Minister’s Musings

Dear Members and Friends of UU Shenandoah,

Good Tidings to you, dear ones, as we move into the deep womb space of the darkest nights of the year.

This Sunday, December 21st, is the Winter Solstice. There are two opportunities to drop into ritual space on that day: you can join either virtually or in person at UU Shenandoah on Sunday morning for EarthWays' "Winter Solstice" worship ritual, and later that evening you can join me in virtual space as I lead the UU Ministry for Earth’s annual Winter Solstice service, “Blanketed in Beauty.” Both are advertised in this newsletter.

Here is a poem by Reverend Kristen Harper, author of “The Darkness Divine: A Loving Challenge to my UU Faith,” and the featured guest speaker for UUMFE’s “Blanketed in Beauty” service.

The Darkness Divine

by Kristen L. Harper

God resides in depths of darkness
as in the light of sunbeams.
The moon shines brighter surrounded by night
and life is secure in the black waters of the womb.
As the night sky littered with stars demonstrates
again and again,
there is beauty in darkness and beauty in light—
one no more brilliant than the other,
one no more necessary than the other,
one always complementing the other.
Without the heated darkness of the Universe,
splitting neutrons, electrons, and protons from atoms,
life and light would never be.
The task for us today
is to recognize God in both—
To see the divine in the rich brown earth,
the textured black walnut,
as well as the white snow and the pale pink jellyfish.
To see the sacred in the panther and the swan.
To embrace the dignity of the Black Madonna,
as it is embodied in the Virgin Mary.
The task for us today
is to look into the multifaceted colors of the onyx
and see the miraculous spectrum of color
produced in the prism of a diamond.

As you go about your week, consider writing or meditating on the theme of the healing dark. So often, darkness is perceived as negative in our culture. However, this false assumption is limiting at best, and damaging at worst. It can be a powerful shift to invite the medicinal power of the dark, especially this time of year.

May you be blanketed in the beauty of the sacred dark, and comforted by this deepest point of winter that exists in a natural cycle to hold and nurture us all.

With kindness,

Rev. Lauren