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” existence—had finally been overtaken by suburban sprawl and strip malls. [Of course, that didn’t just happen in Hanover. It happened everywhere, including Connecticut.] On my two recent visits to my uncle’s home, I had an unexpected emotional response to “Grace.” I felt grief. Looking at the photo now, it speaks to me about something that’s been lost. I even began to wonder if the man in the photo, Mr. Wilden, was carrying some personal grief, which was speaking to me all these years later, even though that wasn’t the photographer’s intent.  The Minnesota Public Radio piece mentions how many people had died that year from the Spanish flu. Perhaps Mr. Wilden lost someone in that pandemic. It sounds like he was poor, making his living selling some kind of wares door to door. It’s possible he was an addict in an era that didn’t know what to do with addicts other than shun them. It’s possible he, too, felt something had been lost. It’s possible he, too, was grieving. In thinking about Mr. Wilden as a person living with grief, it occurred to me that some things are worth praying for. That’s what “Grace” is saying to me at this point in my life. “Some things are worth praying for.” I no longer experience “Grace” as an image of withdrawal. Some religions call for withdrawal, citing the world’s sinfulness, depravity and evil. They say there is no way to be in holy relationship such a world, so don’t engage. But that has never been the Unitarian Universalist way. It has never been the liberal religious way. We love the world. To us the world is ultimately good. So we engage. But “Grace” reminds me that we can’t be constantly engaged, constantly active, constantly fighting. That kind of constancy yields an unbalanced spiritual life. It’s a recipe for spiritual, mental, emotion and physical burnout. Pausing matters. Don’t rush through. Take your time. Reflect on the events of your day. Express your gratitude for a meal, for the people and all the blessings in your life. It matters. Give your pain and fear over to a power greater than yourself. It matters. Shut your eyes, breathe, keep silent, humbly acknowledging your smallness either in the presence of God or before the vastness of the universe. It matters. Pausing brings necessary balance to your times of action and engagement. “Some Things are Worth Praying For.” That’s my sermon title, but it’s not the full sentiment. The full sentiment is “Some things are worth praying for; and in some moments praying may be all we can do.” When despair and hopelessness rise in us, when we feel powerless in the face of all the things we cannot change, praying may be all we can do. And I say it is worth praying. It is worth saying the words out loud. I felt this way—and I suspect you may have too—in response to the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel. I feel this way now—and I suspect you may too—in response to the state of Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. I pray for an end to the killing of so many Palestinians and I pray for all those Israelis and Palestinians who are grieving the deaths of loved-ones and neighbors. I pray for the safe return of the remaining Israeli hostages. I pray for a ceasefire. I pray that the war will not escalate. And, though I know there are some who will not like to hear me say this, I pray that those with power who are waging this war—and who have been waging it for generations—whether directly or behind the scenes, whether in Washington, DC, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Ramallah or Gaza City; whether from the air with drones, or in tunnels a mile underground—I pray they will find the moral clarity to realize the use of violence solves nothing. I pray they will find the moral courage to put down their arms and put up the foundations for a lasting peace, one that honors the longing in both Jewish and Palestinian hearts for a homeland. I imagine to some I sound naïve. So be it. When all I can do is pray, this is my prayer. *** Some things are worth praying for; and in some moments praying may be all we can do. If that is the case, then I urge you to pray—or learn to pray if it isn’t your practice. Now when I view “Grace” at age 56, this is what comes to me. The war in Gaza is one star in a constellation of troubles that is worth praying for. I’m sure each of you has a list—from the very personal to the global—of things worth praying for. This morning, in addition to the war, I’m thinking about climate change and the increasing prevalence of climate catastrophes around the world. This morning I’m mindful we’re in an election year, and by all predictions, it’s going to be an ugly and divisive year. This morning I’m thinking of members and friends in our congregation who are facing difficult life challenges. A constellation of troubles worth praying for. When we don’t have the power to make the troubles go away, our prayers still matter. Speaking the words out loud matters. Whether we’re speaking them to a personal, immanent divinity, a transcendent God, a quiet, present mystery, a vast, impersonal universe, a congregational community, our family members before a meal, or just to ourselves, it matters. Saying the words out loud means something more than the words themselves. It means we’ve decided not to give up, whatever the struggle is. It means we’ve decided not to give in to helplessness or despair, not to put our heads in the sand, not to withdraw from the world. It means that in the midst of our anxiety, our rage, our fear, our grief, our sense that something has been lost, we can still name to ourselves—and whoever else is listening—how things could be better, how there could be more love in the world, more compassion, more care, more justice—how things could be different, how we ourselves could be different. Some things are worth praying for; and in some moments praying may be all we can do. In such moments, I say pray. Pray loudly and unapologetically. And my prayer for you is that in your prayers you will find the words that remind you a better world is possible. Amen and blessed be.

Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Centering Prelude "Illumination" Improvisation by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting & Opening Words: "Where equity and justice transcend mere dreams" (Dr. David Breeden) Welcome to this place where equity and justice transcend mere dreams; where they are the air we breathe. Enter this sanctuary, all who yearn for respite from a world rife with scarcity & inequity; rife with the relentless shackles of privilege and bias. come, embrace this space; be embraced by this place, this refuge where scarcity and disparity dissolve into we, together, crafting a place where the breath of life is equity and justice ... cherished, manifested, sustained. Opening Hymn #159 "This is My Song" Words: Lloyd Stone; Music: Jean Sibelius This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is, here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine, but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine. My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine, but other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine. O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, A song of peace for their land and for mine. Prayer/Meditation: "In These Times in which the Ground Feels Shaky" (Rev. Joan Javier-Duval) In these times in which the ground feels shaky And our hands and feet unsteady We turn to you Oh, Source of Strength, Spirit of Compassion For we do not know what the future holds Truly, we can never know And we need strength in these times of uncertainty We need the strength and the fortitude to hold on, to see clearly, to reach out in love. May we find guidance within ourselves and beyond ourselves May we be restless for truth when truth is cast aside, May we be seekers of peace as the drumbeats of war grow louder around us, May we hear and sound the alarm for our planet as fires rage and ravage, And, in all this, may Love rule our hearts. May we know the Source of Love within us and stay grounded in that source As we grieve, as we grapple with the unknown, as we work towards creating a more just, peaceful, and sustainable present and future together. So May it be. Amen Welcoming Visitors and Joys & Concerns Musical Meditation Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, and in recognition of Black History Month, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of February will go to Manchester's African American and Black Affairs Council or AABAC. AABAC is a community-based organization whose mission is to uphold all aspects of the lived experiences of Black people through advocacy, education, and community endeavors. AABAC strives to eliminate injustices experienced by Black people in Manchester, CT, through engagement with Manchester residents, community partners and allies. Offertory "Black Hole Sun" Chris Cornell; arr. Mary Bopp Prayer: "Your Guiding Power" (Rabbi Sydney Greenberg) God, your word brings on the twilight of evening. The heavens proclaim your glory. And we, your creatures on earth, Behold in wonder Your endless miracles. Help us to recognize your guiding power in distant galaxies and in our own souls. Teach us your law of righteousness and love So that Your spirit may govern our lives. God of peace, bless our worship; May our meditations find favor in your sight. May our gratitude for your wonders Lead us in love, to your service, So that, like the changing seasons, the days, the nights, Our lives too, will proclaim your glory. Amen Sermon: "Reflecting God's Light into the Dark Places" (Rabbi Konigsburg) Closing Hymn #118 "This Little Light of Mine" Words & Music: African American spiritual This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Ev'rywhere I go, I'm gonna let it shine. Ev'rywhere I go, I'm gonna let it shine. Ev'rywhere I go, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Building up a world, I'm gonna let it shine. Building up a world, I'm gonna let it shine. Building up a world, I'm gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Closing Words: "Rekindle Commitment" (Rev. Jenn Gracen) May we go forward From this gathering Ready to commit again To sharing the gift of justice and equity With this hurting world. Go in peace, Go in love. Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Lovingly" Improvisation by Mary Bopp Service Introduction Chalice Lighting and Opening Words from Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O'Donohue Opening Hymn "There is More Love Somewhere" #95 in Singing the Living Tradition Words & music: African American hymn There is more love somewhere. There is more love somewhere. I'm gonna keep on 'til I find it. There is more love somewhere. There is more hope somewhere ... There is more peace somewhere ... There is more joy somewhere ... Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation Story: A Lamp in Every Corner by Janeen K. Grohsmeyer Offering For the month of January, the recipient of our community outreach offering is the CT Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Their mission is to create communities free of sexual violence and to provide culturally affirming, trauma-informed advocacy, prevention, and intervention services centered on the voices of survivors. The Alliance seeks to create a world in which everyone believes sexual violence is a preventable problem and actively plays a role in ending it. Offering Music "Answering the Call of Love" Music by Jason Shelton; Arranged by Mary Bopp Sermon Closing Hymn "I've Got Peace Like a River" #100 in Singing the Living Tradition Words and Music: Marvin V. Frey I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul. I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul. I've got joy like a fountain ... I've got love like an ocean ... I've got pain like an arrow ... I've got tears like the raindrops ... I've got strength like a mountain ... Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Words from How to Love by Thich Nhat Hanh Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Prelude Selections from Dvorak's New World Symphony Dorothy Bognar, piano Chalice Lighting and Opening Words Opening Hymn #1 "May Nothing Evil Cross This Door" Words: Louis Untermeyer; Music: Robert N. Quaile Dorothy Bognar, piano May nothing evil cross this door, and may ill fortune never pry about these windows; may the roar and rain go by. By faith made strong, the rafters will withstand the battering of the storm. This hearth, though all the world grow chill, will keep you warm. Peace shall walk softly through these rooms, touching our lips with holy wine, till ev'ry casual corner blooms into a shrine. With laughter drown the raucous shout, and, though these sheltering walls are thin, may they be strong to keep hate out and hold love in. Introduction to the Service & Readings From "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Uvong Statement from the National Association of Realtors 1924 Code of Ethics Musical Interlude "UU Benediction" by Dorothy Bognar Dorothy Bognar, piano Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude "Home, Sweet Home" by Sir Henry Bishop and John Howard Payne Dorothy Bognar, piano Offering For the month of January, the recipient of our community outreach offering is the CT Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Their mission is to create communities free of sexual violence and to provide culturally affirming, trauma-informed advocacy, prevention, and intervention services centered on the voices of survivors. The Alliance seeks to create a world in which everyone believes sexual violence is a preventable problem and actively plays a role in ending it. Offering Music "Ave verum corpus" By W. A. Mozart, Arranged by Franz Liszt Dorothy Bognar, piano Reading: "I, too, sing America" by Langston Hughes; read by Erin Boggs Guest Speaker: Erin Boggs, Executive Director of Open Communities Alliance Closing Hymn #1008 "When Our Heart Is in a Holy Place" Words & music: Joyce Poley Keyboard arr. Lorne Kellett Chorus: When our heart is in a holy place, When our heart is in a holy place, We are bless’d with love and amazing grace, When our heart is in a holy place. When we trust the wisdom in each of us, Ev’ry color ev’ry creed and kind, And we see our faces in each other’s eyes, Then our heart is in a holy place. When we tell our story from deep inside, And we listen with a loving mind, And we hear our voices in each other’s words, Then our heart is in a holy place. When we share the silence of sacred space, And the God of our Heart stirs within, And we feel the power of each other’s faith, Then our heart is in a holy place. Extinguishing the Chalice and Closing Words Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Prelude "Try to Remember" by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt Chalice Lighting Introduction to the Service Hymn "Dark of Winter" #55 in Singing the Living Tradition Words & Music: Shelley Jackson Denham Dark of winter, soft and still, your quiet calm surrounds me. Let my thoughts go where they will; ease my mind profoundly. And then my soul will sing a song, a blessed song of love eternal. Gentle darkness, soft and still, brings your quiet to me. Darkness, soothe my weary eyes, that I may see more clearly. When my heart with sorrow cries, comfort and caress me. And then my soul may hear a voice, a still, small voice of love eternal. Darkness, when my fears arise, let your peace flow through me. Reading: "I Felt It Deeply" -- from a post on the website DEEPLY I Felt It Elder Video I A Time for Sharing: Introductions, Joys & Concerns Offertory Offertory Music "Fields of Gold" by Sting arranged by Eva Cassidy Hymn "Voice Still and Small" #391 in Singing the Living Tradition Words & Music: John Corrado Voice still and small, deep inside all, I hear you call, singing. In dark and rain, sorrow and pain, still you remain singing. Calming my fears, quenching my tears, through all the years, singing. Nancy's Reflections Elder Video II Closing Words (from a post on the website DEEPLY I Felt It Extinguishing the Chalice #456 in Singing the Living Tradition by Elizabeth Selle Jones We extinguish this flame but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we carry in our hearts until we are together again Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

"We will only save what we love" Sisters of the Earth Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Centering Prelude "Heart is Where the Home Is" Improvisation – Mary Bopp Introduction to the Service Chalice Lighting & Opening Words (in unison) We light this chalice To abet creation and to witness to it To notice each other’s beautiful face and complex nature So that creation need not play to an empty house. (Annie Dillard) Opening Hymn "For the Beauty of the Earth" #21 in Singing the Living Tradition Words: Folliott Sandford Pierpoint, 1835-1917 adapt. Music: Conrad Kocher, 1786-1872, abridged For the beauty of the earth, for the splendor of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind’s delight, for the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human care, sister, brother, parent, child, for the kinship we all share, for all gentle thoughts and mild: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. Silent Meditation Joys and Concerns Words of Meditation and Prayer Musical Response Story: "The Agreement" (Attr. Barry Lopez) Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of the unspecified Sunday plate collections for the month of January will go to the CT Alliance to End Sexual Violence. Offering Music Somewhere Over the Rainbow Music: Harold Arlen.  Lyrics: Yip Harburg Performed. By Sandy Johnson & Dan Thompson Sermon: “For the Love of Place ...” (Rev. Alison Cornish) Closing Hymn Blue Boat Home #1064 in Singing the Journey Words: Peter Mayer, 1963 - , ©2002 Peter Mayer Music: Roland Hugh Prichard, 1811-1887, adapted by Peter Mayer Keyboard arr: Jason Shelton, 1972- Though below me, I feel no motion standing on these mountains and plains. Far away from the rolling ocean still my dry land heart can say: I’ve been sailing all my life now, never harbor or port have I known. The wide universe is the ocean I travel, and the earth is my blue boat home. Sun my sail and moon my rudder as I ply the starry sea, leaning over the edge in wonder, casting questions into the deep. Drifting here with my ship’s companions, all we kindred pilgrim souls, making our way by the lights of the heavens in our beautiful blue boat home. I give thanks to the waves upholding me, hail the great winds urging me on, greet the infinite sea before me, sing the sky my sailor’s song: I was born up on the fathoms, never harbor or port have I known. The wide universe is the ocean I travel, and the earth is my blue boat home. Closing Words & Extinguishing the Chalice (in unison) We extinguish the chalice here that it might glow gently in our hearts. May it light our paths as we leave this place. (Adapted – Martha Musson) Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music "Adagio Cantabile" by Ludwig van Beethoven Welcome, Announcements & Introductions Centering Prelude "Bluesette" by Jean Thielemans Chalice Lighting: Chalice Lighting for Winter Solstice by Sharon Wylie Opening Hymn #175 "We Celebrate the Web of Life" by Melchior Vulpius words by Alicia S. Carpenter Reading: Pine Forest Fugue by Elizabeth Tarbox Introductions, Joys and Concerns Musical Response "Waltz for Debby" by Bill Evans Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our undesignated Sunday plate collections for the month of December will go to three area shelters: McKinney Men's Shelter (Hartford), East Hartford Community Shelter, and Cornerstone Shelter (Rockville). Offering Music "Gymnopedie, No. 1" by Erik Satie Story: The Legend of Mother Deer Reflection: Yuletide and Ancient Sami Wisdom Reflection: Inner Practices at Yule Closing Hymn #15 "The Lone, Wild Bird" by William Walker words by H. R. MacFayden Closing Words: Beloved Mystery Hold Us Close by Rebekah A. Savage Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome and Introduction Centering Chalice Lighting Opening Song #248 "O We Believe in Christmas" Words: Percival Chubb, 1860 -1960, © 1955 American Ethical Union Music: American folk hymn melody in The Revivalist , 1868 O we believe in Christmas, and we keep Christmas day; and we will honor Christmas the ancient worldwide way: the Christmas of all peoples, the sun’s returning cheer rung out from towers and steeples at midnight of the year. And we will join at Christmas the song of hope and joy that finds its theme at Christmas in every girl and boy. The flame of life will dwindle as fades the sunset sky until a child shall kindle new light and raise that high. Then sing we all at Christmas the song of that new birth which holds the hope of Christmas and brings its joy to earth; which knits the generations, each daughter and each son, beyond all tribes and nations, and makes the many one. Shine out ye lights of Christmas from hearth and tree and star! And let the warmth of Christmas shed kindness near and far! And clang, ye bells of Christmas, upon the frosty air! And may the joy of Christmas spread gladness everywhere! Reading: Luke 2: 1-14 Silence Hymn #1061 For So the Children Come Words: Sophia Lyon Fahs, 1876 - 1978 Music: Jason Shelton, 1972 - , © 1998 Jason Shelton Chorus: Each night a child is born is a holy night: A time for singing, A time for wondering, A time for worshipping, Each night a child is born is a holy night. Story: "The Birds of Bethlehem" by Tomie de Paola Carol #246 "O Little Town of Bethlehem" Words: Phillips Brooks. Music: Lewis H. Redner O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by; Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight. For Christ is born of Mary, And gathered all above, While mortals sleep, the angels keep Their watch of wondrous love. O morning stars, together Proclaim the holy birth, And praises sing to God the King, And peace to men on earth! How silently how silently The wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, But in this world of sin, Where meek souls will receive Him still, The dear Christ enters in. Winter Solstice and Christmas Eve Prayer by Rev. Josh Pawelek Silence Carol #231 "Angels We Have Heard on High" Words: Earl Marlatt; Music, French carol Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o’er the plains and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains. (Chorus) Gloria, in excelsis Deo. Gloria, in excelsis Deo. Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why these songs of happy cheer? What great brightness did you see? What glad tidings did you hear? (Chorus) See him in a manger laid whom the angels praise above; Mary, Joseph, lend your aid, while we raise our hearts in love. (Chorus) Poem “A Blessing for Traveling in the Dark” by Jan Richardson Offering for the Minister’s Discretionary Fund Offering Music “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Ralph Blane and Hugh Martin Story: “The Holly King and the Oak King” by J. C. Artemesia Carols #241 In the Bleak Midwinter Words ad. By John Andrew Storey from Georgina Rossetti; Music by Gustav Theodore Holst In the bleak midwinter frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak midwinter long ago. Christ a homeless stranger, so the gospels say, cradled in a manger and a bed of hay; in the bleak midwinter, stable-place sufficed Mary and her baby, Jesus Christ. Once more child and mother weave their magic spell, touching hearts with wonder words can never tell; in the bleak midwinter, in this world of pain, where our hearts are open love is born again. #244 "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" Words by Edmund Hamilton Sears; Music by Richard Storrs Willis It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth To touch their hearts of gold! Peace on the earth, good will to men, From heaven’s all gracious King! The world in solemn stillness lay To hear the angels sing. Still through the cloven skies they come With peaceful wings unfurled And still their heavenly music floats O’er all the weary world; Above its sad and lowly plains They bend on hovering wing And ever o’er its Babel sounds The blessed angels sing. Yet with the woes of sin and strife The world hath suffered long. Beneath the angel strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong: And man, at war with man, hears not The love song which they bring, O hush the noise, ye men of strife, And hear the angels sing. For lo the days are hastening on, By prophet bards foretold, When, with the ever-circling years, Shall come the Age of Gold; When peace shall over all the earth Its ancient splendor fling, And all the world give back the song Which now the angels sing. “245 Joy to the World Music by George Frederic Handel Text by Isaac Watts Joy to the world! The Lord is come: Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room And heaven and nature sing, and heaven nature sing, And heaven, and heaven and nature sing. Joy to the world! The Savior reigns Let men their songs employ While fields and flocks, Rocks hills and plainsong Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. He rules the world with truth and grace And makes the nations prove The glories of his righteousness, And wonders of his love, and wonders of his love, And wonders and wonders of his love. #251 Silent Night Words by Joseph Mohr Music by Franz Xaver Gruber Silent night, holy night! All is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace. Silent night, holy night! Shepherds quake at the sight Glories stream from heaven afar Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia, Christ the Savior is born! Christ the Savior is born! Silent night, holy night! Son of God, love’s pure light Radiant beams from thy holy face With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus Lord at thy birth, Jesus Lord at thy birth. Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life, And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come. Silent leaving

Gathering Music and Slide Show Prelude "Ave Verum Corpus" W. A. Mozart Dorothy Bognar, piano Opening Words (Rev. Josh Pawelek) Words of Welcome Chalice Lighting (Max and Anna Roy) Hymn #108 "My Life Flows on in Endless Song" Early Quaker song, set to American gospel tune Dorothy Bognar, piano Sandy Johnson, hymn leader My life flows on in endless song above earth's lamentation I hear the real though far-off hymn that hails a new creation. Through all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing. It sounds an echo in my soul. How can I keep from singing! What though the tempest 'round me roars, I know the truth, it liveth. What though the darkness 'round me close, songs in the night it giveth. No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that rock I'm clinging. Since love prevails in heav'n and earth, how can I keep from singing! When tyrants tremble as they hear the bells of freedom ringing, when friends rejoice both far and near, how can I keep from singing! To prison cell and dungeon vile our thoughts to them are winging; when friends by shame are undefiled, how can I keep from singing! Reading "Sailing to Byzantium" by William Butler Yeats spoken by Lisa Gates Music "Take Five" by Paul Desmond Ethan and Julian Roy Eulogy Tim Roy and Rev. Josh Pawelek Testimonials Mike DiRaimo Don Williams Olivia Roy Ethan Roy Alexandra Roy Closing Song "This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie Dorothy Bognar, piano Sandy Johnson, vocals Ethan Roy, banjo Mike Roy, guitar Alexandra Roy Julian Roy Anna Roy Chorus: This land is your land, and this land is my land From California to the New York island From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and me. As I went walking that ribbon of highway And I saw above me that endless skyway I saw below me that golden valley This land was made for you and me. Chorus I roamed and rambled, and I've followed my footsteps To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts All around me, a voice was sounding This land was made for you and me. Chorus There was a big, high wall there that tried to stop me A sign was painted said "Private Property" but on the backside, it didn't say nothing This land was made for you and me. Chorus When the sun come shining, then I was strolling And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling The voice was chanting as the fog was lifting This land was made for you and me. Chorus Extinguishing the Chalice Benediction Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth and love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome & Announcements Centering Prelude "Concerto in C minor for Violin and Oboe (adagio)" by J. S. Bach Performed by Anhared Stowe, Marilyn Krentzman, Ryan Ford, & Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting Words paraphrased from "Inner Practices for the Twelve Nights of Yuletide" by Anne Stallkamp and Werner Hartung The twelve magical nights of the Yuletide season are a single great festival, a threshold, a time of transition, a moment in which to stop and take stock and yet a time for looking ahead to the coming year. In general, we believe that the end of something simultaneously marks the start of something new. However, there is a space between an end and a new beginning, an interval. Right now, this space is Yuletide. Given the busy time in the lead up to the holidays, the beginning of this period might not appear to be the most convenient moment in which to take some time out to explore our feelings, but in fact, it is particularly sutitable. The space between the ending and the beginning will suddenly open up, and the gates of time will unlock. Today is calling on you to stand still, to pause for a moment, and to be completely calm. Fill this space of silence and emptiness, this place of power, creation, and creativity with your love and your truth. Chalice Lighting Music "One Candle, One Flame" by Linda Sobo Performed by UUSE Choir with Dorothy Bognar, pianist Opening Hymn #253 "O Come, All Ye Faithful" O come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come and behold him born the King of angels; O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. Lo humble shepherds, hasting to his cradle, Leaving their flocks in the fields, draw near We, too, with gladness thither bend our footsteps; O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation, O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest; O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. Story: "The Shortest Day" by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Carson Ellis Musical Meditation (9:00 a.m. service only) Children's Choir (11:00 a.m. service only) Welcoming Visitors & Sharing of Joys & Concerns Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of December will go to three area shelters: McKinney Men's Shelter (Hartford), East Hartford Community Shelter, and Cornerstone Shelter (Rockville) Offering Music Holiday Favorites Performed by the Ford Family Trio (Margeaux, Simone, & Ryan Ford) Responsive Reading: "We are Waiting" This is the season of anticipation, Of expecting, of hoping, of wanting. This is the time of expecting the arrival of something--or someone. We are waiting. This is the time of living in darkness, in the hues of unknowing. Of being quiet, of reflecting on a year almost past. Waiting for a new beginning, for a closing or an end. This is the time for digesting the lessons of days gone past, anticipating the future for which We are waiting. Waiting for a world which can know justice. Waiting for lasting peace. Waiting for the bridge to span the divides which separate us. Waiting for a promise or a hope. For all of this We are waiting. Amen and blessed be. Music Shine on Me by Rollo Dilworth Night of Silence by Daniel Kantor One Candle by Andy Beck Performed by UUSE Choir with Dorothy Bognar, piano; Steve Dauphinas, drums Closing Hymn #388 Dona Nobis Pacem Dona nobis pacem, pacem, Dona nobis pacem. Dona nobis pacem, Dona nobis pacem. Dona nobis pacem, dona nobis pacem. Closing Words excerpt from "Winter Solstice" by the Rev. Rebecca Parker Let there be a season When holiness is heard, and The splendor of living is revealed. Stunned to stillness by beauty We remember who we are and why we are here. There are inexplicable mysteries. We are not alone. In the universe there moves a Wild One Whose gestures alter earth's axis toward love. In the immense darkness Everything spins with joy. The cosmos enfolds us. We are caught in a web of stars, Cradled in a swaying embrace, Rocked by the holy night, Babes of the universe. Let this be the time we wake to life, Like spring wakes, in the moment of winter solstice. Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Prelude "The Oneness of Everything" Words/Music by Jim Scott Opening Words: "The Mockingbird" by Mary Oliver Chalice Lighting Opening Hymn #1007 "There's a River Flowin' in My Soul" Words/Music: Rose Sanders There's a river flowin' in my soul. There's a river flowin' in my soul. And it's tellin' me that I'm somebody. There's a river flowin' in my soul. There's a river flowin' in my heart ... There's a river flowin' in my mind ... Introduction to the Service Joys and Concerns Musical Interlude 1st Homily (Coryn Clark) Musical Interlude Offering Continuing our practice of sharing our gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our Sunday plate collections for the month of December will go to three area shelters: McKinney Men's Shelter (Hartford), East Hartford Community Shelter, and Cornerstone Shelter (Rockville). Offering Music "The Forest Primeval" Improvisational piano piece by Mary Bopp 2nd Homily (Sandy Johnson) Musical Interlude 3rd Homily (Alan Ayers) Closing Hymn #21 "For the Beauty of the Earth" Words/music: Jason Shelton For the beauty of the earth, for the splendor of the skies, For the love which from our birth over and around us lies: Source to all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind's de-light, For the mystic harmony linking sense to sound and sight: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the wonder of each hour of the day and of the night, hill and vale and tree and flower, sun and moon and stars of light: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. For the joy of human care, sister, brother, parent, child, for the kinship we all share, for all gentle thoughts and mild: Source of all, to thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise. Reading: "Poem of the World" by Mary Oliver Extinguishing the Chalice Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.

Gathering Music Welcome and Announcements Centering Prelude "Meditations on Emmanuel" by Mary Bopp Chalice Lighting and Opening Words: "Untitled" by Anonymous Opening Hymn #298 "Wake Now My Senses" Words: Thomas J. S. Mikelson Music: Traditional Irish melody, harmony by Carlton R. Young Hymn Leader: Sandy Johnson Wake, now, my senses, and hear the earth call; feel the deep power of being in all; keep, with the web of creation your vow, giving, receiving as love shows us how. Wake, now, my reason, reach out to the new; join with each pilgrim who quests for the true; honor the beauty and wisdom of time; suffer thy limit, and praise the sublime. Wake, now, compassion, give heed to the cry; voices of suffering fill the wide sky; take as your neighbor both stranger and friend, praying and striving their hardship to end. Wake, now, my conscience, with justice thy guide; join with all people whose rights are denied; take not for granted a privileged place; God’s love embraces the whole human race. Wake, now, my vision of ministry clear; brighten my pathway with radiance here; mingle my calling with all who will share; work toward a planet transformed by our care. Joys and Concerns Musical Meditation Offertory Continuing our practice of sharing out gifts with the community beyond our walls, fifty percent of our undesignated Sunday plate collections for the month of December will go to three area shelters: McKinney Men's Shelter (Hartford), East Hartford Shelter, and Cornerstone Shelter (Rockville). Offertory Music "As the Earth Draws Dark" by Mary Bopp Introduction to the Service Reading: "You See, But Do Not Observe" Holy Clues by Rev. Stephen Kendrick Responsive Reading #568 "Connections are Made Slowly" by Marge Piercy Connections are made slowly, sometimes they grow underground. You cannot tell always by looking what is happening. More than half a tree is spread out in the soil under your feet. Penetrate quietly as the earthworm that blows no trumpet. Fight persistently as the creeper that brings down the tree. Spread like the squash plant that overruns the garden. Gnaw in the dark and use the sun to make sugar. Weave real connections, create real nodes, build real houses. Live a life you can endure: make love that is loving. Keep tangling and interweaving and taking more in, a thicket and bramble wilderness to the outside but to us interconnected with rabbit runs and burrows and lairs. Live as if you like yourself, and it may happen: Reach out, keep reaching out, keep bringing in. This is how we are going to live for a long time: not always, For every gardener knows that after the digging, after the planting, after the long season of tending and growth, the harvest comes. Meditation Musical Meditation Homily: "Holy Clues" (Rev. Stephen Kendrick) Closing Hymn #225 "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" Words: Latin c. 9th cent., trans. Composite based on John Mason Neale Music: Adapted by Thomas Helmore, harmony by John Weaver Hymn Leader: Sandy Johnson O come, O come, Emmanuel, and with your captive children dwell. Give comfort to all exiles here, and to the aching heart bid cheer. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Love to dwell. O come, you Splendor very bright, as joy that never yields to might. O come, and turn all hearts to peace, that greed and war at last shall cease. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Truth to dwell. O come, you Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by your presence here. And dawn in every broken soul as vision that can see the whole. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Light to dwell. O come, you Wisdom from on high, from depths that hide within a sigh, to temper knowledge with our care, to render every act a prayer. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come within as Hope to dwell. Benediction Extinguishing the Chalice Special Thanks Closing Circle May faith in the spirit of life And hope for the community of earth And love of the light in each other Be ours now, and in all the days to come.