In a year so full of challenges, in a season that is about Light, which also feels so dark, we hold this space of compassionate reflection to hold grief and loss this Advent and Christmas and to anticipate the coming of light both in the season after solstice and in the Christ. At this time of year, the darkest time of year in the western hemisphere, we gather around an ancient story about light that comes into the darkness of our lives. We have undergone unprecedented loss this year. Family and friends have succumbed to death in this pandemic; millions have experienced economic uncertainty through losing jobs; some have lost or fear they may lose businesses. Most of us have lost our beloved rhythms of life that felt familiar and gave our lives the richness of gatherings and adventure. We can name many losses related to hatred and violence. We are stirred up, if not confounded, by the unveiling of racism and we proclaim hope, love, joy, peace and the presence of God that came and dwelt among us amid hardship May this be a night of the arrival of a new solstice light. May we find comfort in the ancient stories and traditions. May we feel the promise that no matter what we are not alone. God, all the love in the universe is with us; loving us; and brining new light. We have been singing this song throughout Advent…. As song which is based on a poem I Believe, by a Jewish Prisoner in a Nazi Concentration Camp in WW 2 which was found posted on the wall of a cellar in the Cologne a concentration camp. “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining And I believe in love, even when there’s no one there. And I believe in God, even when he is silent. I believe through any trial, there is always a way But sometimes in this suffering and hopeless despair My heart cries for shelter, to know someone’s there But a voice rises within me, saying hold on my child, I’ll give you strength, I’ll give you hope. Just stay a little while. I believe in the sun even when it is not shining And I believe in love even when there’s no one there But I believe in God even when he is silent I believe through any trial there is always a way. May there someday be sunshine May there someday be happiness May there someday be love May there someday be peace… A Litany for Losses On this night we gather, mindful of the losses that have multiplied throughout the year. On this night We gather to light candles Lighting candles has long been a sacred ritual in all traditions, creating precious moments in our own and other people's lives. As we look back at it all at once, we are in danger of being overwhelmed by its tragedies– sickness, violence, fire, hurricane, earthquake, and more. Our aim tonight is to acknowledge this, to mourn this, and to know that in all of this, there is the possibility of more Light. If we are to be overwhelmed, let it be that we are overwhelmed with the assurance that we are not alone. Psalm 36:9 says, "Within You is the spring of life; in your light, we see the light." As we gaze on the Light of this tree, even though we may feel blue, may the full spectrum of Light sustain us. When we feel as if our Light is dimmed, we can rely on the Holy Light to continue to shine until we shine brightly once more. We are not alone. Please join me in a Litany of Losses. Loss of Life We mourn this night the loss of life. [Light the first blue candle] For so many, the pandemic has taken loved ones. We mourn the loss of those close to us and those whose names we do not know. We mourn those who perished while working to save other lives. We mourn those who died, not of the pandemic, but other causes. We mourn the loss of our ability to be with them as they passed, our loss of gathering together for comfort in the ways we needed so much. I invite you to repeat after me: We mourn this loss of life. We mourn this loss of life. We honour and remember these beloveds. We honour and remember these beloveds. We pray for comfort and peace. We pray for comfort and peace. Amen. Amen. Loss of Livelihood We mourn this night the loss of livelihoods. [Light the second blue candle] For so many, the pandemic has taken the security of food, shelter, care for families, and medical care. We mourn the loss of businesses that could not withstand the circumstances. These were not just businesses but dreams born of passion and hard work. We mourn those who find themselves needing to rely on others for help when what they want to do is to be able to help others. I invite you to repeat after me: We mourn this loss of livelihood. We mourn this loss of livelihood We honour and remember the dreams now deferred. We honour and remember the dreams now deferred. We pray for sustenance and resilience. We pray for sustenance and resilience. Amen. Loss of Love We mourn this night the loss of love. [Light the blue third candle] Our society's dilemma, centuries in the making, has created such hatred, suffering, oppression, and ill-will. We mourn the loss of those whose lives were lost to brutality and violence. We mourn the loss of our ability to love one another despite our differences, as beings who deserve to be seen for their inherent beauty and worth. We mourn that black and brown peoples have perished and suffered at the most significant proportion in the pandemic of coronavirus. We mourn the pandemic of racism that plagues the fabric of our communities. I invite you to repeat after me: We mourn this loss of love. We mourn this loss of love We honour and remember the work of prophets who proclaim justice. We honour and remember the work of prophets who proclaim justice. We pray for compassion and change. We pray for compassion and change. Amen. Amen. Loss of Liveliness We mourn this night the loss of liveliness. [Light the fourth blue candle] For so many, this year has robbed us of our energy, our enthusiasm, and our sense of well-being. We mourn teachers and leaders and caregivers and workers who are struggling to help those in their care, themselves exhausted and needing the sustenance they give to others. We mourn the loss of all who are suffering from anxiety and depression, who are finding it difficult to live each day with fullness or to find hope for tomorrow. We mourn those we have lost to suicide. We mourn those, to ease the pain that feels unbearable, who find themselves addicted to substances. We mourn those who are experiencing their place of shelter as an abusive place from which they struggle to escape. I invite you to repeat after me We mourn this loss of liveliness. We mourn this loss of liveliness We honour and remember that each person is precious and whole. We honour and remember that each person is precious and whole We pray for recovery and renewed vigor. We prayer for recovery and renewed vigor Amen. We gather around the mystery of how it is that light comes to us in human form to a particular man and a particular woman in a particular location in our world as if to say, this is how God, how light and love is made manifest in our world, in the particular circumstances of our individual lives to bring us a universal message of hope, grace, healing and peace. Whatever your life circumstances may be, however you may be feeling this Christmastide, may you hear and know the wonder of this truth, this message of love, this message of light that comes to you and to each one of us… More Light And now we light the fifth candle. Just as we will do on Christmas Eve, We light this as a sign of our belief… We believe in the Light that has come and is coming. [Light the fifth candle] This Light casts its glow on all the surrounding prayers we have prayed. This Light resides within us, perhaps dim for a time, but always lit – an ember of the Holy inside us. This Light reminds us that we are not alone. May you be held in the all embracing loving presence of the Holy, this night and always.
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Praying with Music 1. Choose a piece of Christmas music (or any music) that you want to “be with” for the next 15-20 minutes. 2. Relax as you listen to it for the first time. Allow yourself to be drawn into the music as a whole, as though it were being performed just for your ears. 3. Spend an equal amount of time in silence before playing it again. 4. Play the piece a second time. This time let yourself go until you feel yourself merging with the music, until you feel that you are being played as an instrument too. Let the music give you permission to fall into “the lap of God,” the source of the original sound. 5. Again, spend an equal amount of time in silence. 6. Finally write down or doodle any special feelings (positive or negative) or insights that were gained through the sound or the silence. Excerpt from: Spirit Windows, A Handbook of Spiritual Growth Resources by Ann Kulp. |
AuthorsAVUC Members & Adherents Archives
June 2021
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