BuddhistDruidChristianHumanist

First of all, let’s be clear. Hanukkah is NOT Jewish Christmas. It falls at the same time of year as Christmas. Its timing may or may not have to do with the prevalence of festivals of lights in many cultures around the world as the Winter Solstice approaches. However, it should be noted that, although later traditions established it as a celebration of a miracle of a light that was sustained beyond expectations, the original story in 2 Maccabees doesn’t include the story of the lamp in the temple staying lit for eight days when there was only enough oil for one. That is a Talmudic addition several hundred years later. Also, the date of Hanukkah is set in 2 Maccabees as the date of the reconsecration of the Temple and, since Judaism uses a lunar calendar, that date can fall as early as late November, a full month before the Solstice or Christmas. Whether you are Jewish or not, Hanukkah’s proximity to Christmas is the reason why most Americans know more about Hanukkah than any other J...

I think I may have mentioned that there was a poem noodling in my brain during the Blue Christmas service. This is what came of that noodling this morning while I was getting my chemo transfusion.  Consider the Lilies of the Field* By Todd M. Strickland The apple tree has dropped its leaves In a deep winter snow, the tree stands alone Naked before the brutal winds of winter Gnarls of age'd bark show the tests of time Like a hand weathered by age The tree looks cracked and weary CRY for the sweet apples that no longer adorn her branches! And remember the crocuses lie beneath the snow Was it cold the day Mom died? With a mind that was betraying her, did she struggle alone While a storm of illnesses piled up around her? We gathered around her to hold back the hands of time Like a child, she begged for more time to play And died even sooner than expected RAGE against the pain and CRY for lost conversations! And remember the ...

Tonight, I attended a Blue Christmas service. If this is unfamiliar to you, it is not an Elvis Presley service. Instead, Blue Christmas is a service to acknowledge that not everyone is feeling the joy of the winter holidays. Often due to a death but also due to sudden unwelcome and unexpected changes, the holiday season can be a time of grieving while everyone around you is celebrating. For me, I’m doing both. My mother died last year, three days after Christmas following a long illness. Christmas was absolutely her favorite holiday! So, even though I didn’t usually get to see her until the day after Christmas, her presence has been significant as I go through all of the holiday preparations. I had been doing pretty well until last weekend. After her memorial service, I brought back several of the ornaments that were on the Christmas tree in my childhood. Suddenly, I was crying in the middle of decorating the tree. Without going into a lot of detail, most of my grief around my moth...

It is a strange thing to say but I feel blessed. This is not a new thing. I have felt blessed all my life. But it has been acutely present lately… at a time when you would think that I shouldn’t feel blessed. I’ll write more about that later but I just want to share one experience now. I have received so many notes, cards, email messages, and Facebook posts than I ever anticipated. People who are practically strangers to me but go to the same church I do have sent me cards to let me know that they are praying for me. And, when I say, “practically strangers,” what I mean is that we are part of the same congregational community but they go to the 8am service that I have only been to once and I really don’t know them. But, we share a community, and so many of them have reached out to me when they heard that I am going through chemotherapy. Similarly, I have heard from people who were once an integral part of my community when I was serving the church in Golden or Loveland but I may ...

“You’re a guardian angel sent by God.” Those were the last words he said to me as he rushed off to the information desk. It was a kind compliment but do you believe in guardian angels? Do I believe in guardian angels? The short answer is yes, I do. The longer answer is a bit more theological. I believe we are here to be the hands and feet of God on Earth. As my colleague, the Rev. Tom Owen-Towle, calls those of us in the Unitarian Universalist community, we are “Free thinking mystics with hands.” The hands are the part of us that is sent to do the work of God or the Spirit or whatever you choose to call that mystical presences that calls us to act for others. When I used to work in the addictions treatment center, I was introduced to a phrase that appealed to me – Odd or God? Is it Odd that you met that person who took you to your first AA meeting on the very day that you realized that you had hit rock bottom? Or was that God at work? The thing I liked most about this concept is ...