Sunny Notes: 12.24.25 - Moving Toward the New Year
I am writing this column on December 22, the day after our Winter Solstice Service at BUF. And what a special service it was—thank you to everyone who participated in the creation of our altar by contributing found nature objects! If you were unable to join us, I'm including a photo taken by BUFster Peggy Jones.
As I shared in my Opening Words, my favorite description of an altar comes from Phyllis Curott, a former attorney who became one of the first public Wiccan Priestesses in the U.S. She describes an altar as “the point at the center of Creation where Spirit and Earth are One.” And when two or more gather to create a community altar, as we did on Sunday, that altar becomes an impermanent piece of sacred art, like a mandala made of sand.
The altar we created on Sunday felt incredibly sacred. And impermanent. Immediately following the service, I watched as our nature altar was taken down piece by piece to make way for the setup of our beautiful chalice table for the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service on December 24. It was quite the opportunity to practice a little Buddhist non-attachment! I admit, I was sad to see it go.
As we let go of our altar, moving beyond our Solstice celebration and toward the new year, I want to invite everyone to save the date for an important BUF event coming up in January. On Saturday, January 17 from 9:00am-12:00pm, we will hold what is called a Congregational Start-Up. A Start-Up is a workshop or mini-retreat that UU congregations typically hold shortly after an interim or transitional minister arrives. As described in the book In the Interim:
● The “Start-Up” is a workshop designed to help a minister and congregation with relationship, expectations, and goals;
● It is an opportunity to articulate a clear process for evaluating ministry; and
● It may help the congregation to reflect on itself and evolve, making more space for interim/transitional work to be done well.
Through all the "Getting to Know You" sessions I held over the past couple months, and through all the many committee meetings and social events I have attended at BUF, we have had a chance to get familiar with one another. Not only have I gotten to know many of you on a deeper level, but I have gotten to know the inner workings of BUF as a vibrant and active congregation. The Start-Up will offer us a chance to bring together all that we have learned and done over the past few months, and set our sights on the horizon and where we wish to go.
I also am thrilled that we will have BUF's Regional Contact from the Unitarian Universalist Association, Rev. Sarah Gibb Millspaugh, to facilitate the Start-Up. Rev. Sarah is an absolute delight. Not only did she help BUF navigate all the transition around Rev. Paul's retirement, but she is one of the primary reasons I ended up at BUF. I look forward to welcoming Rev. Sarah to BUF in January. And please note, we are tentatively planning for childcare for this event—please let Sunny or our Director of Religious Education, Lis Epperson (BUFReligiousEducation@buf.org), know if you are interested in childcare.
However you celebrate during this time of the year, I wish you peace and joy! — Sunny, minister