Letter from our Spiritual Leaders, By Hillary

Transcription

1 December 2009 Sunday Celebration Service 10:00 AM Meditation 9:00 AM SLT Senior Center 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Letter from our Spiritual Leaders, By Hillary I remember the holidays very fondly, not because of traditions in my house (there were none) but because Manhattan (NY) during Christmastime was a feast for a young child. I suppose I could consider that the tradition my mother created for the two of us thanks, mom! Every year we d bundle up in the freezing cold to go wander for hours past store windows full of decorations, many of them moving delights of elves& animals & towns with trains. And of course the 60 foot decorated tree at Rockefeller Center with ice skaters dancing underneath it was magical. Anyway, I think I was less handicapped than most in that when I grew up, I had the freedom to create my own traditions in the manner that served me there was room for innocence, magic and delight. I create ceremonies all year to honor my sacred Self and the Mystery. It is important to me to nurture my inner child and also celebrate all that I hold holy. Hanukkah/Winter Solstice/Christmas/New Year (these are the names that I know this time of year is celebrated under many names) is a perfect time to engage the energies of the season and go deeper into our own divinity. There must be time in our lives to come apart from the world and remind ourselves of what we are in Truth that the busy world does not often nurture or inspire. Metaphysically, in Unity, Christmas is about the birth of the Christ consciousness in our awareness. In many other cultures it is a time to celebrate the return of the light and, metaphysically, we can see it as a celebration of the light we are. What s important to you and what will bring out that wholeness for you? I don t know what that is for you because we are all different and we all have different needs. If the way we do holidays doesn t serve us and we can t do anything about it (although we can always change our attitude and perception around something) then perhaps the question that would better serve is, What can I do to nurture myself or create one thing I need at a different time? I do know silent prayer can help. Let us begin each day in sacred time with the Beloved as we say, Peace be still, my only love. Let me breathe through you as a full and joyous breath in each extraordinary moment. Expand into your divinity, open to all I Am in you, soar free of limitations and illusions with me, unfold to your highest destiny. Together, we embrace this moment as a holy moment and let be, letting go of your hold on the past and any grasping toward the future. Stay in this holy Now for here is found the grace of wholeness in a celebration of all that has been and all that is. This is the fullness of your humanness and the certainty of your Spirit. Breathe relax open receive accept fill up on hope and faith, drink deep of calm and peace, in your dance with the Great Mystery. Strengthen and renew, filling yourself with the vibrancy and glow of Divine love you are. This is the voice of Divine Mother as us, our very own holy voice. May we all know we are blessed and a blessing. Sunday Celebration Services (at the Senior Center) December 6th, 13th & 20th: We will have a talk series focusing on the metaphysical meaning of the 3 wise men and their gifts. 3 CD set available in January. December 27th: As part of our regular service, we will be doing our Burning Bowl Ceremony; a wonderful opportunity to release that which we don t choose to bring into the New Year.

2 16th Annual Bear-A-Thon: Now thru Sun, December 20th, you re invited to bring a brand new teddy bear with you to Sunday service to fill with special blessings and healing light. Everyone is encouraged to hug & cuddle them during services. All of our bears will then be donated to the South Lake Tahoe Women s Center, Fire Dept. and Sheriff s Dept., to spread love and comfort during times of need. Bear Hugs & Kisses!!! Tree of Remembrance: Wednesday, Dec. 9 th, United Methodist Church in Gardnerville, and Friday, Dec.11 th, at St. Teresa s. Both ceremonies begin at 6:30pm. OneVoice will be sharing their gifts to help our community honor their loved ones who have passed on. Join us for this beautiful holiday interfaith memorial service. Christmas Caroling: Saturday, December 19 th. Let your voice ring out with cheer this holyday season! Spread the spirit of Christmas with OneVoice as we go caroling through our community. Meet at 3pm at Karen Martin s house, 981 Boulder Mt. Drive. We ll have cookies (bring some to share if you are able) and hot cider while we do some singing warm-ups. Fa-la-la-la-la! OneHeart Drumming: Sunday, December 20 th, following our celebration service. Together we ll play the heartbeat of God! We all have a sacred heartbeat...let s create a joyous circle & express our unique rhythms as one! No experience needed - everyone can do it! Some drums & shakers will be provided, or bring your own. Dancers and listeners invited too! Love Offering. Christmas Eve 12 Powers Candle Lighting Service: Thursday, December 24 th, at the SLT Senior Center. Join us in this beautiful & extremely meaningful Unity at the Lake tradition, which for many has become the highlight of the year. Come enjoy light refreshments and caroling with OneVoice beginning at 6:30pm. The service will begin promptly at 7pm. Basics of Unity Class: NEW THIS YEAR! Join Stew and Hillary for a stimulating and inspiring class exploring basic Unity metaphysical principles, perfect for someone new to Unity or as a wonderful refresher. It is also a pre-requisite for those considering membership this year (our next New Member Orientation will be in March). This class will be offered twice, in order to give you a better opportunity to attend one of them: Sunday, January 11 th at 1:00pm and Monday, January 17 th at 6:30pm, in the office. Please make sure to reserve your spot. Holotropic Breathwork: Saturday, January 23 rd, 2:00-5:00pm: Give yourself a better chance of fulfilling your New Year s intentions by participating in this powerful experience of healing and release, facilitated by Hillary and Stew. $60 per person (if needed, ask us about a sliding scale). Location TBA. Our Office/Sacred Space Located upstairs (Suite 27) in the Star Tahoe Bldg.,2489 Lake Tahoe Blvd. (530) Open Hours: Mondays 10:00AM - 12:00PM and Wednesdays10:00AM - 2:00PM You are invited to come by and sit in the sacred energy, browse the lending library, or just say hello! ItÊs a wonderful space! OUR SPIRITUAL LEADERS, HILLARY AND STEW, ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO MEET WITH YOU FOR SPIRITUAL COUNSELING AND/OR PRAYER OR JUST TO CHAT. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL THE OFFICE ANYTIME AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THEM.

3 Ongoing Events in the Office Prayer/Meditation Circle: Every Wednesday, Noon -12:45pm. The best 45 minute God vacation you can give yourself! A sacred time to be a blessing to yourself and to the world! Prayer Vigils: First Monday of each month (Dec 7 th & Jan 4 th ). 12-2:00pm. This is a great opportunity to slow down in the middle of your day and sit in the stillness of our sacred space. Sit for 15 minutes or as long as you like and connect with your God-self. Then send peace and love out to the world. You do not have to be experienced in prayer or meditation to join us. THE FOLLOWING EVENTS ARE ALL AVAILABLE FOR A LOVE OFFERING: Awakening Wednesdays : Every Wednesday night, 6:30-8:00pm, Beginning January 6 th we will be diving into Marshall Rosenberg s Non-Violent Communication so make sure to get your book order in. We will learn communication that fosters connection and compassion so that everyone can get their needs met. Men s/women s Groups: Our men s group meets at 6:30pm on the 3 rd Thursday evening of each month. Contact Stew if you are interested. The women s circle gathers on the 3 rd Monday of the month at 7:00pm, please call Hillary. Healing Circles: Now on the second Monday of each month (December 14 th ) at 12:00pm SHARP. Bring a healing request or simply bring your loving and healing energy to share in this powerful and prayerful ceremony. We ve witnessed profound healings on all levels and areas of life as we affirm and align in consciousness with the Truth that we are already whole. When we have a large circle of people involved, the energy fairly sizzles! Simply one of the best ways we know to align our minds with Divine Mind and claim our Divine Inheritance!! December 6th: The Power of Life (color is Red) Now available Our 3 week CD series on prosperity: "Spiritual Economics". $10/set. Please call the office to order. We d like to extend Special Thanks *To Dona Baxter for the creation of 2 beautiful new Sunday service offering bags, and Lynn Spiker & Kathi O for embroidering them. Our fabulous Unity at the Lake water bottles would make a great gift! $15 each / 2 for $25. *To Craig Newman and Jazz Christianson for their computer genius. *To Leesa Busch for an amazing job on our website. *To UATL Bread and Broth volunteers. *To our PR committee: Paige Rice, Donna Janaczek and Kathi O. Members of our council at 2009 regional Asilomar conference L to R: Hillary Bittman, Danielle Wagner, Janice Eastburn & Kathi Olsen

4 Happy Holydays from your Council of Trustees! Embrace the wonder of the Season! Behold what is dear to your heart! We wish you and your families a season of glee, warmth, and peace! Blessings, Stew and Hillary, Karen, Sue, Janice, Danielle, Kathi O and James. Faith in action program: We have begun our annual pledge drive. We do everything at Unity at the Lake in alignment with universal spiritual principles and the Law of Circulation is one of them we tithe 10% of every dollar we receive to places that feed us spiritually and all of our classes and workshops are given on a love offering basis. Our pledge drive is your opportunity to give in order to learn and experience more of the givingness of God within you; to contribute to your own spiritual growth while also contributing to the growth of our spiritual community. Making this intention will help you to regularly claim your divine inheritance. We ask that you take some time in the silence, ask for guidance and then fill out one of the blue or yellow faith in action forms you ll find at Sunday services with your pledge intention for You can also call the office for a pledge form or to let us know what your pledge is. Bless you all! Fun(d)raisers: All who attended our annual Harvesting Our Dreams fun(d)raiser agreed it was a wonderful evening of food, fun, laughter and camaraderie. It was also a prosperous evening and as a result we are able to contribute $ to the WomenÊs Center. Bless you all for your participation and support! We are about to joyously use our Hands and Hearts fund to buy holyday presents for families in our community. We will be accepting donations through December 6th for this yearês shopping on December 13th. All donations received after December 6th will go into our fund for next year. Bless You! Our Sunday talks are now available on our website, beginning shortly after each Sunday service. Talks will be there for 3 months, and thereafter will be available in our web archives! Tell your friends! Also, did you know you can now make donations (for regular tithes, building fund, Hands & Hearts) & purchase any of our OneVoice, meditation, or Sunday service CDs, directly from the website via PayPal or credit card?

5 2009 Gallery Our Music Ministry Team OneVoice ~ Easter Sunday Singing with YEP Kids! ~ May 17th Prayer Chaplain Dedication Ceremony ~ April 19th Hike to Winnemucca ~ July 26th Outdoor Sunday Celebration Service at Holly s Place ~ August 2nd

6 Karen Drucker ~ August 16th OneVoice at Summer FUNdraiser ~ August 29th Ice Cream Servers! ~ August 29th Outdoor Sunday Service at Sue Hoy s ~ August 30th Kite Flying Day at Baldwin Beach ~ September 13th Harvesting Our Dreams ~ October 23rd The Not-So-Newlywed Game Greg Tamblyn Silent Auction Tables