We are in the planet’s darkest time, and as we look forward to the new year and increasing light, it is a propitious time to seek the truth and meaning of this moment in our lives. Please join the Pagosa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship this Sunday — the first Sunday of 2024 — at 10:30 a.m. for a special streaming service as we begin that search.
To help us in this search we will receive the ministry of the new Unitarian Universalist Association’s (UUA’s) president, the Rev. Dr. Sofia Betancourt, and several other contributors via the streaming of a service collection distributed by the UUA and created especially for the turning of the year.
Betancourt offers the sermon “Seeds for the New Year” and also presents the insightful story for all ages “The Bridge of Flowers” by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha.
The Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker shares her poem “Winter Blessing.” The Rev. Megan Foley offers a reflection on “Life Abundant.”
Music from the collection “Trinity Fanfare” by The Chalice Bells of First Unitarian Congregation of Ann Arbor and “Shelter Me” by Lea Morris completes the offerings for this first Sunday of 2024.
As preparation for a service that will have you thinking meaningfully about the greeting “Happy New Year,” you might consider the question, “What seeds will you plant this winter?”
Our fellowship offers each individual support in our unique spiritual path and an opportunity to participate in positive social and environmental action. We welcome diversity and invite everyone to share in our faith community.
The message of meditation
At the Dec. 24, 2023, Sunday meditation, Dan Dempster discussed “Be The Present, Become The Gift Of Joy To The World.”
The holiday season is billed as a time of joy through shared generosity. Yet, for too many, it is a time of heightened anxiety and loneliness, exacerbated by the commercial nature and expectations of the season.
Learning and practicing the selfless art of meditation for the benefit of all is true generosity, resulting in discovering a deep joy within, not dependent on external circumstances for its arising. This joy fuels confidence in our practice and our place in the world, making us more cheerful, helpful and attractive. Who doesn’t want this?
Through the hard work of facing up to ourselves again and again, we learn how to recognize that it is our own tendency to preference and prejudice which obscures the deep joy inherent within. Connecting with that joy, we find ourselves spontaneously radiating love and compassion to all without exception, wishing all could share in that joy. We become the gift of ultimate generosity in which there is no giver, no gift and no receiver.
About the fellowship
Regarding COVID-19 protocols, masking continues to be optional and social distancing is encouraged; please note that tracking of the COVID-19 hospital admissions level in Archuleta County has returned to low.
Services are on the first and third Sundays of the month at 10:30 a.m.
Find us in Unit B-15 of the Greenbriar Plaza 301 N. Pagosa Blvd. on the north side facing Pagosa Peak.
If either the service or the meditation is canceled due to winter weather, a notification will be placed on pagosauu.org by 8:30 a.m. For more information about the fellowship, our services and the other activities, please see www.pagosauu.org or email info@pagosauu.org.
