There is a Nigerian proverb that reads, "It takes a village to raise a child". Today we will celebrate and contemplate the Kwanzaa celebration of child-rearing as a community effort.

On the darkest day of the year, we contemplate where the light is in our lives, with the help of four candle-friends (UU Chalice, Christmas, Kwanzaanu Kinara, and Hanukkah Menorah) and Grandmother Yule. This service will be lots of fun for ALL ages--song, ritual, and fire!

The people who produced the traditional, biblical Christmas narrative were part of a culture wishing for and expecting a religious revelation - an epiphany of some sort that would fill them with hope, set their world right, and make everything OK. Since then the narrative has been edited so that now the holiday story is much broader and expansive (and deeper?). Whether you like it or not, agree with it or not, the Christmas narrative is true to the human spirit and epiphany. Let's explore the hope found in this epiphany.

Hope isn't a weenie emotion! It's an active process, and it requires skills to do well. Let's become a hopeful community!