Don't forget our work day at our building this Saturday, December 30th starting at 9 am. We hope to see as many of you as possible, and everyone's help is deeply appreciated! See "UUFJC News and Events" below.
Yesterday morning, George Grimm-Howell joined us to continue our month of reflections on Mystery.
Beyond our own services, the Christmas holiday is an appropriate time to look at the Christian story from among the Sources of our Living Tradition. Whether we identify as Christians or not, we can find insight about wonder and mystery, as in these words from "The Invitation" by Teresa Schwartz (abridged below, complete version at link):
We know the story:
an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds.
The glory of the Lord shone around them.
A great light descends
on dark fields,
happy angels and cherubim
sing for joy, play their lutes,
and dance about
to defy the gravity
of earthly cares.
In our happy Christmas narratives,
we can forget
the shepherds were afraid.
We are tempted to reduce the whole of
the Christmas story
to a kinder, gentler God,
somewhat akin to the jolly and portly fellow in the red suit, we wrap our seasonal theology neatly with a red bow.
But what we have here are
terrifying and fascinating
dreams and apparitions.
Enough to make you lay down your work
and follow your vision.
That's what the shepherds did.
They ran from that place in search of the strange, the holy
What star are we waiting for
to lay down our labors
and follow a vision?
Receive the annual invitation,
face the awesome vision,
lay down your labors,
abandon all reason
for now, once again, God is with us,
and we can risk our daytime sensibilities for strange dreams and fearful fascinations.
Run across the muddy, cold fields.
For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from yesterday is available to view online:
Beyond our own services, the Christmas holiday is an appropriate time to look at the Christian story from among the Sources of our Living Tradition. Whether we identify as Christians or not, we can find insight about wonder and mystery, as in these words from "The Invitation" by Teresa Schwartz (abridged below, complete version at link):
We know the story:
an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds.
The glory of the Lord shone around them.
A great light descends
on dark fields,
happy angels and cherubim
sing for joy, play their lutes,
and dance about
to defy the gravity
of earthly cares.
In our happy Christmas narratives,
we can forget
the shepherds were afraid.
We are tempted to reduce the whole of
the Christmas story
to a kinder, gentler God,
somewhat akin to the jolly and portly fellow in the red suit, we wrap our seasonal theology neatly with a red bow.
But what we have here are
terrifying and fascinating
dreams and apparitions.
Enough to make you lay down your work
and follow your vision.
That's what the shepherds did.
They ran from that place in search of the strange, the holy
What star are we waiting for
to lay down our labors
and follow a vision?
Receive the annual invitation,
face the awesome vision,
lay down your labors,
abandon all reason
for now, once again, God is with us,
and we can risk our daytime sensibilities for strange dreams and fearful fascinations.
Run across the muddy, cold fields.
For those who would also like to keep up with our neighbors at the UU Church of Columbia, their service from yesterday is available to view online:
UUFJC News and Events this week:
For accessibility and convenience, we have an option to donate to our Fellowship online through PayPal:
For accessibility and convenience, we have an option to donate to our Fellowship online through PayPal:
Donate to UUFJC
You can also mail donations and pledges to:
UUFJC
Attn: Treasurer
PO Box 1245
Jefferson City, MO 65102
You can also mail donations and pledges to:
UUFJC
Attn: Treasurer
PO Box 1245
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Thank you for being with us and supporting us!
And remember all our ways to stay in touch! You can visit our website at uufjc.org. You can also join our open-posting "UUFJC Cafe" Google Group to chat with other members and friends via e-mail and receive additional announcements and reminders (contact the Administrator at [email protected] to join).
Submissions for our January newsletter were due yesterday. Please email any last-minute items to Laura Gilkey ASAP ([email protected]).
Our building restoration is making progress! Many thanks to Kevin Landrum for installing flooring last weekend!
With the flooring done, we are ready to have a work day at the building this Saturday, December 30th, starting at 9 am. Major tasks will include: generally getting things cleaned up, set up, and organized; going through the items that have been returned from cleaning; trying to get the electronics set back up; and more. We hope to see as many of you as possible there! For more information, contact our president, Rich Burdge.
We are still working on updating our Members and Friends Directory. Our administrator will be contacting people to check for permission and updates, so watch for emails, or send any updates or confirmation to [email protected].
An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm, when possible. Zoom may also be available. For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.
Our building (when available) is reserved by community groups Wednesdays and Saturdays starting at 6 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 5:30 pm. If you have access to our building, please allow privacy at these times.
For more events, see our online calendars:
UUFJC EventsVirtual Gatherings
Affiliated Events
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Community Events
And remember all our ways to stay in touch! You can visit our website at uufjc.org. You can also join our open-posting "UUFJC Cafe" Google Group to chat with other members and friends via e-mail and receive additional announcements and reminders (contact the Administrator at [email protected] to join).
Submissions for our January newsletter were due yesterday. Please email any last-minute items to Laura Gilkey ASAP ([email protected]).
Our building restoration is making progress! Many thanks to Kevin Landrum for installing flooring last weekend!
With the flooring done, we are ready to have a work day at the building this Saturday, December 30th, starting at 9 am. Major tasks will include: generally getting things cleaned up, set up, and organized; going through the items that have been returned from cleaning; trying to get the electronics set back up; and more. We hope to see as many of you as possible there! For more information, contact our president, Rich Burdge.
We are still working on updating our Members and Friends Directory. Our administrator will be contacting people to check for permission and updates, so watch for emails, or send any updates or confirmation to [email protected].
An independent Insight Meditation group taught by Joe McCormack meets at our building Thursday nights at 7 pm, when possible. Zoom may also be available. For more information, contact Bob Antweiler.
Our building (when available) is reserved by community groups Wednesdays and Saturdays starting at 6 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 5:30 pm. If you have access to our building, please allow privacy at these times.
For more events, see our online calendars:
UUFJC EventsVirtual Gatherings
Affiliated Events
Religious Education
Building Use (other)
Community Events
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