December 2016

“Presence” is December’s theme, (not “presents” of the gifting kind which normally occupies much of our thought and activity this time of year). We are asked to be really present to things that matter such as commitments that truly make a difference in the world and activities that feed our souls. Personally I find this extremely hard to do this time of year. Like many I know, this is the season when I’m overbooked and overcommitted. I find myself running between seasonal gatherings and musical performances and not really taking any of it in. I may be physi-cally present, but most of the time I’m not truly present in the spiritual sense. I get to the first week of January ex-hausted and empty, without any real sense of what just happened. This year I’m vowing to do something about my lack of presence and I invite you to do the same. To enable this, the Services Committee and I have carefully planned three Sunday services and the Christmas Eve service to help. On Sunday, December 4th I would like to bring focus to our “fire of commitment”. What is it that we’re really pas-sionate about? How does it help us and our world? The following Sunday, December 11th, Jack Faulkner-Becker is going to talk about some famous Unitarians who sought to have a very strong presence in nature. The Transcen-dentalist Unitarians of the early 19th century believed that the divine, nature, and the soul were one and that the goal in life was to reunify them. On Sunday, December 18, we will seek a presence with the wondrous cycles of nature through an intergenerational Winter Solstice celebration. As a community, we will metaphorically wake up the sun with entertaining (and noisy) rituals. Finally, we cap the month on Christmas Eve. We will be present to the sym-bol Jesus represented to the early Christian Church – one of hope through community for a very broken world. I invite you to bring a treat to share in community just as they did almost 2000 years ago. Come find your presence among us this month and feed your soul with what really matters. Peace, hope and joy, Rev. Jim (Jim Coakley serves as our part-time consulting minister)

From the Minister Office Hours ..... 1

Rev. Jim’s Office Hours:

Wednesday, December 7 – 7:00-8:30 pm Sunday, December 11 – 12:00-3:00 pm Wednesday, December 21 – 6:00-8:30 pm

For appointment: call/text 715-572-0455, email jimuumin@gmail.com, or PM on Facebook

Upcoming Services Dia de los Muertos Pictures ............. 2

Soul Matters: What Does it Mean to be a Community of Presence?…….3

From the Minister...

Sunday, Dec. 4– Being Present to the Fire of Commit-ment, by Rev. Jim. Turn from the distractions of this busy season and be present to your commitment to what really matters. Sunday, Dec. 11 – Emerson and Thoreau: Seeking Truth in Experience, by Jack Faulkner-Becker. W.E. Channing said that Unitarians seek truth in experience, not in doctrine. No one ever did that better than Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Sunday, Dec. 18 – Intergenerational Winter Solstice Service, by Rev. Jim and the Services Committee. We seek a close presence with nature and the darkest point of the year by welcoming the sun back through song, dance, and a very noisy ritual to wake it!

Sunday, Dec. 24 – Finding Hope Together at Christ-mas, by Rev. Jim and the Services Committee. The early Christian Church came together to share food and honor the symbol of hope Jesus represented for their very bro-ken world. We will do the same this Christmas Eve at 6:30 PM. You are invited to bring a snack to share. No Services on December 25 and January 1 Sunday, Jan. 8 – Breaking the Glass Ceiling, by Wis-consin State Senator Julie Lassa.

Upcoming Services:

The last service in October we celebrated Dia de los Muertos in an inter-generational service. Here are a few pictures from the event!

What Does it Mean to be a Community of Presence?

Spiritually, presence can mean two radically different things. One the one hand, contemplatives talk of “being present.” Presence from this perspective is all about awareness and remembering to “live in the moment.” On the other hand, theologians tend to come at presence from the perspective of “otherness.” Their concern is not just that we pay attention to the present moment, but that we notice a transcendent Presence that is woven through all moments. This month, we refuse to takes sides. Attentiveness or otherness? Who says we have to choose? Isn’t it true that, more often than not, they dance together more than they compete? Isn’t it true that when we are most pre-sent, a powerful presence emerges? Pay attention to your child and slowly a confidence and unique self unfolds. Pay attention to the flow of your breathing or the flow of the ocean and something bigger than yourself enters the scene. Look for a long time at a singular tree and eventually it presents itself to you as a world in and unto itself. The underlying message here is that the world is full of unnoticed gifts and grace. It’s a message perfectly fit for this month that so often celebrates presents over presence. In the face of commercials and billboards that tell us our lives will finally be complete if we stuff them with a few more shiny objects or plastic gadgets, our spiritual traditions come along and remind us that our lives are already complete. Their message: The greatest gift of the holidays is noticing the many gifts that have been sitting there all along. So how will you engage this dance? What powerful and meaningful presence is waiting for you to be present to it? What gift is waiting and wanting to emerge? What will your awareness bring into being this month? Taken from this month’s Soul Matters packet on the theme of December: Presence.