TAKE HOME REFLECTIONS
December 21.
Written by Angela Chenus.

December 21st:
A magical date since times long ago, solstice, the day the ancients believed the sun had abandoned the world for good, so dark and long was the night. Celebrating the solstice is celebrating faith, faith that the sun and spring will return, that there will be a long period of darkness yet, but that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Can you find a way to embrace the cold and dark, knowing that it will not last forever?

Is there a celebration to be found in cozy days by the fireplace, adventures in the snow, hot cocoa and the warmth of shared stories and shared snuggles?

Today: read together a story from the Inuit. Their mythology is fun and powerful, they were, after all, making it through six months of winter darkness each year! Titles for children:

Raven, by Gerald McDermott from James Houston's Treasury of Inuit Legends
And/or: Light candles to banish the darkness from the corners. Making candles is a tradition we have in our family on this day; an easy method is rolling a sheet of beeswax around a wick. Materials can be easily found on bee-keepers' websites and kits in children's catalogs.

Then go for a candle light walk in the woods (or a close approximation thereof, the back yard may be adventure enough,) to welcome the return of the light that begins at midnight.


December 22nd:
Today is Hanukkah; Happy Hanukkah! and yes, Christmas is almost here, and you really don't have time to be reading these reflections, well-intentioned as they may be, there are things to do! As I look around me at this time of the year, there are inevitably a million things I have not done that I would like to accomplish, yet if I take a closer look, there is much good that has been done, and at this late date, that will have suffice.

Today: take a moment to breathe, to contemplate, to meditate. You could start your day with a personal meditation and lead your family in a collective sharing of something each is grateful for. We call our daily gathering in our house “joys and sorrows” like at church, but sometimes we banish the two categories in favor of sharing a gratitude.

Remembering how fortunate we are can help subvert the “gimmes” that have perhaps set in for the children and the despair of not doing it all for the adults.

December 23rd:
In my Catholic tradition, each year we would breathlessly await the coming of the “little lord Jesus” as my four-year-old calls him. Today is the day before the eve. The excitement is beginning to become palapable in households with children. It is also a time of awe, as we contemplate the miracle of birth, again. Here are a couple of ideas for cultivating the awe and wonder.

If your house contains a Nativity scene, you could gather around it with the kids and imagine out loud what each character might be thinking right now. Spin a story for a figure; that angel on Earth-duty for the first time, what a night for it! Joseph, first-time father; ask Dad what Joseph might be feeling. One lamb, lost among the big feet, or in the arms of his trusted shepheard, in awe at being let up this late tonight.

If your house does not contain a Nativity scene, you could create a “birth of the sun” scene, with a cradle or cushion in the middle and all of the figurines, stuffed animals and dolls your house contains all around to witness the rebirth of the sun. They surely have tales to tell as well.

December 24th, It is the Eve, the big one, Santa is probably coming to your house, ready or not, Christian or not. Breathe in, be in the moment, welcome the holy presence you believe in into your own heart first today. Your mood and attitude will set the mood for the rest of the family, take care of yourself first.

One of our favorite traditions is attending the evening service at church, then taking a plateful of cookies to the neighbors' houses, caroling through the neighborhood at the top of our (mostly the kids') voices. This always has a nice effect when it has snowed and all is still. You could find your own way of spreading cheer and sharing the joy with others today.

December 25th, Merry Christmas! If you are not Christian today, you and your family, as Unitarians honoring the lives of great religious leaders, could bake a cake for the birthday of Jesus. Enjoy the day together!


Happy Hanukkah! Merry Christmas! Happy Solstice! Joyful Yuletide! Angela Chenus

Deep Freeze

God of spring, summer, fall and winter.

God whose name is unknowable, whose face is too bright to behold.

Find in these deep frozen places--of the heart, of the mind, of the spirit--some place that can find new life, some place that can mend and heal and thaw.

Breathe new life into these weary, shivering bones.

And when the time comes, and the days draw especially short, remind us that the earth holds in its embrace the new seeds that will birth bright colors come spring.

Come spring. But not too soon.Let me not rush the next thing. Still my heart, o God, to rest in this season, to let the seed be--still, silent, invisible. Waiting. The seed lives. The seed endures.

The seed will grow.

Give me patience, amidst the deep freeze. Give me eyes to see the life that is all around.

Amen.

November 30 Take Home Reflections

Take Home Reflections: November 23-Christmas Eve, 2008
Unitarian Church, Davenport, Rev. Roger Butts

Sunday, November 30, 2008
First Sunday of Advent

Perhaps you are a bit like me at this time of year.

You cannot hear much of anything above the cacophony of sound—rushing shoppers, maddening crowds, loud and persistent advertisements.

Maybe you long to hear that small, still voice that occupies every living thing, that place where wisdom and gratitude reside.

Maybe in the midst of the rush, you can sense a place deep in your being that says: Be still.

You can hear the Buddha-inside you say, “Find a tree, sit a while.” You can hear the Jesus in you say: Sit a while, find a dear friend, share a meal.

You can hear the psalmist say: there is no where you can go to escape love’s embrace, you might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

You can feel the goddess in you: the wind in the trees, the falling snow, notice it. Love it. Embrace it. You are part of it.

You can sense Emerson whispering in your ear: why keep looking, striving, seeking. You are at home.

Great love, grant that I might find a stillness, hold a stillness, love a stillness, so that the great call of my heart can be heard and the great love at the heart of all things might be enjoyed.


FAMILIES:
The first theme in advent is hope. Tell you children a story this week about a time when you experienced hope, how it felt to you, what it meant, how it changed your life. Ask your child about what they hope for.


Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Last Sunday (November 30), we introduced a number of new members into our church community. Roger used the image of wild geese as a metaphor for what it is like to be a part of a church—shared leadership, lots of encouragement, a sense of working together. When is a time that you experienced some of that in this church? What was that like for you? As you look back on the last year, what stands out as a particularly collaborative effort that you took part in, and what did it mean for you?


FAMILIES:
Let your children suggest a dinner menu in the next few days. Talk to them about who all was involved in the preparation of the food. Talk to them about Thich Nhat Hanh’s idea that we are all in everything—that the farmer who raised the broccoli is in the broccoli, that the sun is in the broccoli, that the rain is there. And give them an opportunity to name all of the things that might be in their food. Also, give them a chance to say thank you to all of those things and people.

Thursday, December 4, 2008
Pay very close attention right now to where you are, how you are sitting, what you hear, how you feel, why you are there. Pay attention prayerfully.

What am I feeling right now?

Sometimes I seek solace for my soul outside my soul, but if I listen very carefully, I can feel myself restored right now.
(From Awakening the Soul by John Morgan).

Families:
Ask your children what they might wish to learn about in the next few days. Listen carefully to their response and try to build a time to share with them what you know about what they wish to learn about.

Friday, December 5, 2008
Tonight at sunset, in the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath begins. The Sabbath is a time to express gratitude, to be with family members, to share a common meal and to go about the business of praise. All of these speak deeply to the tasks involved in the life of the spirit.

What can you do to include some or all of those components into your Friday?

Try to take a Sabbath moment in the midst of your rushing around.

Families:
Sit down with your family for a shared meal. Invite your children to pay attention to the food right in front of them. Ask them to name the food. Ask them to notice the food. Invite them to be grateful for the food.
Share a time with your children when you had an especially fun Christmas/holiday memory. Who was there? What happened?



For Sunday, December 7th: Read “Of the Coming of John” by W.E.B. DuBois. It is available at the library in The Soul of Black Folks (1903) or search for it online (the whole story is online).

Take Home Reflections Week of November 23 2008

TAKE HOME REFLECTIONS
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 23-NOVEMBER 30
Our theme for the year: Home


SUNDAY November 23, 2008
In the entranceway of my house, there is a painting from Haiti by a fellow named Casimir. He painted this village market scene, full of bright vibrant colors and triangles and circles in the 1950s. It is one of my prized possessions, because I bought in Washington DC in the early 90s at a Haitian art store. I bought it when I had little business buying anything of value. I had little money. But I scraped the money together and took a chance. I love that painting. It reminds me of my starting out as a young adult in the DC area, all that energy, all that vibrancy, all those new opportunities. In a word, it stands for possibility.

What piece of art work in your house stands for something other than what is in the frame, or on the canvas? Where does it take you? How does it make you feel?


FAMILIES:
If you have children old enough to understand, tell them a story about a piece of art work in your house. Tell them about your life at that time.

What can you and your whole family create together? What are you working on just now?

Remember, I asked in early fall for you to befriend a tree. How is it doing?

MONDAY November 24
All around, you can see the energy building towards the holiday season. Christmas trees are appearing in the local hardware stores. Decorations are out and about. Radio stations are beginning to play the music of this season. It is a festive time.
What will you do to keep yourself in balance this holiday season?

FAMILIES:
Ask your child: What would you like me to teach you about this week? If you ask, they will tell you. Go to the library together and pick out an age appropriate book about what they’d like to learn about!

TUESDAY November 25
In his reflection during the service last week, Our Paths Home, Tyson Danner talked about the healing power of community, and specifically on what he valued about the Unitarian Church community. He said, that he always loved the song, There is a Balm in Gilead to heal a sin sick soul. He said that he doesn’t know if there is a balm in Gilead or not, but he knows there is one in Davenport.
What helps to keep you whole? What helps to heal the wounds that are uniquely yours?

FAMILIES:
There is an opportunity to prepare stockings with stocking stuffers for truly disadvantaged children in the community. Sarah Moulton (sarahmoulton1@yahoo.com) is leading the way. We’ll dedicate those, I think, on December 14th. Share with your children a time when you helped another person and what it meant to you. Go out if you can and buy some stocking stuffers with the kids, and tell them who they are going to help (children of domestic violence and children formerly homeless.)

WEDNESDAY November 26
Thanksgiving Day is nearly here. Some great old church person said: If the only prayer I offered up was thanks, that would be enough.
Say a prayer of thanks today. Take five minutes. Be still. And whether you offer your thanksgiving to God or to the universe or to someone who helped you, offer up thanks!

FAMILIES
Teach your children to say prayers of thanksgiving!

FRIDAY November 28
Today, stores open up at an ungodly early hour. What is your relationship with commercialization and consumerism. Sometimes I buy things to make me feel better. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. What would it be like to adopt an attitude of greater simplicity? On December 14th, the service will be on simplicity. What was a favorite holiday memory that did not include material goods?
FAMILIES
If it is not too cold, take a family walk together. Notice things that you find absolutely beautiful that are absolutely free!


SATURDAY, November 27
Tomorrow at church, the image we’ll lift up is the idea of wild geese. There is a poem by Mary Oliver by that name, Wild Geese, that you can find here
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2002/06/21
Read it and think about what it says to you.
See you in church!