Our Services
Upcoming Services
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November services
We hope you can join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30 am for our Worship Services this November. All services will be on Zoom, except on November 2 as noted.
November 30
“The Legacy We’re Living”
Jes Martinez-Hunt with Matt Smith and Virginia Tomlinson
Legacy isn’t just what we leave behind, it’s the ways in which we choose to live our values out loud. As we honor Trans Day of Remembrance and enter the season of gratitude, we reflect on how remembering calls us to live with courage, compassion, and fierce love now.
Gratitude isn’t naive, it’s bold. It’s resistance. It’s how we honor our ancestors, our transcestors, and ourselves. It’s how we nurture each other, today and every day.
Jes Martinez-Hunt (they/them/none) is a Unitarian Universalist religious professional, conflict engagement coach, and co-director of a Florida-based justice collective focused on trans liberation, community care, and faith-rooted organizing. With a background in theatre, libraries, and ministry, Jes brings creativity, humor, and deep compassion to their work supporting communities in navigating conflict, healing through covenant, and cultivating spaces of joy and belonging as forms of resistance. They live in Central Florida with their spouse and a lively crew of kids and critters.
december services
We hope you can join us for these opportunities to gather and to worship this December! December worship services are offered at a variety of times. Each description below provides date, time and zoom availability.
Sunday, December 7, 10:30am
“The Work of Anticipation”
Regina McConaghy with Loraine Bottorff, musician Ellen Fillion and the CUUC Choir
The season of Advent is upon us. What are we waiting for? What work do we need to do in preparation? As Unitarian Universalists, we are not waiting for a Messiah to save us. We live our lives in hopeful anticipation of Beloved Community. What work do we need to do to open our hearts in order to become Beloved Community? This hands-on, joyful, embodied worship service will culminate in decorating the congregational Christmas Tree during coffee hour. This service is in-person only. No Zoom this Sunday.
Sunday, December 14, 10:30am
“Christmas Unwrapped”
Hollis Bredeweg with Alida Loinaz and musicians Mike Truex & Shannon Hays-Truex
Christmas is like a brightly wrapped package that contains the diverse history of the interaction and clash of cultures, religions, and economics. And in other respects, Christmas is like a brightly wrapped package that contains another brightly wrapped package that contains another, and another… and the last package is empty.
As Unitarian Universalists, what aspects of Christmas do we wish to honor, and which do we wish to practice? Perhaps the answer to these questions can be found as we untie the ribbon and remove the bright foil. Zoom is available for this service.
Following this service, Virginia Tomlinson will lead a “Blue Christmas” gathering in the Cecelia Space at noon. This gathering is not available on Zoom. (See separate article in this newsletter.)
Saturday, December 20, 7:00pm
Advent Spiral Ritual with celebrant Regina McConaghy
As the days grow shorter, we tend towards introspection and dreaming. Who will we be when the light returns? How will the stories we have shared in the dark change us? Come and join in a simple and lovely celebration and ceremony that represents this spiral of resting and becoming. This fun and worshipful event is for people of all ages. Cookies and cocoa to follow the ritual. In person only. No zoom.
Sunday, December 21, 10:30am
"Planting Hope"
Loraine Bottorff with Wanda Clifton and musician Matt Smith
Today, in the Northern Hemisphere, we observe the Winter Solstice. The Solstice marks the longest, darkest night of the year and celebrates a season of waiting. Waiting for the rebirth of a god. Waiting for spring. Waiting for the return of warmth and the sun and a reprieve from the darkness. But is waiting for the light all there is to this season? How do we expect to make it to spring if all we do is sit in the dark? What if the dark is just as life-giving as the light? This service is available through Zoom.
Wednesday, December 24, 4:00pm
“O Holy Night”
Joan Gray, Virginia Tomlinson and others, with musicians David Anderson, Raymond Brungard, and the CUUC Choir
Let’s celebrate light replacing darkness and remember our best impulses of the season. Christmas Eve at CUUC is a gathering to celebrate with carols, our choir, good company and candles. We’ll celebrate as Sophia Lyon Fahs writes, “Each night a child is born is a holy night—A time for singing, A time for wondering, A time for worshipping.” The service will conclude by singing “Silent Night” followed by Christmas treats and hot drinks. This service is available through zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting For Christmas Eve Only
https://zoom.us/j/95366970418?pwd=HSNsrtcqayf4j5qtkAqMutTO8yS2QR.1
Meeting ID: 953 6697 0418
Passcode: 612076
Sunday, December 28, 10:30am
“Families: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, AND The Beautiful”
Alida Loinaz and Tana Bentley, with Alex Emig and musicians Hollis Bredeweg & Joan Gray
Perfect Hallmark holiday families don't exist ... rewriting the script past disappointments, unhealed wounds, fear, and ephemera ... to recognize the many ways our lives interconnect in meaningful ways. Let's explore how to 'be family' on several levels (the micro, macro, and meso). This service is available through Zoom.
How to attend our Sunday services remotely
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91968436077?pwd=INFYR4V1zZbLvlHbaXBJN5i2718du0.1
Meeting ID: 919 6843 6077
Passcode: 201301
