A message for Labor Day

SERVICE NOTES

MUSIC CREDITS

• “Chattering Magpie” and “Lark in the Morning,” trad. Irish tunes. (Patrick Webb, fiddle). Public Domain.
• “Step by Step the Longest March,” words: from the preamble to the Constitution of United Mine Workers of America; music: Irish folk song; adapt. & arr: Waldemar Hille.  (Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Used by permission.
• “Find a Stillness,” words: Carl G. Seaburg, music: Transylvanian hymn tune, harm: Larry Phillips. (Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Used by permission.
• “Spirit of Life” by Carolyn McDade, harm. by Grace Lewis-McLaren. (Kathy Gursky, viola & Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Used by permission.
• “Nine to Five” by Dolly Parton. (Nylea Butler-Moore, vocals & piano). Permission to podcast/stream BMI song # 1068031 obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770.
• “Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór” (“Small Fairy Mound, Big Fairy Mound”) by Turlough O’Carolan and “Kesh Jig,” trad. Irish. (Patrick Webb, fiddle & Joy Charles, cello). Public Domain.
• “As We Leave This Friendly Place,” words: Vincent B. Silliman, words: J.S. Bach, adapt. from Chorale 38. (Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Public Domain.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-730948. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream music in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770

OTHER NOTES

• Opening words by Megan Visser*
• Time for All Ages: “The Stolen Smell” is a traditional folktale with variations found in Japan and South America
• Reading, “We Labor in Love,” by Amanda Udis-Kessler*

*from the UUA’s WorshipWeb, used with permission

OFFERTORY

• Our Share the Plate partner for September is the UUA’s Disaster Relief Fund, a rolling fund that makes individual grants to congregations and other recognized UU nonprofit entities affected by disasters. From natural disasters like wildfires that scorch everything in their path and hurricanes that bring destruction through winds and water, to human caused disasters like the collapsing infrastructure that we’ve seen in Flint, our congregations, our people, and our communities sustain the impact. Your donation to the UUA Disaster Relief Fund allows the UUA to respond flexibly on your behalf to tragedies that overtake us.
• We are now using Givelify.com to handle monthly Share the Plate as well as other types of donations. https://giv.li/5jtcps

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS

• Rev. John Cullinan
• Tina DeYoe, Director of Lifespan Religious Education
• Nylea Butler-Moore, Director of Music
• Patrick Webb, guest musician
• Rick Bolton & Mike Begnaud, AV techs

For more information on our church community, visit us on the web at http://www.uulosalamos.org or call at 5050-662-2346. 
Connect with us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/uulosalamos
Have questions? Need to talk to a minister? Contact our minister, the Rev. John Cullinan, at: revjohn@uulosalamos.org

I’ve preached a number of times the last few years using the metaphor of “the Great Heart at the Center of Everything” (an ancient creation story that I made up c. 2018). The Great Heart, so my story goes, is the thing that sits at the intersection of all our myriad connections — and it’s the thing that our faith life calls us to try and see in its entirety, impossible as it might be to see something infinite. This is, for me at least, the purpose of a religious life — the attempt to gain an ever- expanding view of the way I am tied to everything that is.

The last several months have brought the necessity of this religious outlook home for me. The great “mask debate” (I use quotation marks here because there is no debate — masks are effective and everyone should be wearing them) appears to me as nothing more than a deep divide between those who choose to live their lives as though others matter (and indeed have worth and dignity) and those who are determined to live as though they are the only real living thing on the planet. Or, more tersely, it’s a battle of wills between the selfless and the selfish. And the selfish are noisy and obnoxious in their selfishness to the point where I’m tempted at times to chuck my own worldview out the window and label it as naive.

And that’s the point at which I’m glad we’ve arrived at the start of a new church year. Oh, how I gratefully welcome a “new year” in September of 2020. I am ready to start again (how about you?). I am ready to pause at this threshold, take a deep breath, and reset my sights on the Great Heart, because when the world wants me to give up on it sometimes the only path that makes sense is to double down on my sense of infinite connection and my quest to see those connections in all their infinity.

Welcome to a new church year. Are you ready to join me on this quest?

Rev. John Cullinan

SERVICE NOTES

MUSIC CREDITS
“Little Sunflower” by Freddie Hubbard. (Aaron Anderson, piano). Permission to stream BMI song #883315 obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770.
“De Colores” trad. Spanish folk song, arr. Betty A. Wylder. (Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Used by permission of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
“Life Has Loveliness to Sell” words: Sara Teasdale, music: Leo W. Collins. (Nylea Butler-Moore, piano).  Used by permission.
“Spirit of Life” by Carolyn McDade, harm. by Grace Lewis-McLaren (Kathy Gursky, viola & Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Used by permission of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
“Petite Fleur” by Sidney Bechet.  (Aaron Anderson, piano). Permission to stream BMI song #1169027 obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770.
“The Happy Farmer” by Robert Schumann.  (Alanna Anderson, cello & Aaron Anderson, piano). Public Domain.
“Go Now in Peace” words and music by Natalie Sleeth. (Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). Permission to podcast/stream song #25659 obtained from ONE LICENSE, License # A-730948. All rights reserved.

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-730948. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream music in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770

ARTWORK
Today’s flower images come from:  The Begnauds, Rick Bolton & Kathy Gursky, Nylea Butler-Moore, Jamie Civitello, Jess Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, Barbara Fronzak, Susan Gisler, Erin Green, Rebecca Howard, KokHeong McNaughton, Renae Mitchell, JeeYoon Plohr, and Patricia Rathbone
Opening segment videos: by Vitaliy Mitchell
Transition photos: are from the Unitarian Church online photo library

OTHER NOTES
Chalice Lighting Words: were written by Kimberlee Tomczak Carlson
Time for All Ages: “A Plain and Simple Beauty” is adapted from the story by Janeen K. Grohsmeyer in her book A Lamp in Every Corner: Our UU Storybook (UUA, 2004)
Reading: “Flower Communion,” was written by Lynn Ungar

OFFERTORY
Our offering for July is dedicated Self Help Inc. 

In order to make a donation to Self Help Inc.:

1. Make a check payable to “Self Help Inc.”
2. On the memo line of the check, please indicate that the donation is for “Self Help Inc.”
3. Please mail your check to:

                                                Self Help Inc.
                                                2390 North Road
                                                Los Alamos, NM 87544

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
Rev. John Cullinan, pastor
Tina DeYoe, director of lifespan religious education
Nylea Butler-Moore, director of music
Kathy Gursky, viola
Aaron Anderson, piano & Alanna Anderson, cello
Rick Bolton & Mike Begnaud, AV techs

For more information on our church community, visit us on the web at http://www.uulosalamos.org

Connect with us on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/uulosalamos

Have questions? Need to talk to a minister? Contact our minister, the Rev. John Cullinan, at: revjohn@uulosalamos.org

■

Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore:

MUSIC CREDITS
Gathering: “Scherzo in B-flat Major,” D593 by Franz Schubert. (Yelena Mealy, piano). Public Domain.
Song: “Morning Has Come” by Jason Shelton. Used by permission of the composer.
Hymn: “Gather the Spirit” by Jim Scott. Used by permission of the composer.
Hymn: “Spirit of Life” by Carolyn McDade, harmony by Grace Lewis-McLaren (Kathy Gursky, viola & Nylea Butler-Moore, piano) – Used by permission of the Unitarian Universalist Association.
Anthem: “Seligkeit (Bliss),” No. 225, poem: Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty, music: Franz Schubert. (Nora Cullinan, soprano & Yelena Mealy, piano). Public Domain.
Offertory: “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” by Ludwig van Beethoven, arr. Bill Wolaver. (Nylea Butler-Moore, piano). CCS, song #400236517.
Closing: “Go Now in Peace” – words and music by Natalie Sleeth. OneLicense, song #25659.

ARTWORK
Transition Artwork by: Susan Gisler, Michelle Bowman, Amaya Coblentz, Melissa Bartlett, Carter Begnaud, Janice Muir, Marina Archuleta, Danise Begnaud

OTHER NOTES
Opening Words: by Shari Woodbury
Reading: “Reflections From the River” by Burton D. Carley

Send your “joy” submissions here: 
https://www.dropbox.com/request/G0eI4PqbAN5GNpaWIk5t

Our offering for June is dedicated to racial justice work in the US. Needs are changing continually. Please use this link for an updated list of organizations in need of donations. https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
The Rev. John Cullinan, minister
Tina DeYoe, director of lifespan religious education
Nylea Butler-Moore, director of music
Kathy Gursky, Nora Cullinan & Yelena Mealy, guest musicians
Renae Mitchell, Rick Bolton & Mike Begnaud, AV techs

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-730948. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream music in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770
Other music and written material in public domain or used with permission.

For more information on our church community, visit us on the web at www.uulosalamos.org.

Connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/uulosalamos

Have questions? Need to talk to a minister? Contact our minister, the Rev. John Cullinan, at: revjohn@uulosalamos.org

MUSIC
Gathering: “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson, J. Rosamond Johnson, arr. Craig Curry (OneLicense)
Song: “I Wish I Knew How” by Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas, arr. Mary Allen Walden
Hymn: “This Is My Song” – words by Lloyd Stone, music by Jean Sibelius (OneLicense)
Anthem: “Come Sunday” by Duke Ellington (CCS)
Offertory:  “Lift Your Voice/In the Nick of Time,” medley based on “Rondo in the Nick of Time” by Lawrence C. Clark and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” – words by J. Rosamund Johnson, music by James Weldon Johnson (CCS)
Closing:  “Go Now in Peace” – words and music by Natalie Sleeth (OneLicense)

OTHER NOTES
Call to Worship – written by Rebekah Savage
Prayer – written by Alex Jensen
Time for All Ages – by Megan Mathieson

The timeline in our video “reading” today was adapted from the article, “A Timeline of Events That Led to the 2020 ‘Fed Up’-rising” by Michael Harriot at The Root, May 30, 2020

Our offering for June is dedicated to racial justice work in the US. Needs are changing continually. Please use this link for an updated list of organizations in need of donations. https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
The Rev. John Cullinan, minister
Tina DeYoe, director of lifespan religious education
Nylea Butler-Moore, director of music
Patrick Webb & Joy Charles – guest musicians
Rick Bolton & Mike Begnaud, AV techs

Permission to stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-730948. All rights reserved.
Permission to stream music in this service obtained from CHRISTIAN COPYRIGHT SOLUTIONS with license #10770
Other music and written material used with permission.

For more information on our church community, visit us on the web at www.uulosalamos.org.
Connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/uulosalamos
Have questions? Need to talk to a minister? Contact our minister, the Rev. John Cullinan, at: revjohn@uulosalamos.org

As we head into the summer months and our continued remote church practices, I’d like to give you all some updates on how we are planning to bolster our virtual congregational programming while simultaneously preparing for an eventual return to in-person activities.

• We will remain in virtual mode through at least the end of the summer. That said, we are also fairly certain that remote worship will continue into some indeterminate part of the fall.
• Our re-opening advisory team has begun to meet. We’ll be pulling staff and lay leadership into our conversations as we draft recommended guidelines for both determining what conditions must be met in order to declare certain in- person activities safe and determining what policies and practices should be put in place in order to maintain that safety. We’ll keep you updated on that progress as it develops.
• Taking into consideration the UUA’s recommendation to remain virtual through Spring 2021, the staff and I are engaging in a process of creating a virtual programming plan that can be conducted virtually and easily carried over into in-person meetings as restrictions ease and our own reopening guidelines are met. Please note, we are not viewing the UUA’s recommendation as an order or the spring 2021 recommendation as a hard and fixed deadline. We are simply seeking to put a structure in place should the long haul become necessary, so that staff and volunteers aren’t left to plan out virtual church two weeks at a time.
• As part of our planning process, Tina and I will be holding small group conversations over Zoom, followed by some individual phone conversations, with as many members and friends who are willing and available to participate. We need to hear from you about what is essential to your heart and soul in the life of the congregation as we look for new and innovative ways to better recreate the experience of congregational life at a distance. We are interested in your practical ideas for programming, as well, but understanding your experience of the feeling of being part of a church community is the most important information as we plan. A schedule of small group conversation times will come out early in June, along with a series of open questions we’d like you to consider. Meanwhile, I understand that Zoom is not everyone’s cup of tea (I know it’s not my favorite thing). If you’d like to have a one-on-one conversation about our questions, please don’t hesitate to set up an appointment with me for a phone call.

As always, if you have questions, concerns, compliments, or suggestions, please reach out to me. Even as experienced professionals, our current situation is not one that we trained for in seminary or elsewhere. We are learning new lessons every day as we navigate the chaos that is virtual church. We don’t know how we are doing, or how we can do what we’re doing better, if we don’t hear from you. Send me an email or give me a call. Let us know how we can better make the virtual congregation an essential part of your life.

Rev. John Cullinan

Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore



Senior Video by Lillian Petersen (not in full video)

MUSIC
Gathering: “Valse Impromptu” by Röstäm Yahin (Yelena Mealy, pianist) 
Hymn: #64 “Oh, Give Us Pleasure in the Flowers Today,” words: Robert Frost, music: Cyril V. Taylor 
Hymn: #15 “The Lone, Wild Bird,” words: H.R. MacFayden, music: William Walker’s Southern Harmony, 1835
Anthem: “5. May” (from The Seasons) by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, (Yelena Mealy, pianist)
Offertory: “Widmung (Dedication)” by Robert Schumann, arr. Franz Liszt (Yelena Mealy, pianist). Used by permission, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License 
Closing:  #413 “Go Now in Peace” by Natalie Sleeth

ARTWORK
Transitions:  Carter Begnaud, Marina Archuleta, Amaya Coblentz, and Rachel Bowman
Love Your Neighbor Hat:  Tyler Taylor

OTHER NOTES
Call to Worship by Rev. Cynthia Landrum
Time for All Ages – “Beyond Every Door” by Molly Housh Gordon
Reading – “We Build Temples in the Heart” by Patrick Murfin

Our offering recipients for May are the Navajo Nation COVID-19 Relief Fund (http://www.nndoh.org/donate.html) and the Pueblo Relief Fund (https://pueblorelieffund.org/pueblo-relief-fund). Please visit their websites for more information and to make your direct donation.

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
The Rev. John Cullinan, minister
Tina DeYoe, director of lifespan religious education
Nylea Butler-Moore, director of music
Yelena Mealy, pianist
Kyle Butler-Moore, glockenspiel
Rick Bolton & Mike Begnaud, AV techs

All music licensed through One License, Christian Copyright Solutions, or used with permission of the author. All other materials used with permission.
For more information on our church community, visit us on the web at www.uulosalamos.org. Connect with us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/uulosalamos
Have questions? Need to talk to a minister? Contact our minister, the Rev. John Cullinan, at: revjohn@uulosalamos.org

Online Service! Watch it on our YouTube channel, starting on Sunday, May 10, 2020 at 10:00 am. You can also watch it from the Live! page on our web site, or link to it from our Facebook page.

Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore



MUSIC
Gathering:  “May Morning” by Alice B. Kellogg, Nylea Butler-Moore, piano
Hymn: #199 “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” by Thomas A. Dorsey
Song: #1002 “Comfort Me” by Mimi Bornstein-Doble
Anthem:  “All Blues” by Miles Davis, Aaron Anderson, piano
Offertory:  “Monk’s Mood” by Thelonious Monk, Aaron Anderson, piano
Closing:  #413 “Go Now in Peace” by Natalie Sleeth

ARTWORK
Quilts:  Danise Begnaud
Fairy Village Ceramics: Elizabeth Portillos
Fairy Village Photograph:  KokHeong McNaughton
Fountain With Bird Video:  Rev. John Cullinan

OTHER NOTES
Call to Worship: by Nancy Reid-McKee
Reading: by Kristine Nessler
Story: “Rainbows in the Windows” by Jenn Blosser
Story Photo Credits: Gary L. Hider; Gennaro Leonardi; Amani A

Our offering recipients for May are the Navajo Nation COVID-19 Relief Fund (http://www.nndoh.org/donate.html) and the Pueblo Relief Fund (https://pueblorelieffund.org/pueblo-relief-fund). Please visit their websites for more information and to make your direct donation.

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
The Rev. John Cullinan, minister
Tina DeYoe, director of lifespan religious education
Nylea Butler-Moore, director of music
Aaron Anderson, piano
Rick Bolton & Mike Begnaud, AV techs

All music licensed through One License, Christian Copyright Solutions, or used with permission of the author. All other materials used with permission.

Online Service! Watch it on our YouTube channel, starting on Sunday, May 2, 2020 at 10:00 am. You can also watch it from the Live! page on our web site, or link to it from our Facebook page.

Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore



As we enter a second month of this new and unplanned way of being the church, I’m sure many of you, myself included, are wondering when we’ll get back to meeting in person. Seeing faces over Zoom and YouTube is nice, but not the same as being able to shake hands or embrace on a Sunday morning. Part of my sermon preparation process for years has been outlining my words from the podium in the sanctuary as I picture your faces before I look into your actual faces as I preach on Sunday morning. Now, I’m preaching into my iPhone, using my laptop as a makeshift teleprompter. After a while, I start to feel like I’m talking to the walls. I dearly miss the in-person dynamic of worship, and the interplay of our energies in the same room. I can’t wait to get back to that.

On the other hand, I’ll keep doing church in this new way for as long as necessary. Our mutual safety depends on it. But just how long is necessary? As of this writing, our stay-at-home order has been extended through May 15. I’m fairly certain that will extend even further. The other day, the governor unveiled the outline of a phased plan for coming back out of shelter. In that plan, mass gatherings such as worship will be one of the very last things to be allowed. It’s going to be a while. And, even then, we’ll have to examine our own values and sense of ethical obligations as to whether or not we’ll begin to meet in person again once large groups are given the OK. It’s clear that even this “back to normal” plan is based in educated guesswork. There is still a chance that we could spread the virus in our gatherings after the curve flattens. We have a vulnerable population at the church. I fall into a few of the “high risk” categories myself, which gives me personal pause about jumping back into large group gatherings. Many factors will need to be taken into account before we announce our return.

All of this is to say that we could be doing church at a distance for longer than we expect. So far, we’ve been making up this new “remote church” as we go along — spawning our own ideas and learning from what other churches are doing as they navigate these strange waters alongside us. This is all well and good. Oddly energizing, to be honest, for this improvisor. But after a month of the church different, I’m left to wonder, “What’s next?” “What else can we be doing?”

And so, I want to reach out to you this month with a very serious question and I want to hear your most deeply considered answers.

When separated by necessity, what is it you need most from your church community?

What do you need from your minister? From the staff? What do you need most from each other, and how can the church help facilitate that?

Please do consider this. Email me your answers. Schedule a video chat with me if you need some conversation to help you process. However you need to, let me know what makes the church necessary for you in these times.

If every crisis is an opportunity, we are faced with perhaps our biggest opportunity since our building project — a chance to reimagine what church can be, what our church can be, for these interesting times and beyond.

Take care. Be well.
I love you.

Rev. John Cullinan

Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore

MUSIC   
[gathering music]
#205 “Amazing Grace” (Columbian Harmony)
#1 “May Nothing Evil Cross This Door” (Robert N. Quaile)
#123 “Spirit of Life” (Carolyn McDade)
“What a Wonderful World” (George David Weiss & Bob Thiele) – Andy & Sophia Enriquez
[offertory]
“Go Now in Peace” (Natalie Sleeth) – Nylea Butler-Moore, piano & Kyle (‘Mystery Hands’) Butler-Moore, HAPI drum

READINGS
Call to Worship adapted from words by Kathleen McTigue
Prayer Heather Rion Starr
“Now, I Love You. Now, I Witness” by Theresa I. Soto

Our offering recipient for April is the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. Please visit https://www.losalamosjjab.com/ for more information and to make your direct donation.

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
The Rev. John Cullinan – minister
Tina DeYoe – director of lifespan religious education
Nylea Butler-Moore – director of music
Elisa Enriquez, Andy Enriquez, Sophia Enriquez – guest musicians
Rick Bolton, Mike Begnaud – AV techs

“Breathe” Tattoo image by Ashley Rose, licensed under Creative Commons
Hands image by Milada Vigerova from Pixabay 
Tea image by Pexels from Pixabay 
Word Cloud image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay 
Shattered image by 412designs from Pixabay 
Heart image by Susanne Jutzeler, suju-foto from Pixabay 

All music licensed through One License, Christian Copyright Solutions, or used with permission of the author. All other materials used with permission.

Online Service! Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore

MUSIC   
“Invention in C Major” (J.S. Bach) – Tate Plohr, piano
#268 “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today (Tune, EASTER HYMN, from Lyrica Davidica, 1708, with adapted excerpt of arrangement by Barbara Boertje) – Nylea Butler-Moore, piano
#8 “Mother Spirit, Father Spirit” (Norbert F. Capek)
#123 “Spirit of Life” (Carolyn McDade)
“Invention #14” (J.S. Bach) – JeeYeon Plohr, piano
“Minuet in G Major” (J.S. Bach) – JeeYeon Plohr, piano
“Go Now in Peace” (Natalie Sleeth) – Nylea Butler-Moore, piano & Kyle (‘Mystery Hands’) Butler-Moore, HAPI drum

READINGS
“The Old, Old Story” by Ian W. Riddell
“Exaltation” by Linda M. Underwood in Day of Promise (UUA, 2001)

Our offering recipient for April is the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. Please visit https://www.losalamosjjab.com/ for more information and to make your direct donation.

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
The Rev. John Cullinan – minister
Tina DeYoe – director of lifespan religious education
Nylea Butler-Moore – director of music
JeeYeon Plohr, Tate Plohr, and Kyle Butler-Moore – guest musicians
Rick Bolton, Mike Begnaud, and Thomas Graves – AV techs

All music licensed through One License, Christian Copyright Solutions, or used with permission of the author. All other materials used with permission.

Online Service! Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore

MUSIC
Menuetto I (from Suite No. 1 for unaccompanied cello in G Major, S 1007) – music by J.S. Bach – Kathy Gursky, viola
“O Liberating Rose” – music by Larry Phillips
“The Lone, Wild Bird” – Southern Harmony tune
“Spirit of Life” – music by Carolyn McDade
“Hold On & Wake Up!”, a medley of Two African American Spirituals:  
“Hold On (Keep Your Hand on the Plow”) & “Oh, I Woke Up This Morning”
Menuetto II (from Suite No. 1 for unaccompanied cello in G Major, S 1007) – music by J.S. Bach – Kathy Gursky, viola
“Go Now In Peace” – music by Natalie Sleeth

OTHER NOTES
“Beautiful Tiger” is by the Rev. Chris Buice
“Towards Wholeness & Liberation” by Marjorie Bowens-Wheatley comes from the collection Essex Conversations
Our offering recipient for April is the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. Please visit https://www.losalamosjjab.com/ for more information and to make your direct donation.

SERVICE PARTICIPANTS
The Rev. John Cullinan, minister
Tina DeYoe, director of lifespan religious education
Nylea Butler-Moore, director of music
Kathy Gursky, guest musician
Rick Bolton & Mike Begnaud, AV techs

All music licensed through One License, Christian Copyright Solutions, or used with permission of the author. All other materials used with permission.

It’s yet another sign of interesting times that you’re looking at a rather slim edition of The Voice this month. We went back and forth for a week as to whether or not we would produce an issue that assumed we’d be returning to business as usual, but as the days wore on it became clear that we were going to continue presenting virtual church for the foreseeable future. This may change before the month is out, or it may not. For the time being, in order to stay on top of our schedule of presentations, please stay tuned to our “announcements” email list, our website (www.uulosalamos.org), and our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/uuulosalamos) for the most up-to-date information.

For the moment, we’ll be presenting a pre-recorded worship service available at our website and YouTube channel starting at 10:00 am each Sunday. We’ve decided to forego live-streaming for the moment until our internet service is more reliable (with so many churches live-streaming at the same time, the traffic on the network is incredibly high).

We’ll also continue to provide some virtual connection opportunities, and our caring network is working on a new “keep in touch” project that we’ll talk about more as the details come together.

Meanwhile, with all the talk and work that’s gone into the topic of staying connected with one another while we practice social distance, I want to take a moment to remind everyone to also stay connected to your own selves. I know that’s one of the biggest struggles for me in this new way of being. It’s far too easy for me to let the lines between home and work blur when I’m working in my home. Some days I don’t know how to get started. Some days I don’t know when to “clock out.” Some days I am completely out of touch with myself by 2:00 pm. Here are some of the things I’m trying to do to stay connected with my own self, body/mind/heart:

• hydrate — I don’t drink enough water, so I’m trying to remember to have my bottle with me at my desk or next to me by the couch. I’ve even been keeping it by my bedside so I can drink 8 oz. when I first get up.
• set “office hours” — It’s way too easy to let your “on the clock” time become all the time when your environment doesn’t change. I’m trying to make sure I’m “home for dinner” at a reasonable hour and stay off my work email as much as possible (emergencies happen).
• get outside — healthy dog walks, good for the both of us.
• remember to keep holy the Sabbath — I have a hard time with this one even when I’m not working from home. Now, it’s doubly important. For the moment, Sabbath = Friday. Friday is my “weekend” (Saturday is now recording day for worship) — it’s reserved for home, family, and my own soul feeding.
• do not be ashamed of simple joys — I will re-read graphic novels I’ve read fifty times. I will enjoy that slice of frozen pizza. I will laugh at that dumb joke. And I will feel good about it.
• rejoice in the creativity of others — there is so much good art of all kinds being made in this moment, and (like above) I feel blessed to be a consumer of it in this moment, perhaps even inspired to create some of my own (although I will not get down on myself if I don’t feel particularly creative in the moment).

This is just some of my attempted regimen. And I’ll stress attempted. Some days are more successful than others. Which brings me to my final self-care step, perhaps the most important:

• forgive yourself — Don’t dwell on the skinned knee that comes when you fall down in your attempt. We’re built to miss every few attempts. Get up and try it again.

It’s a hard goal. It’s so easy to get down on ourselves, especially when we’re in the midst of grieving such a huge change in our lives. But, it’s in our capacity to be gentle and kind to our own selves that we’ll be able to generate the kindness necessary to others to get through these hard times.

Rev. John Cullinan

Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore

MUSIC
“Shades of Peace” – Nylea L. Butler-Moore
“We Laugh, We Cry” – Shelly Jackson Denham
“Find a Stillness” – Transylvanian hymn tune
“Spirit of Life” – Carolyn McDade
“It Is Well with My Soul” – Philip P. Bliss, arr. Joel Raney
“Grant Me Vision, Grant Me Courage” – Jim Townley & Nylea L. Butler-Moore

READINGS
The gospel reading was from Luke 21:1-4, Common English Bible
*Special thanks to Maryann McKibben Dana for permission to share from her book, God, Improv, and the Art of Living.*

OFFERING
Our offering partner for March is Strong in Nature, a local organization that “facilitates deep healing through positive connection in outdoor spaces. We empower survivors, we de-stigmatize conversations, and we help build community.” Please consider a direct donation through their website, and sign up for their mailing list while you’re at it!
https://stronginnature.org/

PARTICIPANTS
Rev. John Cullinan – Minister
Tina DeYoe – Director of Lifespan Religious Education
Nylea Butler-Moore – Director of Music
Rick Bolton, Mike Begnaud – AV Booth Crew

MUSIC
“Walk with an Open Heart” – Scott Roewe, arr. Nylea L. Butler-Moore
“Standing on the Side of Love” – Jason Shelton
“Thanks Be for These” – 16th century Hungarian Melody
“Spirit of Life” – Carolyn McDade
“Come, Thou Fount” – Robert Robinson, Eugene Navias, John Wyeth
“Draw the Circle Wide” – Mark Miller & Gordon Light
“Go Now in Peace” – Natalie Sleeth

READINGS
“The Rainbow Fish” by Marcus Pfister
“There Is No Easier Way” by Rev. Elizabeth Nguyen

OFFERING
Our offering partner for March is Strong in Nature, a local organization that “facilitates deep healing through positive connection in outdoor spaces. We empower survivors, we de-stigmatize conversations, and we help build community.” Please consider a direct donation through their website, and sign up for their mailing list while you’re at it!
https://stronginnature.org/

PARTICIPANTS
Rev. John Cullinan – Minister
Tina DeYoe – Director of Lifespan Religious Education
Nylea Butler-Moore – Director of Music
Rick Bolton, Mike Begnaud – Livestream Booth Crew

Presented by Rev. John Cullinan, Tina DeYoe, and Nylea Butler-Moore one March 15, 2020.

Our reading is the poem “Pandemic” by UU minister Lynn Ungar (used with permission)

This morning’s hymn tunes:
#18 “What Wondrous Love” – music from The Southern Harmony (1835)
#101 “Abide With Me” – music by William Henry Monk (1823-1889)

Service music:
“Morning Has Broken” – traditional Gaelic melody, arranged by Cat Stevens
“Make Us One” – words and music by Twila Paris

For more information on our congregation, visit us at www.uulosalamos.org

Shekhinah, goddess of wisdom, has an open door policy at Her office. The lessons of a universe’s lifetime are kept inside. Will we knock on the door? Can we even find it? This morning: the story of Wisdom . . . and our relationship with Her.

Our congregation has a vision of how our community and the wider world will be because of our presence and our action. It is a story that we tell about a possible future. But what does it take to make that story into a reality? This Sunday, we kick off our annual canvass with an exploration of how we use our resources to live into our vision, and how your practice of stewardship makes that vision a reality.

Crow is back with a really tough question: What happens after someone we love dies?

Resilience is not just a personal quality. Similar to grace, it is a gift that can be offered to others when needed. When others around us have lost all hope, it sometimes falls to us to lend the strength that comes with the relentless message: “You are loved. You matter.”

A Japanese proverb says, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” But, where do we find the courage and the strength to get up that eighth time . . . especially when our own reserves are worn down? Can we exercise our own sense of resilience?

“Later that night, still turning the parable over in his head, the rich man returned to the place where the disciples slept. He found Jesus at the fire and sat down with him. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I think understand who my neighbor is. But . . . how shall I love myself?’” 

For all our talk of connection, it is also true that there are times when we must disconnect to protect ourselves from harm. How do we maintain healthy boundaries while still upholding our sense of interconnection?

“Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking.” How do we stay true to our deepest sense of self in a world that demands so much compromise on our parts?

January 6 is Epiphany, the day legend says the Magi arrived at the cradle of the infant Jesus, having followed a star to Bethelehem. What meanings might we draw from these mysterious travelers? And what about our own epiphanies and guiding stars? The Dolejsi family joins us as storytellers and Yelena Mealy offers music.

Today we’ll be exploring the idea of Janus, the Roman god of doorways and transitions.

Rev. John tells a story or two about the spirit of the season

This week, we’ll gather together to tell one another the story of the rebirth of the Sun King.

(Be sure to join us on Saturday the 14th for a mask-making workshop for this year’s Yule pageant.)

This week, we’ll gather together to tell one another the story of the rebirth of the Sun King.

(Be sure to join us on Saturday the 14th for a mask-making workshop for this year’s Yule pageant.)

As we enter into the fullness of the Holiday season, let us take some time to explore what it means to be a people of Awe.

As we enter into the fullness of the Holiday season, let us take some time to explore what it means to be a people of Awe.

The Buddha once addressed his monks, saying: “Monks, all is burning. What is burning? The eye is burning, forms are burning. Burning with what? Burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion.” Called “The Fire Sermon”, it is one of the Buddha’s most famous discourses, and considered one of the most important. An allusion to the Fire Sermon appears in T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” with a footnote stating that it “corresponds in importance to the ‘Sermon on the Mount’.” In our sermon we will talk about how the Fire Sermon is a keystone to understanding the Buddha’s remarkable discovery, 2500 years ago, about the essential nature of suffering, its cause, and its remedy.

John Ambrosiano is a retired physicist and dharma student who teaches meditation and dharma at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Los Alamos. He has been a student of the Vipassana teacher Matthew Flickstein for 12 years.

Come share a meal with your church family, along with stories of how we use food to show love, concern, and hospitality.

Social scientists say that only 10% of us (at least here in the USA) are truly effective listeners – people who listen to others in order to understand and grow. The rest of us, so they tell us, are simply listening to reply, to make the conversation as much about ourselves as possible (it’s comfortable territory, after all). As we continue to explore the theme of ATTENTION this week, some thoughts on how to be a better listener, to be in relationships with others that are not merely transactional, but transformative.

An exploration of diversity of belief in America with pulpit guest the Rev. Munro Sickafoose, a consulting minister at the Unitarian Congregation of Taos and a community minister at the UU Congregation of Santa Fe. Munro is a graduate of Starr King School for the Ministry and focuses much of his work on healing our human relationship with the earth.

My seminary friend, Tim, was once the religion page editor for the Toledo Blade newspaper. As such, he came into contact with just about every faith community in the Toledo area. Once, he shared one of his experiences with us.

“Here’s the best ‘welcome’ message in town,” he said:

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, y no habla ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying newborns, skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds. We welcome you if you sing like Pavarotti or can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re just browsing, just woke up, or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism. We welcome our disabled worshipers who have brought their service dogs with them. We welcome Muslims, Jews, politicians, and sinners like us. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems, or you’re down in the dumps, or you don’t like “organized religion;” we’ve been there too. If you blew all your offering money at the casino, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, who work hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or come because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid, or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers, doubters, bleeding hearts . . . and you!

Talk about leaving no doubt as to how open their church’s doors are! And here, friends, is the kicker. What church do you think offers this message of welcome to all who walk through those open doors? If you guessed a Unitarian Universalist church . . . you would be wrong. The above is the welcome message of Toledo’s First Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Remarkable, no?

Each week, we open our service by telling those gathered, “Whoever you are, wherever you are on your life’s journey, you are welcome here.” I wonder, though, how many people hearing this message for the first time think to themselves, Even me? Just as I am? Maybe the laundry list of just who’s included in the “whoever, wherever” might help to answer those questions and allay those fears.

Then again, it might make the greeting message longer than the sermon.

In truth, it’s what happens after that initial welcome that truly matters. Beyond that welcome message, the Adventists have a pretty strict view of sin and salvation that might very well leave some first-timers feeling cold, oppressed, even wounded. The open door is wonderful, but not if one is left to wonder whether or not there’s a seat at the table after they enter.

The same is true for us. The “whoever, wherever” message is welcoming enough, the laundry list implicit. The answer to those questions — Even me? Just as I am? — come in those ever-important moments that follow the welcome, inside the open door. How do we make room in the sanctuary? At the table? How do we lay aside our own needs and expectations about who the person at the door should be so that we might accept them as they are?

True welcome is a continual practice. We must open our hearts as well as our doors for our invitation to be more than just words.

Speaking of welcome, our Thanksgiving service this year will focus on the ways we show care, attention, and hospitality with food. We’ll be trying something a little different with a potluck worship on November 24 titled, “Sacred Tables,” where we’ll share dishes we serve to visitors, extended family, and even strangers, with stories about how food and hospitality strengthen connections. Watch your email and our Facebook page for more details.

Rev. John Cullinan

Our expectations — our prayers —  as a community often have vague and fuzzy ends. We think we know what we need, what we want, but we often wind up with something completely different: a different thing we didn’t know we needed. Sometimes, the answer to our prayers is not what we thought we hoped for, but is exactly what we need. How do we learn to embrace the unexpected answer?

We’re approaching our annual Ingathering celebration once again, and I’m looking forward to sharing a new year of worship, learning, and growth with all of you. There are some changes ahead, and I want to make sure you’re fully aware of the shape of things to come here at the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos.

First and foremost, we’ll begin a new worship and RE schedule on September 8 when we celebrate our Ingathering. The worship service will remain at 10:00 am (the same time as our summer schedule). Religious Education for children and adults will now follow the service at 11:15 am (allowing 15 minutes to move from worship to classes). Coffee and fellowship will be available both before and after the service, parallel to the RE hour. This change allows us to have an earlier start time to worship without pushing RE back too early. In addition, it relieves some of the time and traffic conflicts that can arise with RE and worship preparation happening concurrently. And, it will allow us to free up the sanctuary for some larger adult RE programming as needed.

Secondly, we will continue with the weekly all ages worship that we kicked off in August. The intention table will remain in the sanctuary, along with the young worshippers space and the quiet space in the library.

Next, you’ll notice some variations in our order of service and worship content from week-to-week. This year, we’re engaging more of the congregation through our new Worship Arts Teams to create worship that engages people across multiple senses and ways of knowing. We hope that together we are presenting worship that is even more meaningful and memorable to our church family.

Finally, we’ll be continuing our monthly themed ministry explorations with our Soul Matters program. This year, our children’s RE will integrate with the Soul Matters themes more directly, so that between worship and RE we will be sharing subject matter across all ages, creating opportunities for cross-generational learning and connection.

Now . . .

I know change can be uncomfortable, but don’t let these program adjustments scare you off. Some of what we’re doing you’ve already experienced (10:00 am service, all ages worship). Some of it is just leaning more into programming we’ve already dipped our toes into (Soul Matters). All of it, we’re sure, will only serve to strengthen our connections as a faithful people and as members of a community.

I look forward to being with you and leading you into this new church year. I can’t wait to see what we discover together.

~~~~~

At our Ingathering, you’ll also have a chance to say “Bon Voyage” to our Partner Church delegation. Seven of us, including Jess and myself, will travel to Romania on September 10 on a Transylvanian pilgrimage. We’ll be touring from Bucharest to Cluj/Kolosvar, visiting sites of significance to our Unitarian history in that country, and spending 4 days with our partner church in Fenyokut as they celebrate the 450th (!) anniversary of their congregation. We’re excited for the journey, and I can’t wait to tell you all about our adventures when we return.

Rev. Christine Robinson and Dan Lillie will return to the pulpit in my absence to lead worship. Please give them a warm, returning welcome.

~~~~~

I mentioned our Worship Arts Teams above. If you’d like to learn more about those teams, or about any of our other committees and opportunities for service, be sure to join us after worship on September 29 for our annual Committee Fair.

See you in church!

Rev. John Cullinan

[Multi-generational service] Join us for this beloved annual tradition, as we close out the regular year with gratitude and celebration.

[Our annual business takes place in the Fellowship Hall immediately after the service.]

A service for Easter. What were Jesus’ final wishes for his loved ones?

Rev. John will lead a brief communion service in the Sanctuary at the conclusion of worship.

April’s theme is “Wholeness” – This Sunday, Rev. John takes a look at what it means to be whole as a person, a community, and a human family.

Please join us after the service in the Fellowship Hall for the dedication of our Memorial Garden.

[Multi-Generational Service] Crow is back with another question.

Sometimes, our lives take a such a turn that we need to know there’s someone who’s there for us, no matter what. Sometimes, it’s hard to know when to reach out. Sometimes, you might not be sure who to reach out to. A minister comes into a church community, in part, to be just that person to reach out to. It’s certainly one of the reasons I entered the ministry. Now, there are many things that I’m not — a therapist, a lawyer, or a doctor, for example. But, what the minister is, what I am, is a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold — someone who can be with you when most needed.

But, when is that time? That’s often a tricky question. The answer is: whenever you need me. Here’s another tricky question: Who was the first president of the UUA? Send your answer to me by email and one of you with the correct answer gets a prize. But back to the first question — it doesn’t seem much of an answer, I know, but it’s the short and sweet answer. Perhaps it’s never crossed your mind before to call the minister when you’re in need — but you should. It’s why I’m here. Perhaps you’re worried I may be too busy for you — but I’m never too busy to be your minister. It’s why I’m here. Perhaps you think that what’s on your mind isn’t important enough — but you’re important to me. Don’t ever hesitate to pick up the phone, or send me an e-mail, or leave me a message on the whiteboard on my office door. I’m the minister, and I’m here for you.

Still unsure when to call? Let me share with you a wonderful list, adapted (with some personalization) from an essay written by a UU minister, the Rev. Peter Lee Scott, over fifty years ago (times may change, but the role of the minister remains, largely, the same).

When to Call the Minister:

• When you haven’t met me yet, but would like to.
• When you have problems you’d like to discuss, concerning your children, your job, your marriage, or anything else where a sympathetic ear might be of help.
• When you’re going in the hospital or know someone else in the congregation who is.
• When someone close to you has died or is critically ill.
• When you or someone you love is in trouble or in jail.
• When you’re planning to be married, or wish you could be.
• When you have a child to be dedicated.
• When you’re pregnant but wish you weren’t.
• When you, or a friend or neighbor would like more information about the Unitarian Universalist faith.
• When you’re considering joining the congregation.
• When the Red Sox are losing, and you want to commiserate with him.
• When you have suggestions to make about programs for the Fellowship.
• When you’d like help with committee work or with other congregational activities.
• When there are community issues you’d like to discuss or would like me to be involved with.
• When you’re mad at me.
• When you appreciate something I’ve said or done.
• When you’d like to talk religion with me.
• When you’d like to talk parenting with me — as a parent, or as a child.
• When you’ve had good news and want to share it.
• When you’ve had bad news.
• When you’re feeling overwhelmed.
• When you want to tell me your history with the Fellowship.
• When you want to spend more time with the children and youth.
• When you’ve heard a great joke and want to share it, or you want to talk comic books, or you want to chat over a cup of coffee . . .

. . . and, well, I think you get the picture. This is, of course, not a comprehensive list. The rule of thumb is, if you think you might need to talk to me, then you probably need to talk to me. Pick up the phone. Send the e-mail. I won’t know you need me until you let me know that you do. But, I’m here when you do.

Rev. John Cullinan

Many of us tend to rely (and rightly so!) on what is provable to provide us with our sense of what is true and correct; however, there are some truths that are beyond the realm of provability. How can we acknowledge other ways of knowing? When truth speaks in a language other than science and reason, sometimes we have a harder time hearing it, but that doesn’t mean we should discount the voice of inner truth and wisdom.

Dan Lillie serves as the Ministerial Resident at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque. He enjoys spending his free time with his partner Emily and their two dogs, Max and Bella.

Reflections on our journeys through grief and loss, with music by the Adult Choir.

(Note: We are sad to report that the husband of our scheduled guest speaker, the Rev. Sue Redfern-Campbell, died suddenly, so of course Sue cannot be with us. We hold her and her family in our hearts.)

A sermon on March’s theme of “Journey.”

[Multi-Generational Service] Join us for Won’t You Be My Neighbor? on March 1st, then hear Rev. John’s reflections this morning.

At last month’s meeting, the Board approved a sabbatical for me in 2020. I’ll be taking four months of sabbatical, most likely beginning mid-April of next year. This time is meant to be a period of renewal both for myself and for the congregation. There will be much planning to do, and the first step is to put together the sabbatical team for the congregation. The team will be responsible for planning out the various ways in which my ministerial functions will be filled over those four months, including worship, pastoral care, and other administrative duties. The team will also be putting some thought into how the congregation might engage in some renewal activities during this time. We have a few members set in place already, but we need several more to build a functioning team. We’re especially in need of someone with some grant-writing skills, as we’ll be applying for a Clergy Renewal Grant from the Eli Lilly Foundation to help fund the sabbatical period for myself and the congregation. Please get in touch with me if you’re interested in taking part in this planning process.

~ ~~ ~ ~

A few months back, we sent an email out to you to encourage those of you participating in LANL’s giving program to consider once again making your contribution to the church through the program. In years past, we have benefited greatly from the matching funds we’ve received from LANL through the program. Unfortunately, not long after the enrollment period ended, we received word from the new management at the laboratory that churches would no longer be eligible for these matching funds. This is disappointing, of course, and a cause for some concern for our finances moving forward. I don’t begrudge the lab’s decision, and I even understand it to some extent. But I am disappointed in the timing of and the way in which the decision was announced. Those of you who have been giving to the church through the lab over the years, with the expectation that you’ll be stretching that gift a little further, may now be wondering what to do. Please be on the lookout for a mailing from myself and the steward on your options going forward regarding LANL giving and the church. In the meantime, my fellow clergy in Los Alamos and I are working on a public statement regarding this change.

Rev. John Cullinan

Possibility has its shadow side, too. Being a people of possibility means recognizing where we’ve taken a wrong turn.

On MLK’s birthday, reflections on how far we’ve come and how far we have still to go.

The story of Unitarian Universalism is the story of reaching towards what seems impossible – an experiment in diversity seeking unity. What does it mean to be a people of possibility?

Tina DeYoe brings us New Year’s reflections on January’s theme of “Possibility.”

The marking of time is an ultimately arbitrary endeavor. The first of January is the name we give to the beginning of another orbit around the sun, the point we’ve chosen to count up from zero yet again. It doesn’t need to be January 1st. It could be at some other point in our orbit, and indeed it is in the estimation of other cultures. But, arbitrary as it is, there is something about the turning to a new calendar that puts us in the mindset of renewal and of taking first steps onto new paths in our life’s journey. Every January teems with possibility.

It’s no accident, then, that “Possibility” is our theme for the month. Unitarian Universalism is a religion that swims in the deep end of what might be possible for humanity — in spite of our baser instincts: the possibility that a people of great diversity might still build a community with a sense of wholeness; the possibility that we can find deep peace despite our differences; the possibility that we can move from aggression to compassion.

This month, we’ll delve into Unitarian Universalism’s great experiment in possibility. And, we’ll explore our roles and responsibilities in that experiment.

Whatever possibilities you may be looking towards, I wish you the happiest of New Years. May our time together during this next orbit be fruitful and faithful.

See you in church!

Rev. John Cullinan

A look back. A look ahead. Happy New Year!

Join us as we tell the Christmas story, and celebrate 200 years of the beloved hymn, “Silent Night.”

A short concert of Christmas music, led by Nylea Butler-Moore and featuring members and friends of the congregation, precedes the service at 6:30 PM.

There’s never enough time to sing all the carols. Nylea Butler-Moore leads us in a program of holiday favorites and your requests. What would you like to sing?

[a service for all ages] Come help us tell the Christmas story in this no-rehearsal, cast-on-the-spot pageant. (And why not wear your favorite animal costume, if you have one?)

They say the waiting is the hardest part . . . but what are we waiting for?

We begin this month’s theme of “Mystery” with reflections on growing comfortable with not knowing.

December is, among many other things, Self Help month at the church. Self Help, Inc. was founded in 1969 by Bethlehem Lutheran Church, along with several other churches in town including our own. It was founded as a means to pool charitable resources and use them for assistance and outreach in our northern New Mexico communities. For many years, the first Sunday in December at the Unitarian Church was designated as “Self Help Sunday,” with a special collection taken up that day to fund our commitment to one of our oldest charitable partners. Over the years, as need has increased and we moved to a model of giving away the entirety of our collection each month, “Self Help Sunday” has transformed into “Self Help Month.”

The monies we collect and give to Self Help, Inc. assist in their vital work in the wider community on our behalf. Currently, Self Help manages an emergency relief fund for one-time assistance needs such as rent, utilities, or medical bills; self-reliance grants used to assist those in need with small business start-up costs, job training, or other projects that will lead to individual self-reliance (Crowfeather Cleaning, our current janitor service, was started with the help of one of these grants); the 2-1-1 resource referral line serving Rio Arriba, Taos, Mora, San Miguel, Santa Fe and Los Alamos Counties; and the Los Alamos Mental Health Access Project, connecting people to much needed mental health services.

Earlier this year, Maura Taylor began her tenure as executive director of Self Help. Maura grew up in Los Alamos, and in our church, and has returned to serve our community. She’ll join us later this month to talk about the organization and her work. During December, all cash and undesignated funds will be given to Self Help, Inc. We’ll also put out a free-will donation basket during our holiday potluck.

I personally consider Self Help, Inc. to be our most important charitable and outreach partner in the community. I know that this time of year brings many appeals for support, and I hope you will consider a generous gift to Self Help along with your other charitable gifts this year.

~ ~~ ~ ~

Please join me in welcoming Yelena Mealy as our new staff accompanist. Yelena will be assisting Nylea with choir rehearsals and accompaniment, as well as filling in for Nylea on Sundays when she’s leading her ensemble at Bethlehem Lutheran. If you were with us in church on November 11, you’ll know that Yelena is an excellent pianist. She comes to us most recently from Florida with a great deal of church music experience, and is already in high demand as an accompanist and teacher in Los Alamos. We’re incredibly lucky to be welcoming her to the staff team. Yelena will play for us next on December 9. Join us in church, and come say hello.

~ ~~ ~ ~

Don’t miss out on our December traditions here at the Unitarian Church. The Do-It-Yourself Christmas Pageant returns this year on Sunday, December 16. Our Solstice Celebration takes place on Friday, December 21 at 7:00 pm. And, Christmas Eve by Candlelight will take place Monday, December 24 at 7:00 pm, with a special concert of Christmas music preceding the service at 6:30 pm. Join us as we tell the Christmas story through the lens of the beloved hymn, “Silent Night,” which celebrates its 200th birthday this Christmas Eve. A special collection will be taken up for the minister’s discretionary fund, which allows me to provide emergency assistance to the congregation and the wider community.

Rev. John Cullinan

Join us for this multi-generational service of gratitude and stories about the breads of our families.

Every soul needs a reminder list. What’s on yours?

We begin November’s theme of “Memory” with an exploration and celebration of our ancestors and our history.

We begin November’s theme of “Memory” with an exploration and celebration of our ancestors and our history.

Rev. John returns to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld for a new lesson on truth-telling — the world may be make-believe, but the news is 100% NOT fake.

Africa feels to me like a sanctuary, sacred and safe, perhaps because I was raised by Cecelia, a Zulu woman, and I played with Nellie, a quiet and gentle elephant. Africa is not one place, it is a brocade, rich with diversity. It showed me a wealth of perspectives; it taught me to embrace diversity; and it taught me to accept what I don’t understand.

Crow is back, and she’s worried about her new friend’s safety. 

We begin October’s theme of sanctuary with reflections on how we find places of inner peace.

Who we were. Who we are. Who we want to be – Vision cannot be fulfilled without trusting in the unknowns of its outcome. What gives us courage to take a leap of faith?

“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” – William Faulkner

“Objects in mirror are closer than they appear”

To become who we choose to be, we must understand who we were – at our best AND at our worst – and know that we have not left those moments very far behind.