Gratitude as a Spiritual Practice. Do you think There is a
calmness to a life lived in Gratitude, a quiet joy? In the hurried pace of our lives today do you know people who
have achieved or are trying to achieve calmness and quiet joy? How have they changed their priorities and the life
choices they make? Sunday before Thanksgiving. Themes can include gratitude for loved ones,
gathering the family together, breaking bread together, Native American perspective on the holiday, Puritans,
remembering those less fortunate.
Some congregations celebrate bread communion at this service. This ritual can include the breaking and passing around of bread throughout the congregation. Congregants eat the bread, or feed it to one another, while being led in a reflection about gratitude, sharing and being together in community.
When is Enough Enough The Gift of Change for Christmas holidays Advent importance of this time of year. Pre Christmas Advent Service and discussion of gifts and how much more we want or
need.This is a holiday time of year when we ask—and are asked—what do you want? We ask and we answer. We shop, we
wrap, we ship. And the season usually comes and goes so quickly that we never really answer the question: What do you
want? This can be a question for each of us to hold on to for a time in mind and heart. What do we want? Not what would we
like, but what do we want to give us a deeper connection with life and to help us give expression to our deepest selves?
Not a long list of things, but a sense of clarity that illuminates what it is we are doing and why.
WINTER SOLSTICE usually December 21. For some Unitarian Universalists who have reservations about Christmas, the Winter Solstice has come to be the focal point of the winter holiday season. This day has become important to both humanists and Pagans,who can find common ground in celebrating this occasion. Themes can include light amid darkness; the death of nature and the cycle of life; the darkness just before the dawn; the miracle of every birth.
CHRISTMAS EVE December 24. Frequently a well-attended service. Often an evening service. It often includes "lessons and carols" and sometimes a story that conveys the spirit of Christmas. Some UU congregations include a candle-lighting ritual in the service, in which the church lights are dimmed and people pass a flame from candle to candle until everyone is holding a lit candle.
KWANZAADecember 26-January 1. This is an African American celebration that focuses on the traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce, and self-improvement. It is not considered to be a substitute for Christmas. It is a time of reaffirming African-American people, their ancestors and culture. In some congregations, candles that are red, black and green are lit during a Sunday service and the worship leader tells the story of Kwanzaa.
NEW YEAR'S DAY Sunday closest to January 1. An
opportunity to celebrate the beginning of a new year. Themes can include reflection upon the year that has just
passed; hope for the promise of the year to come; resolutions to change; the passage of time; hope;
expectation; dreaming of a creating a better tomorrow. 2015 New Year's Resolutions Evaluating your life, your dreams, your accomplishments.
An exercise with rocks sand gravel water to find your important things What are the Priorities in your life? Spring as a new
beginning New Year's resolutions, Starting back to school in the fall How to put priorities first, or you'll never get them in at all.
- Susan Polis Schultz This life is yours: Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well.Time with your loved
ones? Money your dreams?Love , your job, Friends, Education, World Peace, Environment,global warming our faith Marriage
Extended family Spouse Children Pets Community Spirituality Church Hobbies Recreation. questions to ask