This morning’s Centering Music includes two early compositions by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, as a nod to the nation’s Singing Revolution explored in our worship service. The Offertory is one of Tchaikovsky’s charming seasonal evocations, written on a monthly for the St. Petersburg musical journal Nouveliste. His musical depiction of January is prefaced by these verses by Pushkin:
A little corner of peaceful bliss,
the night dressed in twilight;
the little fire is dying in the fireplace,
and the candle has burned out.
Elsewhere, several of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 34 commemorate the work of a composer working under the constraints of Soviet censorship. Shostakovich’s resistance can be discerned in his unique artistic voice, which he never lost in the face of official reproval. Read on for programming details.
Centering Music: Zwei Sonatinen, Op. 1
Sonatina No. 1
I.Allegro
II.Larghetto
Sonatina No. 2
I.Allegro energico
II.Largo
III.Allegro
Arvo Pärt
Opening Music:
Prelude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 34, No. 10
Dmitry Shostakovich
Offertory:
By the Fireside, Op. 37, No. 1 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Interlude:
Prelude in E-flat Major, Op. 34, No. 19
In the Christian tradition, December 1-24 is the season of Advent – understood as a time for considering the coming – and the second coming – of the Christ; it ends on Christmas Day, with the words from the Book of Revelation, “joy to the world, the Lord is come.” But in the meantime – the month is filled with waiting: waiting for joy, waiting for hope, waiting for peace, waiting for love, waiting for the child, waiting for grace. It is in this time of Advent that we take time – and fortunately, we have music libraries filled with holiday songs to make the waiting less difficult (sometimes filling us with nostalgia, sometimes bringing us cheer, and sometimes annoying us – I’m looking at you, “Little Drummer Boy”). Over the next four weeks, I’ll be exploring the themes of Advent through the lens of some of my most beloved and cherished holiday songs.
“The Christmas Song”
Tonight, the last night of Advent, is a night of connection, of quiet excitement, of comfort and joy. And while this is often impossible for people to find on this night, there is a song that brings back memories and offers some comfort in these hard times – “The Christmas Song” made famous by the incomparable Nat King Cole:
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow
We’ll find it hard to sleep tonight
They know that Santa’s on his way
He’s loaded lots of toy and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother’s child is gonna spy
To see if reindeers really know how to fly
And so I’m offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to ninety two
Although it’s been said
Many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you
Songwriters Barry Anthony Andrews and Robert James Wills tapped into something that we are only learning about in the United States – the Danish concept of hygge (pronounced (HUG-geh).
Loosely translated, hygge is coziness and togetherness. But it’s more than that. Hygge is more of a mental coziness, an effect of how we are together. Blogger Louise Thomsen Brits describes hygge as
“The art of building sanctuary and community, of inviting closeness and paying attention to what makes us feel open hearted and alive, to create well-being, connection and warmth, a feeling of belonging to the moment and to each other, celebrating the everyday.
“In our overstretched, complex, modern lives, hygge is a resourceful, tangible way to find deeper connection to our families, our communities, and our earth. It’s an uncomplicated, practical method of weaving the stuff of spirit and heart into daily life without sentimentality then taking time to celebrate it on a human scale.
“Hygge is about appreciation. It’s about how we give and receive. Hygge is about being, not having.”
In our personal lives, we know the power of hygge – gathering around the table for a shared meal, reading in a comfortable chair, wrapping up in blankets on a blustery afternoon, seeking shelter from the rain under a shop awning, baking pie in a warm kitchen, watching a favorite movie with a cat on your lap, watching the sunset with someone you care for. The things that keep us alert and aware and anxious – the phone, the newspaper, Facebook – are distinctly absent in these moments of personal hygge.
But hygge is not just an absence of things that might be overwhelming. It is in fact a very practical way of creating sanctuary in the middle of very real, hard, complicated life. It is “a kind of enchantment – inviting in warmth, simplicity, connection –making space for the heart and the imagination.” Hygge acknowledges the sacred in the secular – that there is something extraordinary in the ordinary.
But hygge is more than stuff; it intangible – it’s not just a comfortable space, it’s a comfortable experience. It’s freshly baked pie and the smells that evoke memories. It’s a warm fire and time to read. It’s a snuggly quilt and someone to cuddle with. In hygge, the stuff and the space create a sanctuary for our bodies and our spirits.
And it is intentional. Hygge doesn’t happen by accident – as Brits says, “it’s an attitude, a considered practice. It takes effort to hygge.” Hygge is, as author and former monk Thomas Moore writes, “a theme that can be lived amid all the other dimensions of an engaged human life.” It doesn’t seek to hide the darkness but rather provide a light that reminds us the darkness of pain, sorrows, and troubles is not all there is.
We need this reminder more than ever. It can be so easy to get caught up in the 24/7 news cycle and remain shocked, hurt, angry, scared, almost to the point of being inured to the horrors so that we lose sight of the acts of resistance we must take up – and lose sight of our souls – and the lessons that Advent teaches us to stop, be still, and give thanks.
This song – this beautiful song, bringing to mind memories of roaring fires and hot cocoa, of snuggling under blankets and singing carols together, comfort and anticipation– wrapped in Nat King Cole’s honeyed baritone, is hygge.
There is little more to say - so, like Cole, I offer this simple phrase: Merry Christmas to you.
In the Christian tradition, December 1-24 is the season of Advent – understood as a time for considering the coming – and the second coming – of the Christ; it ends on Christmas Day, with the words from the Book of Revelation, “joy to the world, the Lord is come.” But in the meantime – the month is filled with waiting: waiting for joy, waiting for hope, waiting for peace, waiting for love, waiting for the child, waiting for grace. It is in this time of Advent that we take time – and fortunately, we have music libraries filled with holiday songs to make the waiting less difficult (sometimes filling us with nostalgia, sometimes bringing us cheer, and sometimes annoying us – I’m looking at you, “Little Drummer Boy”). Over the next four weeks, I’ll be exploring the themes of Advent through the lens of some of my most beloved and cherished holiday songs.
“Winter Wonderland”
What do Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Kenny Rogers, Radiohead, Air Supply, Merle Haggard, Aimee Mann, Selena Gomez, and the Polyphonic Spree all have in common?
Of course, they’re just a few of the over one thousand performing artists who have covered the 1934 classic “Winter Wonderland” – written by Felix Bernard and Richard Bernhard Smith. It’s a classic, to be sure. And while it’s not specifically a Christmas song, it does get a fair amount of air play this time of year.
The song is about a couple enjoying the sights and sounds of a beautiful winter day, and they let their imaginations run away with them as a snowman turns into a minister and we learn of their love for one another.
It’s really a song about love.
Which, of course, is one of the themes of Advent – love. As we sing in Mark Belletini’s translation of O Come Emmanuel, “Emmanuel shall come within as Love to dwell.” We’ve talked a lot about waiting this month, and I think that when we wait in love, we wait with a hopefulness, a gentleness, a kind of grace. This song clearly highlights young love – two people who found themselves and have their own future together:
Later on we'll conspire As we dream by the fire To face unafraid the plans that we’ve made
As we wind down to the end of 2019, I expect many of us have ideas and plans for 2020; do they bring you anxiety or curiosity? Are you waiting in frustration, in fear, in anger? Or in love? When we wait in love, we can see the ‘beautiful sight’ of the snow glistening as we pause. And we see not loss but newness:
Gone away is the bluebird Here to stay is a new bird He sings a love song as we go along
Advent invites us to hopefulness, to a loving perspective. May your waiting be blessed with love.
(And while you wait, listen to one of my favorite versions of this song by the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald.)
HOLIDAY PAGEANT THIS SUNDAY
Whole Congregation Worship Sunday. There are roles and fun for everyone in the holiday pageant! We are celebrating Solstice, Hanukkah and Christmas. You can come dressed in Star Wars costumes, continuing the CUUC tradition. And there will be a special surprise, not to be missed! No RE classes or Youth Group. *We need to borrow lightsabers for the pageant. Label your items so they return home with you.
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE Rev. Kimberley has planned a beautiful Christmas Eve service, Tuesday, December 24th at 5:30pm. Join us for this lovely evening. Those participating should be there by 5:00pm for a walk-through. *Youth light the Christmas Eve tapers! Contact Tracy to let us know you will participate (CUUCWPTracy@gmail.com) and arrive by 5:00pm for the walk-through.
LGBTPQIA+ SUPPORT DURING THE HOLIDAYS While many are celebrating the holidays, many are also struggling with families who make it difficult to share their full selves or celebrate their loves, or families who have rejected them. To our LGBTPQIA+ family of all ages and stages: You are whole and holy, and you are loved. PFLAG offers these suggestions for taking care of yourself and navigating gatherings. Know you are not alone. Click here for links to hotlines and other support. If you need a message of unconditional love and affirmation, read this fierce message of support from S. Bear Bergman and know you can call or text Rev. Kimberley (518-423-1964) and Tracy (914-434-7539). Allies and Upstanders, your support is needed! PFLAG offers suggestions for friends and family. The Ossining LGBTQ Alliance shares this guide for being a LGBTQ Ally during the holiday season.
K-1st GRADE OUR WHOLE LIVES
A fundamental goal of the Our Whole Lives (OWL) program is to forge a strong partnership between CUUC and home, and a strong bond between parent and child. After each class, families receive the Homelinks discussion page and corresponding OWL Parent Guide session so you can continue the conversation at home. Here are materials for the class David led last Sunday: Session 3, Healthy Bodies, Safe Bodies Homelinks and Parent Guide.
IN THE COMING WEEKS
Sun Dec 29 – Begin in the worship service at 10:00am then children and youth will leave for an activity. Lyra Harada is introducing musical instruments for fun and spiritual expression. Laura Goodspeed and Laura Sehdeva are assisting.
Fri Jan 3 – No Youth Group.
Sun Jan 5 – Whole Congregation Worship. No RE or Youth Group.
Sun Jan 12 – K-1st Grade Our Whole Lives; 2nd-5th Grade Children's Worship; 6th-7th & 8th-9th Grade Classes. 10th-12th Grade Youth Group meets at 10:00am then continues at 11:45am for youth-led worship planning with Tracy & Rev. Kimberley.
COMING SOON
Updated Spring 2020 schedules for classes, youth group and CUUC events!
RE NEWSLETTERS
Ahead of Sundays when classes and youth group meet, each class and group receives their own individualized weekly newsletter. If you would like to receive one or more RE newsletters in your e-mail, sign up here.
We have wonderful programs planned for you. On the way home, we hope you will share about your conversations and activities. Active interest demonstrates support for each others spiritual growth and affirms our shared journey in faith community. I look forward to seeing you!
In the Christian tradition, December 1-24 is the season of Advent – understood as a time for considering the coming – and the second coming – of the Christ; it ends on Christmas Day, with the words from the Book of Revelation, “joy to the world, the Lord is come.”
But in the meantime – the month is filled with waiting: waiting for joy, waiting for hope, waiting for peace, waiting for love, waiting for the child, waiting for grace.
It is in this time of Advent that we take time – and fortunately, we have music libraries filled with holiday songs to make the waiting less difficult (sometimes filling us with nostalgia, sometimes bringing us cheer, and sometimes annoying us – I’m looking at you, “Little Drummer Boy”). Over the next four weeks, I’ll be exploring the themes of Advent through the lens of some of my most beloved and cherished holiday songs.
"Peace Carol"
In 1979, in the midst of the energy crisis, the Iran hostage crisis, and the coldest winter we’d ever seen, a gentle, funny, and perfect little Christmas special showed up on television – John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together.
In this one hour special that later become a beloved Christmas album (and remains my favorite), we were treated to a very funny “Twelve Days of Christmas,” a reggae version of “Christmas Is Coming,” Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem rocking out on “Little Saint Nick,” and a tender duet of Rowlf and John singing last week’s song, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
But the song that stands out for me – and speaks to me of the peace we seek in Advent – is “The Peace Carol,” written by 60s folk musician Bob Beers:
The garment of life, be it tattered and torn
the cloak of the soldier is withered and worn
But what child is this that was poverty-born
The peace of Christmas Day
The branch that bears the bright holly
The dove that rests in yonder tree
The light that shines for all to see
The peace of Christmas Day
The hope that has slumbered for two thousand years
the promise that silenced a thousand fears
A faith that can hobble an ocean of tears
The peace of Christmas Day
The branch that bears the bright holly
The dove that rests in yonder tree
The light that shines for all to see
The peace of Christmas Day
Add all the grief that people may bear
Total the strife, the troubles and care
Put them in columns and leave them right there
The peace of Christmas Day
The branch that bears the bright holly
The dove that rests in yonder tree
The light that shines for all to see
The peace of Christmas Day
This song reminds us that we bear all kinds of pains, sorrows, and troubles – and that this season invites us to make space for beauty, for love, for light, for peace. I imagine that in 1979, with the energy crisis raging on, with the memory of Watergate still lingering, with turmoil in the Middle East resulting in Americans being held hostage in Iran, with inflation rising and an election on the way, this song mattered.
And it still matters. Maybe even more now than ever, as we find ourselves in a time of crisis and unrest. For me, this song reminds me that in the midst of the busy-ness, and in the midst of the anxieties this season can bring, there is peace to be found when take a moment to stop, be still, and give thanks.
Advent points us toward peace – peace of mind, peace of the present moment, peace for our world.
Watch this performance from the original TV special:
Faith Friday,
6:15-8:30pm. Click here for the December packet. RSVP by
Thursday noon via e-mail at CUUCEvents@gmail.com.
Adult Class, Habits of the Heart, led by Rev. Kimberley
Adult Journey Group led by Alex Sehdeva
8th-12th Youth Group led by Cyndi & Daniel Tillman
and Imelda Cruz Avellán
Children's Journey Group led by Tracy Breneman and
Diane Keller
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14th
3:00-5:00pm - Gingerbread House Decorating at the
Rockland UU Congregation in Pomona, NY (click here for the flyer). RSVP by December
11th.
3:00-5:00pm – CUUC is participating in a new Youth
Interfaith and Justice Leadership Lab. South Presbyterian Church invites
6th-12th grade youth to gather and hear from Dale Williams, Executive
Director of Midnight Run, about finding common ground with the
homeless. Youth will then wrap holiday gifts for distribution on the
Christmas Eve Midnight Run. Meet in the Fellowship Hall of the Church, 343
Broadway, Dobbs Ferry. Parking on the street or off Washington behind the
Church. All are welcome. Snacks will be served. RSVP to learninglab@southpres.org or
call Marie-Louise, Interim Director, 917-647-7881.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER
15th
Childcare is available
at 9:30am. We begin every Sunday in the sanctuary at 10:00am. Music Director
Adam Kent invites children and youth to find a nook under the piano where they
can enjoy the centering music he plays before worship, 10:00-10:10am. Following
the Time for All Ages, children leave for RE classes, which meet
until 11:30am. Children 3rd grade and younger must be picked up in their
classroom at 11:30am; children 4th grade and older will be allowed to leave for
coffee hour. Youth Group is attending worship. Community meal and winter
concert following worship.
RE NEWSLETTERS
On Sundays when classes
meet, each class receives their own weekly newsletter. Click on the class below
to read this week's newsletter. If you would like to receive one or more RE
newsletters in your e-mail, sign up here.
Sun Dec 22 – Whole Congregation Worship Sunday: Holiday
Pageant. There are roles for everyone! Or come dressed in Star Wars costumes,
continuing the tradition. And there will be a special surprise, not to be
missed! No RE classes or Youth Group.
Tues Dec 24, 5:30pm – Christmas Eve worship service.
Rev. Kimberley is planning a beautiful Christmas Eve service that will
include many voices. We invite children, youth, young adults, adults and
families to participate by reading short passages during the
service. Contact Tracy to volunteer.
Sun Dec 29 – Lyra Harada is leading a multiage
activity, introducing musical instruments for fun and spiritual
expression. Laura Goodspeed and Laura Sehdeva are assisting.
LGBTPQIA+ SUPPORT DURING
THE HOLIDAYS
While many are
celebrating the holidays, many are also struggling with families who make it
difficult to share their full selves or celebrate their loves, or families who
have rejected them for doing so. To our LGBTPQIA+ family of all ages and stages:
You are whole and holy, and you are loved. PFLAG offers these
suggestions for taking care of yourself and navigating
gatherings. Know you are not alone. Click here for links to hotlines and other
support. If you need a message of unconditional love and affirmation, read
this fierce message of support from S. Bear Bergman and
know you can call or text Rev. Kimberley (518-423-1964) and Tracy
(914-434-7539). Allies and Upstanders, your support is needed! PFLAG offers
suggestions for friends and family. The Ossining LGBTQ Alliance
shares this guide for being a LGBTQ Ally during the
holiday season.
Arrangements of popular Christmas tunes from around the world are included in this morning’s musical selections. Tchaikovsky’s evocation of the holiday is the last in his set of pieces for each month, written for a Russian musical journal. Liszt’s The Christmas Tree is dedicated to his granddaughter Daniela von Bülow, and reflects the composer’s growing religiosity in his late years as well as a decidedly sentimental streak. Donald Waxman was a twentieth-century composer of pedagogical materials for piano students. His collection A Christmas Pageant presents many well-known carols from diverse cultures in modernist harmonic garb. Our own Rev. Kimberley and Kim and Christian Force form an inspired vocal trio for Stephen Schwartz’s “We Are Lights,” his special Chanukah song. Read on for programming details.
Centering Music: Adam Kent, piano
Christmas, Op. 37, No. 12
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
From A Christmas Pageant
“Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabelle,” “Good King Wenceslas,” “We Three Kings,” “Deck the Halls,” “O Let Us Sing,” and “Yule’s Come and Yule’s Gane”
Donald Waxman
Opening Music
From The Christmas Tree
“Psallite”
Franz Liszt
Offering and Offertory
From The Christmas Tree
“Adeste fideles”
Liszt
Musical Interlude
From The Christmas Tree
“Old Provençal Christmas Song”
Liszt
Song: Rev. Kimberley Debus, Kim and Christian Force, vocals
“The Chanukah Song” (We Are Lights)
Stephen Schwartz
