“Light a candle, sing a song

Say that the shadows shall not cross

Make an oblation out of all you’ve lost

In the longest night

 

Gather friends and cast your hopes

Into the fire as it snows

And stare at God through the dark windows

Of the longest night

Of the year

 

A night that seems like a lifetime

If you’re waiting for the sun

So why not sing to the nighttime

And the burning stars up above?”

 

We have been humming Peter Mayer tune’s ever since the weekend’s concert and worship service… we hope that the music brought you joy and some peace.

As we head toward Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s, we hope you find some time alone and with those you love to sit in the dark, to listen to the still small voice within, to welcome the rising sun or moon, to sing to the stars or the ancestors, or in the circle, and to give thanks for the gifts we already have received.

For those who are struggling or grieving, know that you are not alone. Not everyone feels merry right now. You don’t have to be anything other than you. Come to worship, connect with other people. That can help us feel less alone. It can also help our brains and our bodies to be in the company of others.

For those who are traveling, may your journeys be safe and hassle-free. For those who will be enjoying a break from school, work, or usual routines, may there be time for rest, contemplation, beauty, and celebrations.

In faith~ Rev. Lynn and Rev. Wendy

Thank you to everyone who organized and participated-helping the Holiday Hangout be so much fun!

In this past Sunday’s shared homily, Worship Team member Tom Comparin shared how what he hoped for and imagined was expanded when he found this congregation and experienced community in a new way. This coming weekend, we all have an extra opportunity to gather our hopes in community together, at Saturday’s concert with Peter Mayer. Music can be a wonderful source of hope!

Peter’s songs are joyful, hopeful, and often express a deep reverence for the Earth and the power of love. He also has some lovely songs that contemplate the holidays in some profound ways.

The concert is open to all. Tickets are available here or scroll down for the article about the concert and click there. If you are a person of means, consider contributing a bit more. If things are tight for you right now, come to the concert and let the care of community and the generous offering of shared resources give you the gift of attending. Bring yourself. Bring a friend or a family member. It will be a wonderful night!

With anticipation~ Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy

Happy December! We imagine that many of you have inboxes that look a bit like ours today, full of requests and reminders for Giving Tuesday. As we named in a recent sermon, one of the tools for resisting authoritarianism is supporting institutions. If you are in a position to contribute to institutions that matter, we hope that you give generously, leaning in to our UU value of generosity. You will see a way to contribute to UUSS later in this newsletter for Giving Tuesday. Feel free to share that with others in your life who share our values.

This month at UUSS we are exploring what it means to be a community of hope. Hope can come in many forms. Just this past week, some folks shared hope at the UUSS Thanksgiving dinner, and others shared hope with a visit from the Caring Team. Some fabulous kids and youth shared words of hope in last Sunday’s worship service, while some elders gathered on Monday and shared ways that they made it through times that felt hopeless.

Sometimes hope is hard to find. It can be very helpful to gather with others, particularly when we feel hopeless. Coming to worship, participating in classes, committing to serve on a Team, Committee, or Board, volunteering in other meaningful ways, and offering our financial support are ways we can increase our hope when things seem bleak. Being part of something matters. Come to the Holiday Hangout! Attend the Game Night! Come to the Peter Mayer concert! Attend worship! You just never know when your kind presence, a listening ear, a hug or high-five, or singing together might be what gives someone else hope. You can also make a big difference by supporting the Dining for Dollars event that supports a fantastic organization listed later in this newsletter.

With care,

Rev. Lynn and Rev. Wendy

The Article II Study Commission did a lot of hard work over a few years to determine what values we Unitarian Universalists have in common. The list was overwhelmingly approved at the General Assembly in 2024. We’ll spend this month exploring Justice, Equity, Generosity, Interdependence, Pluralism, Transformation, and Love at the Center.

Gratitude has been found to reduce stress, improve relationships, and can even enhance resilience when facing adversity.

Today, we offer thanks for gentle rain, our sweet little dog, beloved family, dear friends, and pomegranate bbq tofu, mashed potatoes with our favorite free mushroom gravy all of which are vegan and gluten free.

We are grateful for a calling to ministry, to serve that calling at UUSS, the Staff team, the caring and open-hearted people we serve and serve with, and for tofu-pumpkin pie. We give abundant thanks for our UU and interfaith colleagues who speak and act on the side of love, for our home and garden, for wonder and curiosity, for all those who are organizing and working to resist harm and injustice, and for a big green salad with crunchy sweet New York apples.

Maybe pause for a moment and come up with three things you are grateful for right this moment…. ….. ….. And maybe this week, ask others what they are grateful for, what brings them joy. See where the conversation brings you-hopefully, closer together.

May your week be full of things that are delicious, nourishing, and that fill you with gratitude.

With love and in faith~

Rev. Lynn and Rev. Wendy

As we continue to move through the cycles of grief and worries of what acts of hatred may come or ways the incoming administration will try to thwart democracy, we consider the stories, poems, songs, and practices that can teach us how to effectively resist, to help us get through hard times, and to remember who we are. We have lifted up several of those in worship all fall, and especially in the last few weeks.

Sikh activist Valarie Kaur wrote a prayer for America back in November of 2016. She wrote, “What if this darkness is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb?

What if our America is not dead but a country still waiting to be born? What if the story of America is one long labor?” We have been in presentations with her as she spoke of revolutionary love.

And she reminds us that the midwife says- first we breathe and then we push. Right now, as we feel our feelings and start organizing and strategizing for what’s to come, we are breathing, getting clarity. And soon, it will be time to push-to cast out hatred and acts of harm, to protect those we love and those we do not yet know who will be targets. We are in this together-even though we will experience it differently. But no matter what comes, if we face it in community, we can be more effective.

Today, consider checking on the resources and resilience hub here. Have conversations with your kin and friends about who and what you value and what you will help to protect. Come to worship and be filled by being together, by singing together, by listening together, by praying and/or meditating together. We hope to see you on Sunday for one of the long-time traditions at UUSS of bread communion-May all be nourished, may all be fed.

Rev. Wendy and Rev. Lynn

When we wrote last week, it was still Election Day. A lot has happened since then.

This past Sunday we shared a quote from author, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit who wrote, earlier this week, “You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role no matter what, and right now good friends and good principles are worth gathering in. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is. The pain you feel is because of what you love.”

We then invited folks to write down some answers to the ‘what you love, what loves you, what love is’ and consider putting the paper where you will see it, so that they can be reminders and incentives in the weeks and months ahead. Each of us has a role to play, maybe even several, in resisting hatred, in strengthening democracy, in caring for one another.

Know that you are loved, and that you are not alone. So many of us are reeling, raging, and/or raw. Feel your feelings. Even the uncomfortable ones. And sometime soon, we’ll keep feeling our feelings and move towards strategies and actions to care for and protect what we love, what loves us, and what love is.

With care, and in faith,

Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy

Here we are. Election Day 2024. Over 100 people in the congregation have participated in the UUSS #UUtheVote efforts over these past several months. Last night, we gathered with over 20 folks for a text bank to remind NY voters to go out and vote and to vote for Prop. 1.

Thanks to our UUtheVote organizing team and the efforts of our community partner Planned Parenthood, they provided training and support. And while some of our technology did not quite work for everyone, despite every effort and coordination, still-several thousand texts were sent by our diligent group. There were a few responses that were hostile. Given the climate created by some campaigns, this was unsurprising, though the ones with more threatening language were a bit unsettling. No state is a monolith of perspective and not everyone wants equity.

As we encouraged on Sunday, take good care of yourself. Reach out to folks you know. Check in. If you are in need of support, let us know. Many, many thanks to all the folks who are serving as poll workers, to those who have devoted energy to this election season, and to everyone who has voted or will today.

Breathing in peace, and breathing out love,

Rev. Wendy & Rev. Lynn

We went to the polls on Monday, where we got to stand in line. That’s right- we GOT to be in line to cast our votes. It is not hyperbole to say that our democracy is threatened. If this election season has taught us anything, it is we can not take the right to vote for granted.

 

We were behind a couple of folks we hadn’t met yet, and who we learned fled from a different state to live in NY, who shared our commitment to voting, to democracy, to honesty, and to connecting and listening to one another. Neighbors sharing concerns together was a lovely gift of getting to be in line-concerned citizens voting early to make sure we get to participate in a process that thousands, perhaps millions have died for throughout human history.

We know that many of you have voted already, too… often waiting in line for a bit to do so. We thought of those in other states and other countries who are willing to wait for hours, and of some of our forebears who waited years, or a lifetime before being able to cast a vote. It is no small thing.

Thank you to all who are doing so much with #UUtheVote to encourage and support participation in this election. If you haven’t yet voted, and need a ride in order to do so, please let the UUSS #UUtheVote folks know. They/We can help!

And if you are feeling concerned at all, we hope to see you this Sunday, because we need one another. Gather together for worship in the morning and then come on back for the Schenectady Clergy Against Hate vigil at 4pm. If you can volunteer for that event, let us know as soon as possible.

Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
Breathing in, we ground ourselves in love.
Breathing out, we vote grounding ourselves in hope.
Breathing in, we strengthen our courage for justice.
Breathing out, we soften for compassion.

Centering our wild hearts in love, let us open to what is possible and do our best to create the most compassionate, just, and joyful outcomes!

In faith~ Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy

This month we’ve been exploring how embracing what is may help us open to what is possible. This past week we have heard from folks how the beauty of Fall is lifting your energy, offering both solace for what is challenging or heartbreaking and inspiration for creativity, joy, and gratitude.

At UUSS, we are feeling a sense of possibility and hope, as people participate in democracy and getting folks to polls with #UUtheVote, as big questions are asked in Getting to Know UU, as a circle of adults gather for Wednesday meditation and another group begins a Wellspring class, as a meal is shared at the Locavore lunch, as Coming of Age participants prepare for their fall retreat, and children and youth Religious Education classes connect and learn together.

How are YOU feeling about what is at UUSS this Fall? Have you availed yourself of the opportunity to connect with others in the congregation? with visitors? with the UUtheVote efforts? The possibilities of the Congregation and maybe even the nation’s future change when we open to them together.

In faith, and with hope~ Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy