Reflection & Action
Week 2
January 15-22, 2017
Image courtesy of Joni Goodwin, 2011
Full Week Faith

Our worship theme for January, 2017 is "A Community of Prophecy." Throughout the month, we will send an email mid-week containing words for reflection, a suggested spiritual practice, and opportunities for action.
In This Issue
Words for Reflection

We bid you welcome, who come with weary spirit seeking rest, who come with troubles that are too much with you, who come hurt and afraid.

We bid you welcome, who come with hope in your heart, who come with anticipation in your step. Who come proud and joyous.

We bid you welcome, who are seekers of new faith.
Who come to probe and explore.
Who come to learn.

We bid you welcome,
Who enter this hall as a homecoming.
Who have found here room for your spirit.
Who find in this people a family.
[In this house, there is room for us all.]

Whoever you are, whatever you are, wherever you are on your journey, we bid you welcome.

-Rev. Richard Gilbert

SpiritualSpiritual Practice
"The idea of spiritual practices encourages individuals to take responsibility for their own spiritual development by spending time working on it, deliberating on its meaning and how best to pursue it, seeking to understand the sacred through reading and the counsel of others, and seeking to have contact with the sacred through personal reflection and prayer." - 
Robert Wuthnow

This week, in the midst of busy times and hard ones, we wish to offer a practice of gratitude. We hope that you will take some time during your day to notice what is good, what is appreciated, what is going well in the world around you. In one chapter of their book for covenant groups, Heart to Heart, Christine C. Robinson and Alicia Hawkins offer a practice of gratitude that draws from the Jewish tradition for our own faith tradition. Read the piece reprinted  here   by UU World. Can you think of something in your own life that is enough, and more than enough?

 


Correction:

The music used in last week's spiritual practice, "Ella's Song" was written by Bernice Johnson Reagon, not Ysaye Barnwell. We apologize for the misprint in last week's email.
Aaron Norris at MLK Marade 2017
ActionsProphetic Actions
in the home, community, and wider world

Through "prophetic actions," of word and deed, we seek to reflect and support our Unitarian Universalist values in our homes, community, and the wider world. 

Prophetic actions to take this week:

1.  Care for yourself

As people in a shared community, we often reach outward and create justice for others. In this time of heightened stress and anxiety, consider that a part of mustering our resources to create justice in the wider world can be putting our own "house" in order. Take an hour or a day for yourself, and do something that nourishes you and those most immediate to you. You could cook a good meal, organize your bookshelf or closet and donate unneeded items to charity, vacuum the carpets with some great music playing, whatever makes you feel restored and cared for in your own space! When we say that every person is important, that means each of us, too.

Read more.

2. Care for a neighbor

There are many ways to care for our neighbors when winter weather forces us all to slow down our pace. Snow can be an irritation as we move about our weekly activities, or it can completely stop our movements. Offer what assistance and support you can. Shovel a neighbor's walk, knock on your neighbor's door to check on them, or pick up the phone and call to check on a member of our community who may have difficulty getting around and see how they are after a snowstorm or other major weather event. You can find people in your neighborhood who need help clearing their sidewalk through "Snow Buddies" in Denver.


3. Bring the entire family to the Women's March on Denver

Children and people of all gender identities are welcome. Look for a separate email specific to the March, including tips for marching with children. 

Women's March on Denver at Civic Center Park
Saturday, January 21, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 
(UUs and friends meet 8:30 on west side of Colorado State Capitol)

Join Rev. Jeannie Shero, many from our congregation, and other UUs from around the metro area. We will march together to publicly proclaim that the rights and inherent worth of women around the globe must be affirmed and protected. We will meet at 8:30 am on Lincoln St. at the bottom of the west steps of the State Capitol. People of all gender identities are invited to join us! If you have them, wear Standing on the Side of Love or First Universalist t-shirts. Learn more about the Women's March, including seeing the planned route and a wheelchair accessible route, at the official event pages: 

Arrive with the people you want to march with. Several thousands of people will attend the March, and meeting up and staying a group will be challenging. We suggest you carpool or meet off-site with a marching partner(s) and arrive together.  Our event page for the March is a good place to coordinate rides and meeting places. Alternatively, feel free to email Helen Gray at [email protected] or Rhoda Whitney at [email protected],  both of whom are meeting groups at light rail stations ahead of the march. 

If the links do not work for you, please contact Communications Coordinator 
[email protected] for details.
"You may possess only a small light, but uncover it, let it shine, use it in order to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of [people]."
- Alfred S. Cole

The Ministerial Team of First Universalist Church of Denver

Rev. Jeannie Shero, Senior Minster

Elizabeth Mount, Ministerial Intern

Aaron Norris, Ministerial Resident