 |
Unitarian UniversalistChurch of CheyenneA community of refuge where all have equal worth and are invited into spiritual exploration as a foundation for: hope. compassionate service. action.  Infinite PossibilityFrom the Fibonacci sequences in the heart of a sunflower to the colorful mosiacs of Islamic art, we find beauty in the infinite and expanding universe. Let us honor the infinite found in nature and translated into human creation. Today, we honor the unexpected, the infinity of what is possible, and we seek a faithful way forward into the unknown, guided by our values.Reverend Elizabeth MountAll are welcome! For all Sunday Service connection information please scroll down  Dear friends, As the holidays approach, we revel in the possibility of the season. As I preached on Sunday, this is a time for memory and for dreams, for looking to tradition and imagining new ways of being together. There is a tension in this kind of a celebration, a wonderful one, where if we navigate our way through, we can honor our ancestors, draw wisdom from our elders, find courage in youth, and joy from the children to create a richer and more vibrant holiday season in intergenerational community than any of us could expect or create alone. And I watch this happen in this very community, where last month’s potluck included borscht from local garden vegetables that recalled both Rev. Audette’s beloved ministry and my own memories of my grandmother. And then, after Thanksgiving as we made Stone Soup and shared in bread and cider together, the joy of sharing food together bringing a crowd to our first worship of December with our Stone Soup ingredients becoming a very real potato soup as part of our abundant tables filled with food and our social hall filled in friendly conversation. I know that we are growing and finding one another, deepening our connections as we shared in singing birthday wishes for one of our congregation’s children with more gusto than I have ever heard from a hymn sung in our sanctuary. I heard love making the difference, bringing such special energy into that room, and it stirred my heart. This is precisely what church is for. This kind of love is the miracle of the season, the warmth of community joining together beyond the bonds of linear time. Tradition draws us into the circle of the year, makes us remember our own younger days and imagine what came long before to bring us to this place. Usually, this kind of nostalgia is a happy thing, but for some, the holidays can bring us full circle to fresh grief at the loss of friends or family who have passed away or become distant. If you need to talk about your holiday experiences or draw on courage for a visit home that may not be as pleasant as the Christmas movies suggest, please reach out to me at minister@uucheyenne.org and know that you are welcome at Soulful singing on Wednesdays or Lectio Divina on Tuesdays to find a place of peace where you can lay down your grief in company for a time. And then I invite you to join in celebrating one more gift of the holiday season, a newly formed Religious Education Committee. This team will be working to bring additional programming to this congregation for our children and Youth, to expand our welcome across generations and bring spiritual development to people of all ages all throughout the year. More community, more connection for our children is one of the nicest presents I can imagine in the New Year, and I invite you to join me in celebration of this committee and their willingness to take on this responsibility in our Dec. 11th worship service. Look for many more chances to be in conversation with this committee and offer your help to growing and sustaining our Religious Education program after the holidays! Joy of the season to you and yours, Rev. Elizabeth  DATE CHANGE! Christmas Cookie BakingDecember 9th from 5-7:00pm Potluck meal! Then we’ll bake and decorate cookies and make small bags of holiday treats for out whole congregation to enjoy!  WINTERMART Arts & Crafts Sale 2022 December 16, Friday 4:30 – 6:pm and December 17, Saturday 9 am – 6pm Unitarian Church – Social Hall   Learn About Hanukkah with Rabbi Halfon12.18.2022 Join us for worship at 10:00 Questions welcome at coffee hour  Solstice Drumming Wednesday, December 21 6:30pm -8:00 pm Bring a drum if you have one And cookies or seasonal treats to share!CHRISTMAS DAY ZOOM WORSHIPJoin us Sunday, December 25 at 10:00 am in our Zoom room or on You Tube We’ll have a short worship with song, story, and a time for all to share their holiday joys with one another.  Coffee Hour needs your help! Every week we welcome one another into community with coffee, tea, conversation, and companionship in our Social Hall following the worship service. We need at least two volunteers to set up and clean up each week, please sign up to help, and to give everyone a chance to enjoy taking part in fellowship. Please sign up before Sunday, December 11 to ensure coffee hour can continue! Please sign up at least once each quarter so everyone has an opportunity to volunteer.Thank you!********************************* Fall Spiritual PracticesTuesday – Lectio Divina: Tuesdays at 11:30am, join Rev. Elizabeth in the library or on Zoom for 30 minutes at Lectio Divina to reflect on the sacred meanings of poetry in relation to your life and inner being. Lectio Divina follows a guided format of reflection with a new poem provided each week. If you would like to recommend a piece of poetry for a future session, email it to Rev. Elizabeth at minister@uucheyenne.org. Wednesday – Sacred Song Circle: Join Rev. Elizabeth and others in the Sanctuary every Wednesday evening at 5:30pm for a reflective song circle where we will share in singing simple tunes from our hymnal and beyond as a meditative practice. This is not choir or performance, and no singing experience is necessary in order to lift your voice and your spirit with us. **********************************************************Mindful Monday Meditation Please join us on the first Monday (January 2) of the month for mindfulness practice in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. UUCC 3005 Thomes Ave. / Room 5 – Upstairs – 6:00 – 7:30pm includes: sitting and walking meditations; readings or teachings; and discussion. Everyone is welcome. No experience is necessary. For more information, please contactBeth Howard~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The following meditation sessions are still being held via Zoom:Please feel free to join us. Tuesday Morning 7:15 – 7:45 am Now includes chanting Wednesday Evening 6:00 – 7:00 pm Thursday Morning 7:15 – 7:45 am Now includes chanting Use this link Bird and Bell Meditation Zoom Link The Sunday morning session is now in person! Sunday Morning 8:45 – 9:15 am Monday morning at the Hawthorn Tree 9:15 – 10:15 Monday – Bibles and Beer: every Monday at 5:30 PM – Bibles and Beer is an interfaith study session on a Bible passage chosen weekly. Join them in person at Uncle Charlie’s or via Zoom. Please email Rodger McDaniel at rmc81448@gmail.com so he can add you to the list of those sent the Zoom link each week.  Come and visit with Rev. Elizabeth on Tuesday mornings at the Paramount Café between 9-11 am. Did something in the Sunday service catch your attention and you want to go deeper? Need to chat about a minor pastoral issue? Find a really good book and need to tell someone about it? Just have some free time and want to spend it with someone? Come by and hang out for a few minutes with your friendly local UU minister! The Buddha Washing is scheduled for Sunday, January 1. This service whichmarks the beginning of the New Year has been celebrated off and on at UUCC since about 1991. The ritual involves chanting, bowing, the washing of statues, possibly the burning of incense, and the ringing of bells. It may not be to everyone's taste. However, everyone is invited and welcome! Wash the Buddha from the meditation room or bring your own personal item to be cleansed and blessed. If you would like to participate in presenting the service, please contact Gene Heater. His contact information is available in the UUCC directory in Realm. SUNDAY SERVICE INFORMATION We gather at 10 am for worship in our sanctuary at 3005 Thomes Avenue; masks are encouraged and optional. Order of Service Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 952 3844 3423 Passcode: 375665 One tap mobile +13462487799,,95238443423# US (Houston) +16694449171,,95238443423# US Dial by your location +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 444 9171 US +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 931 3860 US +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) Meeting ID: 952 3844 3423 Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ac3zomnZx6 New to UU Meets monthly on the second Sunday at 11:30 am – 1:00 pm in the library and will meet Sunday, December 11 ********************************Committees and Teams Worship team meets at 6:30 pm on second Wednesdays, and will meet December 14, 6:30 pm in the library – contact Rev. Elizabeth to join a meeting or become a Worship AssociateBoard meets at 6:30 pm on first Mondays on Zoom, and will meet December 5, 6:30 pm via zoom – contact President Elaine HayesCommittee on Shared Ministry meets at 6:30 pm on fourth Thursdays, the November and December meetings will be held on December 8th at the regular time of 6:30 pm. in the library – contact Lauren DanleyFinance Team meets at 4:15 pm on third Thursday’s, and will meet December 15, 4:15 – 5:15 pm in the library contact Marci Linde or Camellia El-Antabl……………………………  ……………………………………………….. Please send Order of Service and Newsletter announcements toadministrator@uucheyenne.org by or before Wednesday at 10:00 AM Office hours are Monday – Thursday 8:00 – 12:00 Thank youWe are pleased to announce that our new online giving platform is ready for use! You can securely give from our website atuucheyenne.org/give or via text message [text UUCC to 73256]. You can even create an account to set up recurring donations, view your giving history and use our free mobile app. If you’d like to set up an account, please contact bookkeeper@uucheyenne.org and we will send you an invitation to join our online community. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Join us NEXT Sunday, December 18, 2022, at 10:00 am Bring Light: The Story of HanukkahOn this day, as Hanukkah begins in the evening, join our special guest Rabbi Moshe Halfon from the Mt. Sinai congregation as he guides us in story and song through the divisions of the Jewish community in the time of the Maccabees, the miracle of the oil in the temple, and what these deeply cherished stories of antiquity might mean for our lives today. |
Categories: UUCC This Week and Beyond