Please join us for our service this coming Sunday - Everyday Peace at 10am at Barrett Hall in Strafford.
In this season of lights, we look for ways to spread peace in small and larger ways. What brings light into your life, lifts you up, reminds you what is most important?
I look forward to this season all year. What I love is that at the heart of this season of Advent, Hanukkah and Winter Solstice, we find Light. Light embodied in the lamp whose flame stayed lit for eight days, symbolizing the strength of the Jewish people. Light that came in the form of a star that came to rest above the humble stable where Jesus, called the “prince of peace” was born. Light flickering from the fires celebrating the beginning of winter for ancient pagan peoples all around the world. And of course, the lights that adorn our trees and porches, a symbol of our connection to each other that really can transcend differences and distance. The season holds so much. Candles are lit, food is prepared and shared; familiar songs are sung into the night air. And the waiting begins. Advent is a time of preparation and anticipation. Hanukkah, a time of reflection and honoring of community, and the Solstice represents a powerful time in the earth calendar. Along with the common light shared by so many traditions and communities, there is a yearning for peace and for common understanding. We can nourish this sense of peace and community by spreading a bit of peace each day. Our gift might be just what someone needed to help them through a difficult time. I hear the echoes of those familiar words from our hymnal by Joseph and Nathan Segal: “From you I receive, to you I give, Together we share and from this we live.”
As a congregation in this free tradition of faith and justice, we are committed to finding connections and common ground, offering care and believing in the inherent worth and goodness of all people. We meet at Barrett Hall across from our church in the winter months. The building is fully accessible, we gather for worship at 10am and coffee, treats and conversation following our service. We hope you can join us. All are welcome!
with gratitude,
Rev. Telos
(802)376-4977