First UU Congregation of Second Life

First Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Second Life (FUUCSL)

Thursday, November 27, 2014

6:30PM SL Time (Pacific Standard Time)

Leading the service: Tee Auster

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“Expressions of Thanksgiving”

“Church is a place where you get to practice what it means to be human.”

— James Luther Adams

~Announcements~

Welcome to the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Second Life.

An Order of Service is available by saying “oos” in chat.

For visitors, a special welcome.

If you are not familiar with Unitarian Universalism (“UU”),

a single service is not enough

to experience the diversity of ideas and styles of interaction that we offer,

either here in SL or in RL.  Please come again.

You might also wish to look at UUA.org. or consider joining the group

Unitarian Universalists of SL to receive regular announcements.

Also please check out fuucsl.org, our web site.

We are always looking for members of our community who wish to get more involved.

If you would like to try your hand at leading a service, please contact

a member of the Leadership Group…their names are available in the notecard dispenser

in the welcome area.

Please join us after the service for dancing and conversation – FUCCSL tradition!

Are there any other announcements?

Today’s service celebrates giving thanks from the varied expressions of our traditions. I hope you enjoy!

~Opening Words~

Today we celebrate a dream awakening.

Today we worship with renewed hope in our hearts.

Today we act on an audacity of hopes and dreams for the future.

Today we begin the hard work for justice, equity and compassion in all human relations,

for today is a day like no other

and it is ours to shape with vision and action.

Let us worship together and celebrate a dream awakening.

Elizabeth M. Strong

 

~Lighting the Chalice~

 

As we honor the sacred hunger for a light in our world

We light our chalice as a sign of our quest for truth and meaning

and in celebration of the life we share together.

The Chalice is now lit.

~Joys and Concerns~

Let us prepare our hearts to receive the joys and concerns,

hopes and sorrows, fears and dreams of one another.

If there is something that has recently happened to you, happy or sad,

and you would like to share it with us, now is the time.

Or feel welcome to take a breath and just sit.

We invite you to share your joys and concerns in chat, when you are ready.

Join me in a group response in voice or in chat

“May we be held in the heart of love.”

 

~Offering~

A freewill offering is a sacrament of a free Church.

This fellowship is supported by the voluntary generosity of all who join with us.

There is an offering plate in the pool in front of us.

Please be generous in support of this UU fellowship.

~An Interlude of Blessings and Quotes~

~A Prayer~

“Come, Lord Jesus, our guest to be

And bless these gifts

Bestowed by Thee

And bless our loved ones everywhere,

And keep them in your loving care.”

~Moravian Blessing

“If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, it will be enough.”

~Meister Eckhart

“O Lord that lends me life,

Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.”

~William Shakespeare

“This food is the gift of the whole universe-the sky, and much hard work,

May we eat it in mindfulness, so as to be worthy to receive it.

We accept this food so that we many practice the path of understanding and love.”

~Thich Nhat Hanh

“For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food,

For everything Thy goodness sends.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“He is God! Thou seest us, O my God, gathered around this table, praising Thy bounty, with our gaze upon Thy Kingdom.

O Lord! Send down upon us Thy heavenly food and confer upon us Thy blessing.

Thou art the Bestower. The Merciful, the Compassionate.”

~ ‘Abdu’l-Baha

“Holy One of Blessing, may all the different peoples, cultures, traditions and lifestyles that constitute America work together to share what we have with those in need.”

~Rabbi Laura Geller

“That is infinite, this is infinite.

The infinite come form the infinite

If infinite is subtracted from the infinite, Infinite still remains,

Om”

~Hindu Prayer of Gratitude

`Reflection and Discussion`~

What Gives Meaning to Your Life?

The following excerpts are from an article by Judith Johnson appearing in The Huffington Post.

What sustains you? What puts a smile on your face and lights up your heart?

What keeps the embers of your soul on fire?

What really matters deeply to you?

It is so easy to get caught up in the ongoing activities and demands of our lives, often forgetting or losing track of what is most meaningful to us.

In the United States, our Thanksgiving holiday is about giving thanks to God, spending time with family and, of course, feasting.

For those who actually practice the fine art of giving thanks on this particular holiday or elsewhere in their lives, there is a sense of receiving all over again that for which we are grateful.

When we stop to think about what really matters to us, we bring it present in our consciousness and, in the present moment, we are able to experience our joy and gratitude for our good fortune all over again.

Gratitude is the gift that keeps on giving.

Beyond things, what is it that sustains you? I

s it beauty? Love? Belonging?

Or is it something else? I encourage you to take the time to find your answer to this question and, once you have your answer,

to celebrate the existence of that source of meaning in your life. Practice gratitude for that which sustains you.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judith-johnson/what-gives-your-life-mean_b_780118.html

Also in my research for today’s service, I found another article from Judith. I wish I had seen this one first!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/judith-johnson/radical-transformational-gratitude_b_6205016.html

So I ask…

What sustains you? What puts a smile on your face and lights up your heart?

What keeps the embers of your soul on fire?

What really matters deeply to you?

Let’s share and discuss…

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

~John F. Kennedy

~Closing Words and Extinguishing the Chalice~

Our task now is to do what we can to advance reverence for life and deepen the promise of love.

Let us dedicate ourselves to the thinking, researching, practice and learning that will bring more love into the world.

Rebecca Ann Parker

May we go forward into this week with peace, love and understanding.