2017 Special Services & Christmas Eve

Winter Solstice Celebration with Rev. Kelly Crocker & T. Kay Browning
Saturday, December 23 • 4:30 pm • Atrium Auditorium
The winter solstice marks the longest night of the year and the start of the lengthening days. Come join our celebration with stories and music as we share in the promise of darkness and the joy of light. The Teen Choir, directed by Heather Thorpe, will sing and Linda Warren will play music for solo harp.

Away in a Manger Family Nativity Service with Rev. Kelly Crocker
Sunday, December 24 • 2 p.m. • Atrium Auditorium
Our Christmas Eve services begin with our Christmas Eve Nativity Pageant. The service is gentle, warm, and full of wonder and love – a favorite of families with little ones. The service ends with cocoa and cookies; we ask each family to bring cookies or snacks to share. We also ask each family to bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to a local food pantry. Those who choose to dress up may participate as an angel, a shepherd, a wise one, or innkeeper. Please join us for this participatory celebration of the Christmas story.

Vespers Service: A Few of My Favorite Things with Rev. Michael Schuler
Sunday, December 24 • 4:30 p.m. • Atrium Auditorium
This meditative service will feature some of our Senior Minister’s all-time favorite prose and poetry from his thirty-year tenure at FUS, plus some personal reflections on the mid-winter holidays. Vespers are best suited for adults, youth and older children. Members of the Society Choir and Meeting House Chorus will sing music for the holiday.

Family Service: Habits of the Heart with Rev. Michael Schuler & T. Kay Browning
Sunday, December 24 • 7 p.m. • Atrium Auditorium
We can argue at other times of the year about the historical issues raised in the Gospel accounts of the Nativity, but during the holidays themselves such academic probing seems beside the point. To paraphrase one of my UU colleagues, “in this season of gladness, give me less fact and more miracle and mistletoe.” This service for all ages features plenty of carols and timeless stories Vocalist Gay Thomas and pianist Dan Broner will sing and play.

Candlelight Vigil: Welcoming in Christmas with Rev. Kelly Crocker
Sunday, December 24 • 10 p.m. • Landmark Auditorium
Enter together into the sacred space of Christmas Eve with this service of music, candlelight, and story. Join together as we welcome the spirit of Christmas into our world and into our hearts. We will also partake in a Christmas Eve communion, sharing in the bread of community and the light of hope. Flutist Gary Leisman will play, accompanied by Linda Warren.