The Beacon December 2016 2
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1 First Unitarian ChurchThe News BeaconDecember 2016 TheDecember Beacon 2016 1 First Unitarian Church of Baltimore HOPE,, SSOCIAL JUSTICE AND LIBERAL RELIGIOUS VALUES Corner Charles & Franklin Streets Cookies for Dayspring December 2016 Services Services start at 11:00 A.M. in the sanctuary. Every year, Girl Scouts around the country sell cookies, but did you know that they donate thousands of boxes to charities as well? Our December 4 very own Eden Deininger is col- “WinterFest” lecting cookies for Dayspring! The Winter Festival Committee Here’s how you can help. On An exploration around winter themes, including win- Sunday, December 4, at coffee ter’s universal features and the diverse spiritualities of a hour, Eden will sell cookies at $4 pluralist community like ours. Drumming and proces- per box. sionals, songs and storytelling, and the special inclusion You can buy a box for your- of the perspectives of African-American members and self and/or a box for Dayspring. friends. Eden and her troop will deliver the cookies, along with any other donations, by De- December 11 cember 20. You can also donate by going “Love Matters” to www.gscm.org/cookiesfromtheheart and put Eden’s Rev. David Carl Olson name and troop #1904. Thank you for your support. Christians use the Advent season in the weeks leading up to Christmas as a time to prepare Become a Tutor their hearts for the arrival of FROM THE PEACE AND JUSTICE MINISTRY Love in the person of a little Do you want to make a difference in Baltimore child. “Love and Self-Love is City? Do you believe that education can change practiced in every element of what we do,” is the Sec- lives? If you answered yes to one or both of these ond Principle of Black Lives, created by the Unitarian- questions, please consider tutoring 4th graders at the Universalist Caucus at the Movement for Black Lives William Paca Elementary School in East Balti- Convening as a new set of guidelines for our faith. more. The commitment is one hour per week after These principles mirror and magnify the principles of school at 3 P.M. on Thursdays. If you cannot make a our association. How do we love one another in this weekly commitment, consider being a substitute. For community? How do we help each other love our- more information, contact Roberta Van Meter . selves? Is this how we prepare to create the village of care that will sustain us for the long haul? December 18 “Blue Christmas: At the Gate of the Year” Diana K. Davies December 25, 1939, England was at war, and the overall mood was one of fear and anxiety. In his Christmas radio broadcast, INSIDE King George VI overcame his stutter to read a poem Page that asked the listener not to search for a light, but to go Coffee Cabinet ........................................... 2 out into the darkness, to tread “gladly into the night.” Change for Change ..................................... 3 Now, in this time of fear and anxiety, made worse by Book Group ................................................ 3 our own personal trials and losses, how can we learn to Our Daily Bread ......................................... 3 stop searching for a light, but go—if not gladly, then at Pete’s Patter: “A Good Start” ..................... 4 least bravely—together, into the night? Historical Perspectives #82 ........................ 5–12 Invitation to Advent Open House ............... 13 (Continued on page 3) Winter Solstice Info.................................... 14 2 First Unitarian Church News The Beacon December 2016 2 Coffee Cabinet David Rev. Carl Olson BY REV. DAVID CARL OLSON, MINISTER This flame shines with the light of reason; But we do not always act May it illuminate the wonders of our world. our best. In this busy season, I This flame glows with a warm compassion; often find myself hungry, anx- May it expand the caring circle of our love. ious, lonely, and tired. (Do you This flame gleams like a hope filled beacon; remember that HALT acro- May it sustain us through the darkest winter night. nym?) In such a challenged These three flames mark a joyful season; state, I become less able to make right decisions and to May they unite us in a happy HumanLight. express the values that are central to my understanding of who I am and want to be. And may reason compassion and hope Meeting with friends for a little “down” time, taking a Light the path of every human light. moment to breathe deeply and light a candle, and most by Monty Harper importantly to reflect with others on how these values op- erate in my life—this is how I can be brought back to my best self. I attend one more pot luck dinner (when it won’t Dear congregation, dear community, entirely overload me). I listen to members of the Baltimore Ethical Society, the Frederick Douglas Humanist Society, Each year on December 23, the Baltimore Coalition of and the Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah—among oth- Reason, of which our church is a founding member, gath- ers—and hear the moral and ethical values that speak to ers to celebrate HumanLight, a seasonal festival that ex- me. I cherish our connections and the work that we may be presses our confidence in human capacity to act in ways called to do together in the world. And I am grateful— that are ethical and moral. HumanLight began in New Jer- deeply grateful—for life itself—this life, right now!—and sey in 2001 after the September 11 attacks. Humanists of for the companionship and camaraderie of many humanist greater New York wanted to share their confidence in the friends. human family to overcome hatred, division, and fear. The ceremony is simple. We light three candles—for Merry Christmas, dear friends, reason, compassion and hope—and reflect on these core And blessed Solstice and happy HumanLight values of our humanism. Then we eat a potluck meal (vegan food especially welcome) and do some dancing and With deep affection singing. When we celebrate HumanLight, we express an im- portant truth: that the values we treasure in Unitarian- Universalism are not ours alone, but belong to the whole human family. Their expression in ethical living happens both because of, and sometimes in spite of, our religious practices. Reason, compassion, and hope have developed Rev. David Carl Olson, Minister in our species over time, and when we are in our “best” The Kids Call Me “Rev” selves, they are the watchword for what it means to be hu- man. Minister’s Open Hours in the Study Minister’s Self-Care Saturdays from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. My Sabbath is on Thursdays after I finish responsibilities (also a time for preparation and rehearsal for Sunday at the church, through Saturday morning. I will be worship) with my Rhode Island family from Christmas night Mondays from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. to December 28. Wednesdays from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. I am always “on call” for pastoral and other concerns. (also a time to prepare with Worship Associates) Do not hesitate to contact me if there is something you’d Minister’s Other Hours like to talk about or do. It is always a good idea to con- Tuesday is reserved for visitation. Please text or call me tact me in advance if you are coming to the church or to at (410) 350-9339 if you would like to be visited. my home to see me. I am most accessible by text message Thursday is a writing day at the library and in my home at (410) 350-9339. Thank you! study. 3 First Unitarian Church News December 2016 The Beacon 3 (Continued from page 1) Book Group December 25 BY MIKE FRANCH Christmas Day Unitarian Service of Communion “All Are Welcome at the Table” The Book Group holds a combined Rev. David Carl Olson November-December meeting on Thurs- On Christmas Day, we hold a quiet space where an historic day, December 8, at Unitarian service of communion invites all to feast and be 7:30 P.M. to discuss Tessa Hadley’s novel, satisfied. “Come, not because you must, but because you Mike Franch The Past. You can find a may. Come not to express an opinion, but to seek a Pres- the New York Times review at http:// ence.” tinyurl.com/j66nbtt. It’s one of those British family novels, but in our dis- cussions we’ve found that, across the Special Services miles and cultures, families are fami- lies and no matter how exotic the set- Winter Solstice Ritual: December 21 ting, something of our own experience Service begins at 7 P.M. followed by a reception. keeps popping up in these books. The Book Group meets in a home in Mt. Washing- Christmas Eve Services: December 24 ton. Contact Mike Franch at [email protected] for information. You don’t need to be a regular Book At 6:00 P.M. in the sanctuary. Group member to attend and participate in the lively “Family Christmas Pageant” led by the children and friendly discussions. New people are very much and youth of our RE4ALL (Religious Education for welcomed. All) Sunday School On January 26, we’ll discuss Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies, the second volume of her trilogy of Tudor England. Though set in the At 6:45 P.M. in Enoch Pratt Parish Hall. 16th century, we can see people much “Christmas Eve Pot Luck Dinner” like ourselves in the politics, intrigue, and human nature of the real and fic- At 8:00 P.M.