New Year!

Happy New Year 2014!

flying chalice - Laura Evonne Steinman

"Like the feathers of a wing, 
everything touches everything" - Mary Oliver


A BIG Question to Ponder with your Family and Friends

 

(think, love and wish with all of your senses)

Angels

Angels

create a snow Angel!

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends

1. What is a snow angel? How do you make one?
2. Where do Angels live?
3. Why does it get lighter this weekend? Do angels have anything to do with it?

print and color!
Post on the FB page: https://www.facebook.com/events/180196295517573/

Mittens warm the Heart

Mittens warm the Heart

Questions to Ponder with your Family and Friends:

• Who do you know that needs warm mittens that doesn't have any this season? (What can you do to make sure they have a pair)
• Where do you sleep at night? How does it feel? (Where does someone sleep that does not have a home? How do you think that feels?)
• What can you do with your extra warm clothes this Winter?

print and color

Books about Mittens

The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg
Missing Mittens by Stuart J. Murphy
The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Mitten Tree by Candace Christensen
One Mitten by Kristine O'Connell George
Pobble's Way by Simon Van Booy
Smitten by David Gordon

Ingredient: Love!

                   Ingredient: LOVE!

Questions to PONDER with your family and friends:

1.What was your belly filled with this past week?

 (Can you name and draw some nouns and adjectives)

2. Where did the ingredients come from to make/create the yummy-ness from this week?

3. Why is LOVE a MUST ingredient in cooking, working, marching, and just daily life Unitarian Universalist Values?

His Day is Done - A Tribute Poem for Nelson Mandela by Dr. Maya Angelou

Happy Thanksgivukkah!

http://www.gatherthejews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/b-thanksgivukkah-102313.jpg

Why Hanukkah and Thanksgiving Will Never Again Coincide

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

~What are some similar themes in the story of Thanksgiving and the story of Chanukah? 

~Who celebrates Thanksgiving? Who celebrates Chanukah?

~Why are they celebrated and How are they celebrated?

~What foods will you be eating during your gathering together?

~Who will be with you?

Have a blast!

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life 

is thank you, it will be enough - Meister Eckhart 

Welcoming All!

Welcoming All!

Being Thankful and Giving!

2 important pieces of that make us who we are.

Question to Ponder with your Family and Friends:

~ What are you "Thankful" for this season? 

( ex. Food, Family, Shelter?)

~ What will you "Give" this season?

( ex. Service, Money, Hugs?)

Each and everyone of us have these special 2 pieces of ourselves to share with those close to us, those far away and those we have never met yet. These 2 pieces make you, you!

Here is one way you can GiVE:

Check out the UUSC Guest at your Table program.

Soup!

Soup! 

(Come make soup & volunteer with our children at Arlington Street Church)

As the weather gets colder and darker 

we seeks even more to come together;

sharing a meal, 

sharing time together 

in the warmth of one another.

http://missmaryliberry.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/flannel-friday-stone-soup/

A few Soup Kitchen/Food Programs you can support in the Boston area

• http://haleyhouse.org/soup_kitchen
• http://www.fridaynightsupper.org (located at ASC)
• http://www.dosomething.org/about/who-we-are
• http://www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/cgi-bin/id/opensearchfb.cgi?city=boston&state=MA

A song about Stone Soup, an Artist/Activist Collective and Community Resource Center in Worcester, MA.

Performed by Lucelia de Jesus and Matt Feinstein (author of song), 

song filmed by Nicole Belanger. 

All about Stone Soup: http://StoneSoupWorcester.org

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

• What is your favorite kind of soup? Do you know how to make it? If, so who do you make it with?
• Do you say "Grace" (A little something special) before and/ or after eating? What do you say?
• If you could invite someone to dinner to share soup with you, who would you invite and why?
• What can YOU do this holiday season so that more people can enjoy hot soup in community?

To Every Season...

"To Everything There is a Season"

Questions to ponder with your family and friends:

• What is a SEASON?
• How does this Season make you feel?
• What sort of Rituals do you do during this time of year as a family? ~ Some of our Hindu friends are Celebrating Diwali now, a festival of lights.
• Where will you be celebrating other holidays during the month of November? What will you be celebrating and how does that relate to being Unitarian Universalist?
• What will do you for others that might have a hard time finding a meal for their next holiday celebration?

Coming Together!

Coming Together!

sports

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much - Helen Keller 

animals

gods

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends

• What is it that brings you together during a hard game?           A challenging day at school or work?
• Where do you go for your FAITH? .... Do you play a game or snuggles with animals? Perhaps pray to god?
• Why do you think coming together can be sometimes really hard?

BRIGHT Memories

Unitarian Universalist have many different ways for honoring those no longer with us. Many of these rituals come from the vast sources that fill our hearts with mystery, wonder and awe.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnMjUPjHNMhcnjzkMjgbdZo6EGbUPDg_pGOnEga71pgQHerDRpKa9zth-j3Up9hQixaXiMvkmzymo4dGi5ev6lG4_aKn_7gG61Lb-261-bf1m1ZBx2_QRe2xGYv14_TC6LI-BxCStzSEPm/s1600/mums+group.JPG

BRIGHT Memories

    

from:http://jackiesheartwhispers.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/stones.jpg

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends: 

In this time of year, with the sunshine and leaves so 

BRIGHT and Golden,  How and Who do you remember 

those no longer with us?

Some remember by placing a stone on a grave, 

some with flowers and sweets to eat. 

Feel free to print out these images (above) or draw your own with the names of those no longer with us. Place them someplace special and or bring them to church on Sunday for the alter. 

What's a memory? ~ Have a listen!

Wilfrid Gordon Mcdonald Partridge by Mem Fox

Simply Epic!

Simply Epic!

 

 

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach..... ~ Henry David Thoreau

 

As birds are made to fly and rivers to run, so the soul to follow duty ~ Ramayana

 

 

Questions to ponder with your family and friends:

• What is simple in your life?
• What is something that is EPIC that has happened to you?
• What about something "Simply epic?"
• Where are the similarities and differences between
  Henry and Ramayana?  ~ Both from very different times, religions and beliefs, places?

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 



Compassion in Community

Compassion in Community

The 2nd Unitarian Universalist (UU) Principle 

calls on each and everyone 

to have compassion for one another

From Old Turtles to Wise Monkeys, 

where does your compassion come from?

The Word Compassion comes from Latin and means "to suffer together with", perhaps to struggle together with, or to say you have some pains and I have some pains. Your pain might be different then mine but I still see you are a beautiful person. I have COMPASSION for you.

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

• Who do you know that is easy to have compassion for?       How come?
• Who is it really hard to have compassion for? Why?
• Does RELIGION have a part to any of this, What is folks of all different religions?

The Taras are a set of Tibetan Buddhist female deities representing compassion
and other benefic traits. 

Sacred Space

Sacred Space

http://parisapartment.wordpress.com/category/sacred-spaces/

Sacred

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Sacred (disambiguation).

"Holy" and "Sanctity" redirect here. For other uses, see Holy (disambiguation) and Sanctity (disambiguation).

Sacred means revered due to association with holiness. Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy

 (perceived by religious individuals as associated with the divine)^[1] or sacred (considered worthy of spiritual 

respect or devotion; or inspiring awe or reverence among believers in a given set of spiritual ideas).^[2] 

In other contexts, "objects are often considered 'holy' or 'sacred' if used for spiritual purposes",^[3] 

such as the worship or service of gods. These terms can also be used in a non-spiritual or semi-spiritual context 

("sacred truths" in a constitution).^[4] It is often ascribed to people ("a holy man" of religious occupation, 

"holy prophet" who is venerated by his followers), objects ("sacred artefact" that is venerated and blessed ),

^[5] times ("holy days" of spiritual introspection, such as during winter holidays),^[6] or places ("sacred ground", 

"holy place").^[7]

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends

• What does that sacred space look and feel like to you?
• Where is it?
• How often do you go?
• Is Arlington Street Church a sacred space? If so why or why not?

Tails and tracks

Tails and tracks

A Question to Ponder with your family and friends:

What stories (tails) are close to your heart that have your pets in it, or your friends pets?

Why are they close to your heart?

Come with your pets and tails to share this Sunday!

UU (Unitarian Universalists) and our Animal Friends!

From UU World: "I realized both my animals and my church community have spiritually fed me throughout my life" 
Kimberly French -A UU World contributing editor, Kimberly French is a journalist and essayist whose work has appeared in Tikkun, Utne Reader, Salon, and other magazines. She is the author of the book Perkins School for the Blind. She is a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Middleborough, Massachusetts.

Krowka, Laura's Cat "working" at Cambridge Homes on Monday nights

29 Examples Of Animals Helping Their Interspecies Friends

Turns out, love knows no bounds in the animal world as well. (click here)

Questions to Ponder with your family and friends:

• How does it feel to have an animal as a friend? How does this feel?
• What is different about an animal friend then a human friend?
• How are you living our UU faith by caring for all being?

"We acknowledge and affirm the kinship and interdepend­ence of all beings, and adopt an ethic of inter­spe­cies com­passion as an integral com­po­nent of liberal religion." 

- Unitarian Universalist Animal Ministry

Peace blowing in the wind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBQ-KsGo_BI

Peace Through All People

http://u.jimdo.com/www32/o/sfc5ac04a050f0c6b/img/i262ab4144f0ad661/1284064154/std/a-peace-mala-is-a-symbolic-bracelet-that-promotes-friendship-respect-and-peace-between-the-faiths-and-all-people-in-our-world-it-cuts-through-all-forms-of-prejudice-and-celebrates-what-makes-us-different-from-each-other.jpg

What happens when compassion and peace share a meal together?

Where is your compassion for those that have a different faith then you? 

How does that make you feel? What do you talk about?

Do you think prayer can help make the world a more peaceful place?

Prayer…is the little button by which the love of God may be diverted from the powerhouse of God’s spirit and carried into every remotest corner of the human heart.

John Haynes Holmes (Unitarian, pacifist, reformer, clergy) A Summons Unto Men ed. Carl Hermann Voss (1970) p.92

Shalom (Peace) Water

Unitarian Universalist (UU) Congregation all over the WORLD,

are bringing little containers of water with them 

to their UU Sanctuaries around this time of year.

In this time of In-Gathering, 
as the Summer comes to an end, 
and the newness of Fall is beginning to arrive.

Grounding us together in 
Peace, Shalom.

Spiritual activities and questions to ponder with your Family and Friends:

• Draw your water and its environment! (Bring it Sunday to show people)
• Where is your water from?
• What is the Story that goes with your water?
• Create a song about your Water!
• If you were to create a Chalice lighting about your water, what would it be?
• Take a quiet moment and all meditate on the water.

Have a Listen... 

emma's revolution: Swimming To The Other Side

Final Reflections

Final Reflections on the Eco-Justice Year 2012-2013

Questions to Ponder with your children/youth:

• What did you see Grow this year?
• Who did you work with? 
• What UU Principles are about Eco-Justice?
• How will you help in the Garden this Summer for the Friday Night Supper Program?

Print, solve and bring to ASC on Sunday!

Service to others is the rent you pay 
for your room here on earth. Muhammad Ali