Sunday Services
Sunday, Dec. 6 – 11 a.m. – Chalica: Exploring Unitarian Universalist Principles – Debi Cooper and Berti Welty
The festival of Chalica is an opportunity to delve into the meaning of the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism and what they call us to do and be in the world. As we light our Chalica chalice, various members will speak to their personal understanding of each principle. Join us in this celebration.
Sunday, Dec. 13 – 11 a.m. – Stillness and Movement – The Rev. Eugene Bush
Finding patience and resilience, compassion and wisdom, requires the capacity to return again and again to equanimity. In meditation we cultivate that capacity by stilling the body and mind beginning with ourselves and our surroundings, preparing us to move in the world with intention and grace. Back and forth we move, from stillness to activity to stillness again, knowing that our peace and peace in the world are not separate.
Rev. Eugene Bush, D.Div., began formal Zen practice in 1982 and received Dharma transmission from Katherine Thanas in 2010. He serves as one of the practice leaders of the Santa Cruz Zen Center. He also became a teacher for the Arcata Zen Group in 2013, with occasional forays to the Hartford Street Zen Center and to Queer Dharma at the San Francisco Zen Center. Retired from his paid work as a teacher in a public alternative high school in Santa Cruz, he is most interested in the ways in which formal practice trains us for everyday life.
Sunday, Dec. 20 – 11 a.m. – Solstice: Returning to Ritual – Debi Cooper and Berti Welty
Learn to pause and incorporate ritual in our daily lives. We will be using earth-centered practices to release negative energies from our body, mind and spirit. An uplifting drum circle will conclude the service.
Christmas Eve: Thursday, Dec. 24 – 5:30 p.m. – Stories of Christmas – Amy Day and Bonnie MacGregor
Stories are always collections of experiences that we weave together so we can remember what is meaningful to us. When we share a good story, and it is passed to others, it gathers new meaning and becomes part of a tradition or even a religion. Such is the Christmas story of a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem. And such are the stories of Christmastime we were told as children that become the traditions of our own families – stories of the heart and hearth.
This Christmas Eve we will share traditions that make this time more meaningful as we gather around our own hearth fires: family traditions shared by children, carol singing led by the choir, and the age old story of Christmas told through the lens of our times.
Sunday, Dec. 27 – 11 a.m. – Entering the Stillness – Debi Cooper and Berti Welty
Through song, guided meditation and contemplation, participants will be encouraged to look deep within to discover what wants to be born in their lives. Through all the tribulations we face, join us for a journey of self-discovery. Say “yes” to life.