Holy Days and Holidays

Order of Service - Script 

for Sunday: 

December 18, 2022

Holy Days and Holidays 

We can take the term holy as meaning simply special. The term holiday is simply a contraction of holy day. 

NIUU, Jeanie Donaldson, Pastor Fred 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Prelude - Jeanie Donaldson’s own arrangement of “The First Noel” 

Welcome and Announcements: 

  

Searching for Two New Board Members

Term is 2 years

Sign up to join the NIUU board for exciting and worthwhile service!

 Email candidates’ names to Carolyn at:

carolynfmattoon@gmail.com

 

 

Suggestions for Charity of the Month

Suggestions must be a charitable non-profit organization 

within the NIUU area.

State the charity's full name 

and its mission.

 

Include in your own words:

 Why do you believe NIUU should support this charity?

Bring your suggestions to the meeting on January 15! 

 Email suggestions to Shaaron at: 

nanashar2000@yahoo.com

 

 

Come into this circle of love and compassion,

Come into this community where we can dream and

Believe in those dreams—

Welcome to North Idaho Unitarian Universalists where we accept, we support, we transform:  Ourselves, Our Community. Our world.   

Lighting the Chalice: 

UU Hanukkah Blessings

By Lorenzo Bassman

We honor the great mystery of the universe, the source of all, which deems everything sacred by its power to unite us, and gives us the radiance that we bring forth together as we kindle the Chalice, and as the Hanukkah lights will be kindled tonight.

We celebrate the spirit of life, wellspring of all that we perceive and imagine, as we look upon with reverence the wondrous great fortune which has been bestowed upon our ancestors throughout antiquity.

We cherish the wonder of each thing, the order of the universe that binds us together with all of nature, for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling us to reach this season.

Opening Words: ­­­

A Prayer For Kwanzaa

By Addae Ama Kraba

O come all you faithful, rejoicing and victorious,

Come, let us embrace the mystery in the spirit of life, as we celebrate the goodness of Kwanzaa and the African American heritage.

Come and give thanks for companions on the journey in the struggle for freedom and justice.

Roots in the soil and soul of Mother Africa reach far and wide.

Creator of all, lead us to be true to our nature with respect and dignity for life. 

Bless and keep us in solidarity one to another. 

So Let it Be 

Hymn #246: O Little Town of Bethlehem

1 Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie! 

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by;

Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the everlasting light;

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

2 For Christ is born of Mary, and gathered all above,

While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love.

Oh morning stars together, proclaim the holy birth.

Let praises ring: from God they bring, good-will to all on earth. 

3 How silently, how silently the wonder is made known,

When God imparts to human hearts the gift that is our own. 

No ear may hear that coming, but in this worldly din, 

When souls are truly humble, then the dear babe rests within. 

Covenant: 

Love is the spirit of this church, and service its law

This is our great covenant:

To dwell together in peace,

To seek truth in love,

And to help one another. 

Joys and Concerns (with lighting of candles of caring) 

Story: 

The Best Christmas Ever

By Orlanda R Brugnola

It was December. I was in a new school in a new place and there were new teachers and new classmates. And we were living in a new house too. Also there was no snow in Florida. Those were a lot of new things at once. I didn’t like it. At least I had my bicycle—it was my old bicycle so it wasn’t new.

December used to be a good month. It used to have Christmas in it. But not this year. Mama had told me. No Christmas this year. She never said we didn’t have any money, but I noticed there wasn’t much food. Lunch was one slice of bread with a thin slice of mystery meat from a funny blue can. Mama didn’t eat anything that I could see—maybe a piece of fruit—one of the mangoes that fell off the tree in back of the house. No Christmas.

Now Mama loved Christmas. Or maybe you could say she loved Christmas trees. They were a big deal. She would make me go to bed early. Then she would stay up all night long decorating the tree. It was always a big tree—all the way up to the ceiling. She had all the decorations in boxes. Some of them were huge glass balls, all silvery or gold. There were smaller ones, too. And angels and candy canes and little sleds and colored lights and everything you could imagine and more. When I came in on Christmas morning it was so beautiful. Mama slept late, so I didn’t get to open presents right away, but it was OK because I loved that tree just like Mama did.

But this time there wasn’t going to be Christmas. No tree. No decorations. No lights. No little sleds and angels. And no presents. Mama was going to be very upset. Me too. I thought and thought but I couldn’t come up with any ideas.

And then, the week before Christmas, a small tree showed up in homeroom at school. We had it for the week before our school break. Mrs. Clark baked cookies for us to have in homeroom before classes began—she said they would give us energy to study. I don’t know if they did, but sometimes I ate two.

On the last day, before the break, I got an idea—maybe it was those cookies that helped. I waited until everyone went to class and I asked Mrs. Clark what was going to happen to the tree over the break. “Oh, we’ll throw it out so it won’t shed pine needles all over the floor.” She turned away, but I didn’t leave. “You’re going to be late!” she said. “Umm, Miz Clark,” I said, “could I have the tree at the end of the day?” She was very surprised and I could see she didn’t know what to say. “Please?” I added. “Alright, yes, you can have it, just come right after your last class.”

I could hardly concentrate all day, cookies or no cookies. At 3:02 I was back at homeroom to collect the tree. Mrs. Clark had taken off the tinsel and the few decorations. The tree was lying across her desk. I picked it up in my arms. It was very scratchy. “Thank you so much!” I said through the branches and found my way through the door to where my bicycle was waiting.

“Now what?” I thought. “How am I going to get this home?” And then it came to me. I could put it across the handlebars and tie it on with the straps of my book bag. It took a couple of tries but I finally got it balanced. I got on the bike and headed home. But it wasn’t so easy to steer. And besides, there was that dog that chased me every morning on the way to school and every afternoon on the way home. If I didn’t pedal fast enough he would bite the hem of my skirt. Then Mama would have to sew it up. That happened a lot.

When I got to the block with the dog I put my head down and pedaled faster than I did even without a Christmas tree on the handlebars. I made it, but by the time I got home I was really out of breath. And then I had another problem. I wanted to surprise Mama. That meant I had to hide the tree for a day. I couldn’t hide it in the house. I couldn’t hide it on the porch. I put it exactly behind the trunk of one of the mango trees so if Mama looked out back she couldn’t see it. I could get it later.

Mama was pretty upset on Christmas Eve. She didn’t eat. She didn’t talk. Papa told her to go to bed early. She did. I told him I had a plan. He was surprised. “I have to bring the tree in, “ I said. “Tree?” he said. “Yes, it’s outside behind the mango tree.” We went out back and sure enough the tree was waiting. We brushed off some ants and brought it inside. I found a pail and put water in it and stood the tree up in the pail. It looked a little funny because the tree was so small—nowhere near the ceiling in height. I couldn’t be bothered with that. I had work to do. “Do we have tin foil?” I asked my father. Tin foil is what we called aluminum foil when I was growing up. “Sure.” he said, and brought it out for me. I started tearing it into small squares with the shiny side up. I wadded them up into little balls. Then I started putting them on the tree, squeezing them so they would stay on the tree branches. When I was done I went to get my hair ribbons and used those on the tree, too. It was looking like a Christmas tree, at least a little bit like one. “Go to bed.” Papa said. I was tired so that was easy.

The next morning, Mama was sleeping in. I went in and woke her up. “Mama, Mama, you’ve got to come!” She was sleepy. “Come on!” I said.

She got up and let me lead her into where the tree was waiting for her. “I brought Christmas!” I said. I saw her eyes start to fill up and I thought she was upset. “Mama, I’m sorry, I was trying to help…” She turned around and said to me, “You sure did bring Christmas! It’s the best! It’s the best!”

And then she hugged me for a long time. 

Meditation: 

The Longest Night: a Solstice Meditation

By Andrea Hawkins-Kamper

Author's note: In modern neo-paganism, the battle between the Oak King and the Holly King is a metaphor for the seasons of the year. At Midsummer, the Oak King is at the height of his strength, and slowly weakens as the Autumnal Equinox approaches when the Holly King becomes dominant. The Holly King's strength continues to gain (at the expense of the Oak King) until Midwinter, when the dynamic shifts back in favor of the Oak King. This metaphor for the seasons of the year is quite common in Celtic Reconstructionist circles, and was first proposed by Robert Graves in his book, "The White Goddess." "Arianrhod's Wheel" is also a similar metaphor, referring to the moon. Its progression throughout the year is the lunar calendar by which the the solstices and equinoxes are tracked… 

The winter solstice is a time to look back upon our ancestors, gather our family and friends close, and rejoice in the return of the sun. It is a time of renewed hope and a time of resurrection – for just as Arianrhod’s Wheel turns and the Oak King resumes his rightful place, so must we go on.

On that night The Long Dark reaches its zenith, and for the briefest of moments it will seem as if the Holly King’s reign will be eternal. On that night of the longest dark, we light a gifted log aflame, remember the ancestors, and tell stories that bind us together as a people.

Let us gather and sing songs of our childhood, sing songs of our parents and of our children, of our friends and of our families. Let us gather, huddle close, and light the log of community. Let us feast and revel, and let us always remember there is always hope for the coming year. 

Hymn #231: 

Angels We Have Heard on High 

1 Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o’er the plains 

   And the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains. 

   Gloria in excelsis Deo. 

2 Shepherds why this jubilee? Why these songs of happy cheer? 

   What great brightness did you see? What glad tidings did you hear? 

   Gloria in excelsis Deo. 

3 See him in a manger laid whom the angels praise above; 

   Mary, Joseph lend your aid, while we raise our hearts in love. 

   Gloria in excelsis Deo. 

Sermon: 

The holiday season of 2022 is upon us. 

To me, a holiday, especially one that celebrates a religious theme, is also a holy day. 

In fact, the word, holiday is a contraction of holy day. 

Kwanzaa, an African cultural celebration, takes place from December 26 until January 1. 

Christmas Day will be one week from today for Western churches (and for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that follows the Kyivan Patriarch). 

For many Greek Orthodox churches and those who follow the Moscow Patriarch, Christmas Day is January 7. 

No matter what day it is celebrated, Christmas is the ancient festival related to the birth - or rebirth - of the Light. 

In the northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is the nature based holy day celebrating the apparent return of the light, which will be on Wednesday of this week, December 21. 

Hanukkah begins at sundown this evening and ends at sundown on December 26. 

This time around the sun, Christmas day will occur within Hanukkah. 

To be honest, as I see it, Hanukkah is as important a holy day to us UU’s as Christmas. 

One reason I feel that way is that antisemitism is again becoming an issue, and it is not a new phenomenon. 

There are many reasons for antisemitism, and I won’t begin to try to explore those. 

The important thing to remember is that it is an ancient danger for tribal loyalties to exceed all other loyalties among human beings. 

The Semites were one tribe among many, and the hatred and opposition they have elicited were nearly unique in human history. 

The horrors of the Nazi holocaust of Jews and others were only the latest and worst recent expression of the danger. 

In our own time, antisemitism is on the rise all over the world, including our own nation. 

Hanukkah celebrates the overcoming of antisemitism in the 160’s BCE. 

The books of the Maccabees in the Greek Bible [LXX, the Old Testament translation from Hebrew to Greek] tell the story from the point of view of the victorious Jews. 

The Syrian [Greek] king, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, wanted to establish Greek religion as definitive for all his subjects, so he focused particularly against Jewish monotheism. 

[Antiochus' often eccentric behavior and capricious actions during his interactions with common people, such as appearing in the public bathhouses and applying for municipal offices, led some of his contemporaries to call him Epimanes (Ἐπιμανής, Epimanḗs, "The Mad"), a wordplay on his title Epiphanes.] 

Antiochus tried to desecrate the Temple of Jerusalem by sacrificing a pig at the altar of sacrifice in the outer temple court. 

His effort at desecration was an abject failure because it inspired the Maccabean revolt.  

In that revolt the Jewish forces drove the Greeks out of Jerusalem and out of the Jewish territories. 

As seems always to happen, episodes of extreme antisemitism are doomed to failure. 

My personal faith says that human beings are meant to care for one another, and ultimately attempts to destroy each other will fail. 

In the short run, the power of destruction may seem to prevail, but that is an illusion in the final analysis. 

The celebration of Hanukkah is a commemoration of the failure of human hatred and intolerance. 

The most commonly recognized symbol of Hanukkah [apart from the Hanukkah bush] is the eight branched candelabra known as the Menorah. 

The lighting of one candle each day reminds members of Jewish families (and synagogues) of the miracle of Hanukkah. 

After the attempted desecration of the temple by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the temple was re-consecrated, and the altar lamp was to be kindled to burn for at least eight days. 

There was not enough oil available to allow the lamp to stay lit for the allotted time, so the re-consecration was about to have a problem. 

Yet the small amount of oil available burned for the full eight days, and the re-consecration of the temple was completed on schedule. 

Hence Hanukkah lasts for eight days, and one candle of the Menorah is lit on each of those days. 

The central, ninth candle is used to provide a flame for each of the other eight candles. 

The Menorah has become a powerful symbol of persecuted people who have prevailed against those who wished them harm. 

[Share Menorah photo] 

This photograph from 1931 is a great reminder of the meaning of Hanukkah: In human life and history, the people who are persecuted can - and often do - win great victories over those who persecute them. 

Sometimes it takes a long time, but justice will come. 

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” 

MLK and Barack Obama quoted and paraphrased that great saying. 

The sermon from which it originated was first preached in the 1850’s by the UU minister and abolitionist, Theodore Parker. 

Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, celebrated by people of the Islamic faith,  includes themes of social justice and peace. 

Around the time of the turn of the present 21st Century, Ramadan took place during the holiday season. 

The customary fast of Rmadan from sunrise until sunset is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. 

To be sure, many people are exempt if the fast would be too difficult for them. 

The experience of the fast is a way of binding the Muslim community together in a profound spiritual experience. 

Those of us who think about such things notice that Ramadan does not occur on the same days each year on the western, secular calendar. 

Because the Islamic calendar is strictly lunar, the month of Ramadan is about 29 to 30 days long, and it occurs about 10 to 12 days earlier each year, as measured by the sun. 

In a period of 33 years, the month of Ramadan will take place in every season, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. 

For us as UU’s the holiday season is sacred because of holy days: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan whenever it falls, Solstice, and all of the special occasions of this time of year are worthy of our observance and study. 

Whatever our family traditions may be, we can remind each other of the holy days we are sharing. 

Amen. 

Let it be.

So mote it be, 

And Blessed Be! 

Congregational Response 

Offering Information 

Charity of the Month:

St. Vincent de Paul Society

Providing support and compassion.

We offer services that help people return

to a life of self-sufficiency.

“The Hand Up – Not Hand Out” principle

guides us as we help to

“Clothe the Naked, Feed the Hungry,

and Shelter the Homeless.”

NIUU

P.O. Box 221

CDA ID 83816

Extinguishing the Chalice : 

The Flame of Fiercest Love

By roddy bell-shelton biggs

As we extinguish our sacred flame once more, we do so having taken part in the great feast; having called to question our doubts, our fears; having been reminded of who and whose we are, as God calls upon us to: "Do everything in love" - 1 Corinthians 16:14; as we "Do justice, love mercy and tread humbly" - Micah 6:8.

Beloveds, our sacred flame is now extinguished but inside of us all burns a flame bright and true. That flame, the flame of the Fiercest Love that is our promise of universal salvation, can never be extinguished.

This chalice extinguishing was written for the annual Communion Service at General Assembly 2022.

Closing words: 

Holiday Season Prayer

By Wayne B Arnason

Spirit of Life,

The beginning of the holiday season is filled with temptations to conspicuous consumptions, and pleas for generosity. The contrasts between the values represented by this time of year, and our ability to fulfill them, remind us how great the distance can be between aspirations and actions.

The month has begun with the observance of World AIDS Day, and Human Rights Day follows next week. They remind us of those at home and abroad who are imprisoned by disease, poverty, and discrimination. The messages of liberation, dignity, and joy that come with Hanukkah and with Christmas are hard to hear unless they are conveyed by gracious acts of outreach to those who suffer.

Our prayer this day, then, is that we may be gentle with ourselves and with others as we do our best to navigate through the tricky shoals of December.

May we avoid being so distracted with our own problems and duties this year that we forget the wider web of life of which we are a part.

May we go about our rounds of preparations and festivities with a light heart and with boundless patience.

May the dissatisfactions that are part of our lot be our companions, but not our masters, as we cross the holiday threshold.

And may all the joys of the season be ours, this time around.

Amen.

Closing Circle