From the minister:
Come Dream with Me
During one of our December Sunday programs, we created
ornaments of wishes to place on our evergreen tree. These
wishes ranged from the highly personal, such as “the
best me I can be,” to the socially prophetic, like “governance
with integrity, responsibility, and participation.” Many
wished for the realization of ideals such as peace (often
in a variety of languages), hope, and understanding. Others
wished for concrete acts of justice, such as health care,
prosperity for all, and caring for our planet. One wished
for a robot horse. Each ornament expressed the sentiment,
from the head and the heart, of a real person at a real
moment. At that moment, that wish may have become more
concrete for the wisher. These thoughts may have continued
to live. Some of them may have become topics for discussion
on the ride home or over lunch. One, looking down at me
from my computer screen, is an origami crane that has “Peace
on Earth” written across its wings.
Wishes, for ourselves, for our families, and for our
community, are a starting place. They help us to articulate
our hopes for what might be. Of course, we don’t
want to stop at wishing, like the old English saying, “If
wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.” They
might be riding robot horses. Each of us, beginning with
that expression and following up with action, helps to
create the world we live in, moment by moment, day by
day, week by week, throughout our lives. We can choose
how we go about this task, with stern sincerity or with
a joyful song in our hearts. We can choose to acknowledge
that the way that our lives touch others’ lives
creates the atmosphere and the intentions of the communities
in which we live. When we knowingly live creative lives,
we find a sense of happiness that no amount of money
can buy.
Such an intentional process is what dreaming green,
the theme of this year’s annual canvass, is about
for me. Our budget is just a bunch of dreams put to numbers.
Green is my color of hope; it’s my color of harmony
and integrity. When I dream green, I make a wish for
a life that lines up with my values, and I hope to help
create a place where we come to learn, to be inspired,
and to find joy.
Each of us creates this Fellowship. Our financial resources
are part of that process, but our dreams are a more important
part. During this month, come dream with me, and then,
together, let’s make our wishes become reality.
See you on Sundays,
-- Brian |
Sunday, February 3, 9 & 11 a.m.
Green Man's Dreams
the Rev. Brian Eslinger
The dreams we have for our community, for
the Fellowship, and for the wider world are not isolated
from even the wandering Green Man. How might the dreams
of this mythic figure, who sometimes meets with me on my
forest wanderings, inform the green dreams of our Fellowship?
Sunday, February 10, 9 & 11 a.m.
Prejudice: the Everyday and the Malignant
the Rev. Tom Capo
We all have prejudices. We develop these
as we have experiences in the world. Some of these prejudices
we are aware of, and some we are not. The more aware we
are of them, the better we can manage them. But sometimes
prejudice can become malignant and destructive. This can
happen on a personal, a community, or even a societal level.
The Rev. Tom Capo is the minister serving Spindletop
Unitarian Church in Beaumont, Texas, and the Unitarian
Universalist Church of Huntsville, Texas. He is a member
of the consultant team for the Southwest Unitarian
Universalist Conference. Tom is also a psychotherapist,
with a practice in Houston. He lives in Houston with his
wife, Martha, and two sons, Aaron and Jacob.
Special Music: Fellowship Voices
Sunday, February 17, 9 & 11 a.m.
Elements of Life: Gaia
the Rev. Brian Eslinger
The symbol of the mother Goddess and an ecological principle
of interdependence, Gaia may be a unifying principle for humanity today.
Join us in this inner exploration of an old idea made new.
Sunday, February 24, 9 & 11 a.m.
Youth Sunday
the High School Youth Group
The youth have been gathering their thoughts,
music, poetry, and other materials to bring together this
unique service. Visions from our youth relating to the
work they wish to do in their futures regarding faith and
politics will form the basis of this service.
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