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There in the deep sack of night, a tiny Hope was born.Poetry | By Jennifer Pratt-Walter | March 29, 2024 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Beginnings, Birth, Earth-Centered, Hope, Joy, Love, Peace, Sacred, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
We pause on this night of mystery, to tell the stories, to sing the songs, and to bring more light into the world.Chalice Lighting | By Linda Hart | December 13, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Christmas Eve / Christmas, Mystery, Peace, Personal Stories, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
We light this chalice, here in the darkness of winter as we wait.Chalice Lighting | By JeKaren Olaoya | December 13, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
The fulcrum of the Earth tilts toward goodness and I will ride along…Reading | By Jennifer Pratt-Walter | December 13, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Balance, Beauty, Earth, Earth-Centered, Good, Nature, Transcendence, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Spirits of winter, I celebrate you!Reflection | By Erica Shadowsong | December 13, 2023 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Animals, Earth-Centered, Generations, Goddess, Imagination, Spiritual Practice, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Worship -
Love this world, she whispers.Poetry | By Rebecca Ann Parker | November 30, 2023 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Beauty, Brokenness, Earth, Love, Wholeness, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder, WorshipWeb, Worship -
Darkness is as important as light.Opening | By Jo VonRue | December 27, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Direct Experience, Imagination, Nature, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder, WorshipWeb, Worship -
One of the Goddess’s best friends was a cardinal—a bright red bird who loved to play with the Goddess and the Sun.Story | By Christina Leone Tracy | December 16, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Animals, Change, Earth, Earth-Centered, Ending, Faith, Friendship, Goddess, Imagination, Letting Go, Nature, Paganism, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
December seventh, "Eight Candles" (1970). Malvina Reynolds was a 20th century Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, socialist, songwriter, and performer who is best known for her song “Little Boxes.” In 1970 she recorded the Hanukkah Song “Eight Candles.” It has since become a holiday favorite.Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | December 11, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Grief is welcome, a sacred part of the mourning.Reading | By Kari Kopnick | March 1, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Balance, Challenge, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Compassion, Despair, Empathy, Grief, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
On this darkest night, may we observe the stars.Meditation | By Mary Gear | January 20, 2022 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Winter Solstice / Yule -
Hope continues, uncertain and true, like candlelight, ready to spark again.Chalice Extinguishing | By Kevin Jagoe | November 2, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Autumnal Equinox, Despair, Disaster or Crisis, Fall, Hope, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
We light this chalice to kindle a flame of warmth as a reminder of the connection that draws us in to a community that opens us up.Chalice Lighting | By Amy Brooks | October 14, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: #COVID19, Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb, Worship -
This solstice night [or day] In honor of ancient traditions that celebrate this time of longest night, we observe that the flaming chalice holds the elements of the four directions: Earth, air, fire, water....Chalice Lighting | By Sharon Wylie | May 5, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Balance, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Winter Solstice / Yule -
[Written for two voices, here set for Worship Association (WA) and Minister (M)] WA: Perhaps some here have outgrown mystery. Maybe you have doubts about Santa, Or have forgotten the magic of a newborn child. M: One might easily lose touch with awe, In the struggle to do it all, Or simply to...Opening | By Shari Woodbury | January 8, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Awe, Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Mystery, Tradition, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder -
Spirit of Life, ancestor of the stars and the sun, you who embrace the vastness of space and us along with it, be with us today. Hold us in our worry, our exhaustion, our grief. Keep us close as we sit with our truth, whatever that may be....Prayer | By Lyn Cox | January 2, 2020 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Autumnal Equinox, Awe, Contemplation, Courage, Earth-Centered, Nature, Summer Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Vulnerability, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder -
Perhaps for a moment the typewriters will stop clicking, the wheels stop rolling the computers desist from computing, and a hush will fall over the city....Poetry | By Rebecca Ann Parker | November 21, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Beauty, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Interdependence, Love, Mystery, Sacred, Transcendence, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Do not be afraid of the darkness. Dark is the rich fertile earth that cradles the seed, nourishing growth. Dark is the soft night that cradles us to rest. Only in darkness can stars shine across the vastness of space. Only in darkness is the moon's dance so clear....Reading | By Stephanie Noble | November 19, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Balance, Beauty, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Secular, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Reader 1: Flaming chalice, symbol of our living tradition, we kindle you for light Reader 2: Light in this darkest season of the year Light to reveal the sources of greed and hate among us Light to guide our way forward together Reader 1: Chalice Flame, we kindle you for love Reader 2: Love to ke...Chalice Lighting | By Ariel Hunt-Brondwin | November 13, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Hope, Love, Purpose, Unitarian Universalism, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
We pause as the path of the sun reverses, seemingly holding its place for a moment of turning. Let us delve into the gifts of darkness at the winter solstice. We follow curiosity and contemplation down into the cold earth, taking a journey to the world below the surface....Meditation | By Lyn Cox | March 17, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Abundance, Contemplation, Creativity, Earth, Earth-Centered, Growth, Healing, Journey, Trust, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Everything is about to change. And it already has. It will be. It was. It is. The dawn you eagerly await to end the long, cold darkness is already full sun far off in the east. Yet even after light’s return spring is months away. Thirty long years pass after His birth before the Messiah comes.Reading | By Mandie McGlynn | January 7, 2019 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Beginnings, Change, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Contemplation, Ending, Faith, Growth, Hope, Journey, Justice, Life Transition, Paganism, Patience, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb -
We light this chalice to remember the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days.Chalice Lighting | By DC Fortune | December 5, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Earth-Centered, Hanukkah, Hope, Judaism, Mystery, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder -
I invite you to enter a period of quiet for a guided meditation. You may wish to adjust your position so that your spine is straight, your body relaxed, your hands resting gently in your lap. You will probably want to close your eyes and shut out all the distractions of the light....Meditation | By Shari Woodbury | March 15, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Awe, Creativity, Direct Experience, Earth-Centered, Healing, Humanism, Presence, Silence, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule -
Let us hold a quiet moment together as our chalice is lit. As the wild wind bites, so does the still flame warm us. As the deep snows block our doors, so does the gentle flame bring us out....Chalice Lighting | By Ben Soule | January 23, 2018 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), Challenge, Community, Earth-Centered, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Integrity, Relationships, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
An adequate Christmas would have you calm and open, taking it in, accepting whatever is. Slow it all down like you might be, in some way, attuned to the pace of the Eternal. If you need, you can fake it at first.Reflection | By Jake Morrill | November 29, 2017 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Balance, Challenge, Choice, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Courage, Direct Experience, Family, God, Self-Care, Spiritual Practice, Spirituality, Thanksgiving, Winter Solstice / Yule -
On this, the longest night of the year, we are warmed by the certain knowledge that tomorrow will welcome more light than today. As it has for eons—for billions of years—the coming of light brings life. May we be awed by the great miracles of light and life, and faithfully nurture the mystery...Closing | By Gregory Jones | November 21, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Awe, Earth, Earth-Centered, Hope, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
The winter solstice is a time to look back upon our ancestors, gather our family and friends close, and rejoice in the return of the sun. It is a time of renewed hope and a time of resurrection – for just as Arianrhod’s Wheel turns and the Oak King resumes his rightful place, so must we go on.Meditation | By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper | January 10, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Community, Connections, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Paganism, Sacred, Spirituality, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
The Solstices teach us that darkness comes, that darkness goes. The Solstices teach us that light comes, that light goes. The Solstices teach us, calmly, silently, to be calm, silent. Learning. The Solstices teach us as we circle the sun that everything flies....Poetry | By David Breeden | January 1, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Awe, Connections, Earth, Earth-Centered, Humanism, Nature, Paganism, Secular, Silence, Summer Solstice, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wisdom -
In this time of long nights and short days, let us seek the light within … by contemplating, through our mind’s eye, the image of a candle flame. Notice how the soft, quiet, and gentle flame tamely rises from the wick. Yet, just by touching a dry twig, it has the power to become a raging bonfire...Meditation | By Sam Trumbore | January 1, 2017 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Direct Experience, Imagination, Mindfulness, Peace, Presence, Secular, Spiritual Practice, Unitarian Universalism, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder -
This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year’s threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future.... — from "Solstice Poem" by Margaret Atwood Here we are on the cusp of the Winter Solstice, when the light comes back! To celebrate, I...Reflection | By Daniel Gregoire | December 21, 2016 | From Braver/WiserTagged as: Earth-Centered, Humanism, Secular, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule -
As December opens up before us, we welcome in the gift of reflection.Affirmation | By Gwen Matthews | December 20, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Earth-Centered, Hanukkah, Hope, IllUUmination, Judaism, Love, Mystery, Paganism, Reverence, Tradition, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
This hymn text was written to accompany the tune St. Louis, commonly known as "O Little Town of Bethlehem" (#246 in Singing the Living Tradition). O Holy Darkness, loving Womb, who nurtures and creates, sustain us through the longest night with dreams of open gates....Music | By Jann Aldredge-Clanton | December 12, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Anti-Oppression, Awe, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, God, Mystery, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wisdom, Women -
Once, many grey autumns ago, I came upon a tree. The tree, a poplar, had dropped all of its leaves but for one, just one. Exactly one leaf remained near the topmost part of the tree, fluttering in the breeze like a little reddish-brown flag....Meditation | By David M. Horst | January 25, 2016 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Autumnal Equinox, Connections, Contemplation, Despair, Direct Experience, Earth, Earth-Centered, Letting Go, Nature, Reverence, Samhain, Thanksgiving, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb -
In the pagan tradition, which is grounded in a respect and reverence for the natural world, calling upon the four directions is the usual way to begin any ceremony. Each direction is associated with an element of the natural world, and represents some part of our human nature as well....Meditation | By Julia Hamilton | December 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Autumnal Equinox, Earth, Earth-Centered, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Nature, Paganism, Spiritual Practice, Summer Solstice, Vernal Equinox, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb -
I am always in a bit of a shock when December 1st arrives on the calendar. I always feel like there should be at least another week beyond Thanksgiving before I can even contemplate the next holiday....Reading | By Cynthia Frado | December 21, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 3rd Principle (Acceptance & Spiritual Growth), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Advent, Birth, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Compassion, Hope, Mindfulness, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder, WorshipWeb -
Sheet Music (PDF) - In the darkness of the winter, quiet hearts beneath the sky, we are waiting for the daystar and a holy newborn’s cry. Friends and family here have gathered, gathered here from near and far, sharing hearts and...Music | By Ruben Piirainen, Suzelle Lynch | December 16, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Advent, Awe, Children, Christianity, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Family, Hope, Love, Salvation, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule, Wonder -
To the Weaver of Molecules, the Spinner of Stars the Impulse that gives birth to the Universe, to the Earth, to Me In the deepest, darkest night of my wintered soul I wrap myself in the blanket of my sadness and grief, pain and suffering, doubts and concerns, fears and questions, and look out fro...Meditation | By Cynthia Frado | December 8, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Agnosticism, Depression, Direct Experience, Growth, Healing, Imbolc / Brighid's Day / Candlemas, Indigenous American, Meditation Practices, Mourning, Sadness, Secular, Transcendence, Transformation, Trust, Twelfth Night / Epiphany, Unitarian Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule, WorshipWeb
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December twenty-fourth, The Flaming Chalice (1965). The Unitarian Service Committee adopted the flaming chalice as their logo in 1941. Years later, in 1965, at the West Shore Church in Cleveland, OH the youth led a Christmas service opened by ritually lighting a chalice....Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, Identity, Unitarian Universalism, Unitarianism, Universalism, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December twenty-third, “O Holy Night” (1855). The first English translation of "O Holy Night" was by Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight, who tweaked the original French author's socialist themes and images to advance Dwight's own abolitionist cause. Not only was the French author a...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, International, Unitarianism, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December twenty-second, The First Unitarian Church Founded in Transylvania (1557). Despite recognition under the 1557 Act of Religious Toleration and receiving the king's patronage, the Unitarian church in Transylvania has faced frequent persecution....Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, International, Unitarianism, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December twenty-first, the Winter Solstice. (The point along the Earth’s annual solar orbit when the northern hemisphere is at its furthest point from the sun). The last harvest of the year is celebrated shortly before the Winter Solstice. In ancient times people would feast knowing the months...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Death, Earth, Earth-Centered, Nature, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December twentieth, first of Elliot’s Ariel Poems, “The Journey of the Magi” (1927). "Magi" is Unitarian T. S. Eliot’s first of 5 Christmas poems published after his ambivalent choice to join the Anglican church. Many believe that Eliot's feelings about his new church are reflected by the...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarian Universalism, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December nineteenth, "The Many Moods of Christmas” (1963). Robert Shaw was best known as the conductor of his namesake Chorale. In its day, "Many Moods of Christmas" was the quintessential sound of the season. Even today, the album sells well around the holidays and choirs continue to perform it...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Unitarianism, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December eighteenth, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" (1962). Amid the anxiety of the Cuban missile crisis, Unitarian Noel Regney wrote the text for “Do You Hear What I Hear?” as a protest song. The music was composed by his then-wife, Gloria Shayne Baker. The song's allusions to the Bible stories of...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Peace, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarianism, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December Seventeenth, Rod Serling’s Christmas Specials (1963). Though Jewish, Rod Serling always loved Christmas (maybe because his birthday was December twenty-fifth). He became a Unitarian Universalist while in college and later joined the Unitarian Community Church of Santa Monica. He wrote...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Science, Secular, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December sixteenth, Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales (1835). When the man he loved married a woman, Danish Unitarian Hans Christian Andersen wrote one of his first and most beloved fairy tales of a mermaid's tragically unrequited love. His timeless tales include several Christmas classics...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Unitarianism, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December fifteenth, the First American Christmas Tree (1832). Unitarian Minister Charles Follen delighted his son and party guests with a Christmas tree as he had growing up in Germany. They had postponed the festivities until New Years so that British author and Unitarian Harriet Martineau could...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, Unitarianism, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December fourteenth, “I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day” (1865). Unitarian Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Wrote "Christmas Bells" (a poem later set to music and renamed "I Head the Bells On Christmas Day") just months before the end of the Civil War. The poem captures the despair felt by the...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, Unitarianism, War, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December thirteenth, first department store Santa (1890). Department storeowner James Edgar delighted customers’ children by walking about the store on weekends dressed in a Santa costume. Edgar aspired to broad-mindedness in his religion, and though not a member he attended the Unitarian church...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, History, Secular, Winter Solstice / Yule -
December twelfth, Christmas Day is Clara Barton’s Birthday (1821). Clara Barton, Universalist and founder of the American Red Cross, is a hero of our liberal religious faith. We remember her around the holidays season since she was born Christmas Day, 1821. But in the season when we recall the...Image | By Ralph Yeager Roberts | November 23, 2015 | From WorshipWebTagged as: Advent, America, Arts & Music, Christmas Eve / Christmas, Healing, Health, International, Prophetic Words & Deeds, Secular, Universalism, Winter, Winter Solstice / Yule