Christmas Message from Ron

[RevRonRobinson at aol.com]

Greetings to all on the eve of Christmas.
Thank you for participating in the Great Conversation we engage in through 
our very presence as the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship, and 
particularly for the form that conversation takes in our online forums. 
Thank you on behalf of the Board of Directors of the UUCF. And, from the 
membership of the UUCF and our friends, thank you to those serving as Directors, 
and those who have served in our leadership in the past. Personal blessings and 
thanks also to our UUCF administrator, Ms. Kris Cummings.  

I pray that all have been touched in the depths of your lives and your souls 
enriched by being a part of the mission of the UUCF. Ours is but one stream in 
the River of God's Spirit moving through time and our world, but it is an 
important one. Please remember the UUCF in your prayers, your end-of-year giving, 
and commend us to others who want to learn more and experience more about 
being a part of the free, inclusive, progressive, and vibrant good news of our 
faith.  

For you today, A Christmas Prayer by Vivian Pomeroy (1883-1961) published in 
his New Prayers in Old Places, republished in the UUCF UU Christian special 
issue, vol. 44, no. 2, 1989, Unitarian Prayers.

"God of all the Ages and of the Dayspring within these hearts of ours, we 
bless your name for the story of long ago which becomes our story, too, and shall 
touch with its glory the souls of men and women forever. We praise you for 
the good tidings of great joy through thy wondrous Child.

We think of the babe, so small and tender, lying in the straw of the manger 
among the patient beasts...and we pray that we may so reverence the life within 
ourselves that we may not injure bird or beast in malice or carelessness, or 
for the sake of vanity; but having tenderness for all innocent things may we 
rejoice in the friendship of faithful creatures.

We think of that night of waiting, amid the haste and noise ofthe time, when 
Mary Mother lay listening to the hurried footsteps of travelers and all the 
rough sounds of the inn. And we pray for all the mothers of babes soon to be 
born; and pray that compassion may be upon all young children, for fear that in 
our greedy tumult and blind speed we bring upon ourselves the condemnation of 
those who cause little ones to perish.

We think of the Wise Men, who came with their gifts, following the star. And 
we pray that today the knowledge and power which we have gained by discovering 
the secrets of earth and sky may be devoted to the good of the world and not 
its evil, and may be used to save life and not to destroy it. We pray that the 
children of the future may escape the doom of war, and that all people may 
come togetheer within the City of the Light.

We think of the shepherds, who heard the glad tidings while doing their daily 
work, abiding in the field, and we pray for all toilers to whom this happy 
season means weary hands and feeet and long hours of labor. May they be visited 
by the strong comfort which has its abiding place in common things! And we 
pray for those in distress because no one has hired them. May they find refuge in 
the help of others; and may all the world have new hope!

We think of all who heard the song in the night, sounding faint and far away. 
And we pray for those who will keep their Christmas in strange places and 
away from their dear homes. We pray for those upon whom the enchanted season 
throws a shadow of happy years gone by. May they light candles of patience, 
kindness and grateful memory, even when there are dark corners in their hearts. So 
may all our separations show us how far love can reach, and our broken circles 
teach us how closely love can bind.

God of all the Ages and of the Light that lights every one, we bless your 
holy name; and, with the multitude of the heavenly host and with the magnitude of 
the lowly ones of earth, we praise you, saying: Glory to God in the highest, 
and on earth peace, good will toward all."

Blessings to all. May the celebration of the birth of Jesus bring you peace 
and healing, and may it lead to a birth of new hope in your life and in your 
community. And through you may the Light of Christ's Spirit of joy and love and 
freedom for all shine like the brightest star in the heavens. 

Ron Robinson
Executive Director, UUCF
founded in 1945
an independent affiliate of the UUA, witnessing to the story and liberating 
power of Christianity within free religion, and to the story and liberating 
power of free religion within Christianity
"Sir, We Wish To See Jesus" (John 12:21)
www.uua.org/uucf
UUCF
P.O. Box 629
Lancaster, MA  01523

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interested in the UUCF.