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Unitarian
Universalist
Fellowship of North Central
Iowa
606 North
Monroe Ave.
Mason City, IA
641-423-1793
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A Pagan Yule 2002
ARIAN SCHUESSLER/The Globe
Gazette Lee Briggeman, Fertile, lights candles honoring the God
and the Goddess |
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ARIAN SCHUESSLER/The Globe Gazette |
| A candle in the cauldron is lit to represent the light of
the baby sun king and the promise of
rebirth and return of summer. |
ARIAN SCHUESSLER/The Globe Gazette |
A symbolic light is sent around the circle to
remind us to keep our own internal light burning during the darkness of this
season.
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| Frank Myers receives the light from Dr. Van
Hunt, and then in turn passes the light onward around the circle. |
The Twelve
Days of Christmas
A homily for this season!
What do each of the twelve gifts represent? -- Loren Toomsen
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Mary Ellen Miller
and
Dr. Van Hunt share Yule poems in the glow of the UU Flaming Chalice
(on table, right) and candles (foreground) that reflect congregational Joys and
Concerns. Discussion following the ritual provided an
exchange of information and related ideas.
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Dr. Van Hunt gave us this winter poem from memory |
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The snow had begun in the gloaming,
And busily all the night--
Had been heaping field and Highway
With a silence deep and white.
Every pine and fir and hemlock
Wore ermine too dear for an
Earl,
And the poorest twig on the elm-tree
Was ridged inch deep with pearl.
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From sheds new-roofed with Carrara
Came Chanticleer's muffled crow,
The stiff rails softened to
swan's down
And still flittered down the
snow.
I stood and watched by the window
The noiseless work of the sky;
And the sudden flurries of snow-birds
Like brown leaves whirling by.
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James Russell Lowell |
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| Mary Ellen
Miller's contribution, "It is Our Quiet Time" |
It is our quiet time.
We do not speak, because the voices are within us.
It is our quiet time.
We do not walk, because the
earth is all within us.
It is our quiet time.
We do not dance, because the
music has lifted us to a place
where the spirit is.
It is our quiet time.
We rest with all of nature. We
wake when the
seven sisters
wake. We greet them in the sky over the
opening of the kiva.
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Nancy Wood |
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Lee answers questions about the ritual. The Yule and Christmas season are
both celebrated during a twelve day period. A Father, Mother, and Son
are acknowledged in both traditions. Candles, lights, bells, music, tree
decorations, gifts, and cheerful greetings are present in both traditions. |
Tuesday April 01, 2003 06:25:50 AM |
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December
22, 2002
During the Yule Ritual, both the
God and the Goddess are honored at an altar of Holly, Ivy, Pine and Mistletoe,
to remind us that all life is not dormant during the winter months.
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The
service
Chalice Lighting - Opening Words
John Wharam / Lee Briggeman
Welcome and announcements
Joys and Concerns
The
Reason for the Season?
Loren Toomsen
Pagan Yule Ritual / Celebration
Lee Briggeman
Poety Reading
Mary Ellen Miller
&
Dr. Van Hunt
Four Yule
Carols
led by Loren Toomsen
Dialog, Questions about Yule
Closing Words, Chalice extinguished. John Wharam
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