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We are a community that invites you to awaken to love.
Beloveds,
December always asks something of us, doesn’t it? The days grow shorter, the light feels fleeting, and we find ourselves holding both exhaustion and anticipation. In the midst of all the noise, the rushing, and the weariness, this month invites us to pause and choose hope.
Not the glossy, easy kind that insists “everything will be fine,” but the deeper kind—hope that knows the dark and keeps showing up anyway. Hope that rolls up its sleeves and gets to work. Hope that doesn’t wait for the world to change but starts living as if change is already possible.
Rebecca Solnit writes that hope is an embrace of the unknown and the unknowable. It’s not optimism—it’s not the assumption that things will work out no matter what. Hope, she says, “is the belief that what we do matters even though how and when it may matter, who and what it may impact, are not things we can know beforehand.”
That feels right for this season. We don’t always know how our efforts will unfold. We don’t know what new possibilities are germinating beneath the frozen ground. But still, we light candles. We sing songs that remind us the light returns. We gather in community—sometimes tired, sometimes grieving, sometimes unsure—and together we make the world a little warmer, a little more possible.
Choosing hope isn’t about denying reality. It’s about refusing to let despair have the last word. It’s about noticing the small kindnesses that shimmer even in hard times, and trusting that what we tend together can still bloom.
So as you move through this month of holy days and we pause to honor each —Advent, Bohdi Day, Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas, and Kwanzaa, —may you let hope be a practice, not a feeling. May you rest when you need to. May you act when you can. And may you remember that even in the darkest night, you are part of the light returning.
Click HERE (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/48PDMhTKBR5nI0iyLbf3dx) for the Spotify playlist on Choosing Hope
Click HERE (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvXOKgOQVYP66rNsjFnG_9D4azkHjIWDC) for the YouTube playlist on Choosing Hope
With warmth and gratitude,
Rev. Christe
my pronouns are they/them and this is why they matter (https://pronouns.org/what-and-why)
To schedule an appointment click here (https://calendar.app.google/8kMRsw3EwQgZVqYQ8)
I serve UUSMC at ¾ time, and I look forward to the time we share in ministry together.
My regular office hours are:
* Mondays & Tuesdays: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
* Sundays (when I preach): 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
* Thursdays: By appointment only
Other times may be arranged by mutual agreement via email.
I joyfully join committee meetings when I am able, with particular focus on the Board, Finance, and Worship teams.
UUSMC Website (https://www.uusmc.org/)
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