December 27, 2015 at 10:30 A.M.

 

“Commune”

Rev. Royal Carleton 

 

The service will be as we shared last year, a focus about feeding one another what we are hungry for, and helping provide  what we are thirsty for. As soon as you have “eaten” (choose from traditional wafers, carrots, almonds, goldfish crackers, Worthers, or a flower) and enjoyed a “drink” (water, cran-apple juice, or wine), you will serve the next person in line, so they can be fed as well. 

“Commune: to communicate to someone or something in a very personal or spiritual way, an act or instance of sharing, fellowship or rapport.” Last December Shawna Foster and I shared a form of communicating with a service entitled Eucharist. Before that service was created, I reached out to many members of our congregation to better understand, and better equip myself with words, visions, and understandings of what could fit well. I think it can be said that it was received well by those who attended and participated. I am mindful of some feedback—Some didn’t attend because the service information was not framed in a way that was inviting to them, some wouldn’t attend because the word, the image, and the service stirred thoughts and feelings of past experiences. Unitarians have celebrated communion for many years. The Flower communion service was created by Norbert Capek, who founded the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia in 1923. He wanted to share ritual that would bind people more closely together. The format had to be one that would not alienate any who had forsaken other religious traditions. The service will be as we shared last year, a focus about feeding one another what we are hungry for and helping provide for what we are thirsty. Music:  The Early Morning Risers with Stan Harper