Blessing

 Karen Armstrong, in her studies of the major world religions, identified compassion as the plumb line that helps keep a religion oriented towards its core purpose. There is much in the world today that makes our heart ache; come hear Rev. Anastassia share how compassion helps break our hearts open instead of becoming brokenhearted.

Guest speaker Leah Gunning Francis.

 Unitarian Universalists have often prided themselves on their education and achievements. Our collective contributions have been significant and meaningful. Nonetheless, we continually discover that we have more to learn. This first Sunday in our Spiritually Disciplined series, we will consider the gifts that humility has to offer us as a spiritual practice and as a mode for engaging the world. Rev. Anastassia preaching.

 The best way to teach our children is to be and to show: how we behave and how we engage with the world are much better predictors of how our children will do that all the books we've read about parenting could teach us. Rev. Anastassia preaching.

 Cultivating change and closing the disengagement divide": Brene Brown holds that we disengage for two reasons: to protect ourselves and because we feel that the people who are supposed to be leading us are not living up to the social contract. Where do we see this problem in our families, communities, and businesses? Rev. Anastassia preaching.

Disruptive Engagement: Daring to rehumanize education and work": Brene Brown analyzes the way shame permeates our culture in schools and organizations. She says people in leadership roles bully, critize and set up rewards systems that belittle, shame and humiliates students, employees - and well simply put PEOPLE. Come hear our youth name the characteristic of this shame-based culture, where they have witnessed it, and their recommended practices.

Understanding And Combating Shame: In Brené Brown's book Daring Greatly, she states that shame draws its power from being unspeakable. Building awareness about shame and sharing our stories are thus two of the ways that we can work to diminish its power over us and our lives. Rev. Seth Carrier-Ladd, a Certified Daring Way Facilitator, joins us as we explore cultivating empathy and self-compassion as we work to build our shame resiliency.

Vulnerability Armor: Even though we have many misconceptions about vulnerability - that it is weakness or oversharing, for instance - many of us are experts in avoiding it. Author Brene Brown talks about how we try to avoid and protect ourselves from vulnerability. So come join, Rev. Anastassia as we explore together what vulnerability is and isn't, and to recognize when we are trying to avoid it.

During this intergenerational service we will honor the transitions and celebrations in the lives of our members through poetry and naming. Help us mark family additions, high school graduations, member departures, weddings, and deaths. Featuring readings, enactments, and music by the All Souls Choir and Alex Milligan.

The Christmas season is one of hope and love but also one of giving and accumulating "things". In Dickens' Sketches by Boz readers are introduced to the middle classes of Victorian England through the items found in resale shops. Lets examine what the literary device of the object story can teach us about untold stories from overlooked legs of our journeys. Nasreen Khan guest preaching.