I hope everyone had a restful and joyful holiday. I rested and spent time with Div and some of our friends. I am feeling calmer and ready for 2024.
I am incredibly grateful to those who made the holiday services lovely. I had help from our wonderful Worship Associates and our staff. During the Blue Christmas/Longest Night Service, we lit candles centering the grief and loneliness that sometimes accompanies the holiday season. During the children’s play with the winter fairies, we put on wings and celebrated the year’s turning. During the carol sing, we sang with joy and exuberance and saw a lovely dance from Helen and Manny! During the Christmas Eve Service, we sang outside on the patio Silent Night and let the wind blow out our candles. All together, it was a delightful December.
As we enter into January, we will be honoring MLK Jr Day on the 14th in service, hosting a Kirtan (Hindu praise service), and Kiki Wiley will offer special yoga. We also look forward to our regular opportunities for fellowship, music, and food.
The Ministerial Search Committee has received their applicants. They are in a confidential part of the search now and will be busy reading candidate records, talking to references, and scheduling initial interviews. It is an exciting and critical time for them. Please give them your support and gratitude!
At service on Sunday, I shared some New Year’s wishes from Neil Gaiman. What follows was his wish from 2020:
For this year… I hope we all get to walk freely in the world once more. To see our loved ones and hold them once again. I hope the year ahead is kind to us, and that we will be kind to each other, even if the year isn’t. Small acts of generosity, of speech, of reaching out, can mean more to those receiving them than the people doing them can ever know. Do what you can. Receive the kindnesses of others with grace.
Hold on. Hang on, by the skin of your teeth if you have to. Make art — or whatever you make — if you can make it. But if all you can manage is to get out of bed in the morning, then do that and be proud of what you’ve managed, not frustrated by what you haven’t. Remember, you aren’t alone, no matter how much it feels like it sometimes. And never forget that, sometimes, it’s only when it gets really dark that we can see the stars.
Sending love,
Rev. Chloë
