Joy in a Season of Care

Published by Rev. Elizabeth Mount on

This month is a season of joy. We are bounded by the eight nights of Hanukkah and New Year’s Eve, with a little Christmas joy, a Yule log, some Diwali, and perhaps even Festivus or Saturnalia thrown in. We offer to each, joy and blessings depending on their preferences and heritage. It’s a season of fun and laughter. Yet, it’s also often a season of stress and feeling overwhelmingly busy, pressured by expectation. In this time of love and laughter, let us make room for joy, room to breathe and to smile. Make space for spacious savouring of this season. Let us remember that joy doesn’t mean we need a whole lot of stuff or people or events. All that we need is just enough, and the time to breathe it in.
 
Even in joy, let us recall that this season of shared delight is sometimes sad for individuals among us. Holiday gatherings can be a reminder of who is no longer with us because of time, illness, choice, or circumstance. Let us make space for the grief and loss as well. The sadness of sometimes allowed to balance our lives and give us perspective on that wide range of human experience. Let us revel in the joy of experiencing our humanity. The breadth of emotions, as we make room for grief to nestle within our hearts on a cold winter’s evening.
 
So in this month, however you are celebrating, whatever the complexity of your feelings, your family, your festivals, may you hold room for joy. Know that in the shared community of First UU, you are welcome to bring ALL your feelings to this space. Let us share in the blessings of this holiday season. We hold gratitude for all that we are. Grateful for the hope of the light that shines in and through all. We are grateful to be together in spirit even in the hardest of times and the longest of nights.

For Our Holiday Spirits

Here’s something special we have planned for you on Christmas Eve! This is a self-guided worship experience in a Labyrinth, taking as much time as you wish. The 5 to 7 PM hours are when the experience will be available, and we invite you to come share in this opportunity for meditation, prayer, or reflection — whatever speaks to your spirit.

As always, a gentle reminder to please mask and observe social distancing, especially inside the church building.

Happy Christmas Eve!


Rev. Elizabeth Mount

Rev. Elizabeth Mount is the minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Indiana, PA and is committed to excellent worship, pastoral care, and justice work within and beyond the community. In their free time, they enjoy spending time in nature, reading, changing the world, and learning new arts and crafts.

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