Stillness by UU Canton Faith Engagement Ministry https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness This month we’re exploring the many ways our UU faith invites us to become “A People of Stillness.” Learn ways to step away from the busyness, listen for the voices of angels, rekindle hope by watching for the light and wait for freedom. en-us 2020-11-18 15:44:35 UTC 2020-12-02 19:51:29 UTC hello@padlet.com Step Away from Busyness dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/937699396 Our faith reminds us that the winter holidays are a time for beauty, peace and stillness. Our culture has turned it into a time of commercialism, debt, and stress. It takes an effort to step away from the media messages that buying things and busily planning events will make us happy. So what’s one of the ways our faith guides us into becoming a people of stillness? It tells us, “Step away from the busyness!”

]]> 2020-11-18 17:00:33 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/937699396 Snowflake Bentley dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/978053393 Observing snow is one lens for stepping away from busyness to experience stillness. Do you have a snowflake/snowstorm story to share?]]> 2020-12-01 23:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/978053393 Make a Chalice Snowflake dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/978065200 A scissors craft that can create a meditative time. Take a picture of your snowflakes and share them here.]]> 2020-12-02 00:02:21 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/978065200 Listen for the Voices of Angels dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/978070677 When we are still, all kinds of ideas, inner voices, and insights come to us. One way to think of it during this winter holiday season is to imagine these voices that arise out of the silence to be “angels speaking.”  If we look for insights in the traditional Christmas birth legend of Jesus, we might even imagine ourselves as the shepherds in the still of the night, tending our flocks. When above us, we notice an angel calling us to make an important journey, a change in our lives, a new way of being in the world. So what’s one of the ways our faith guides us into becoming a people of stillness? It tells us, “Listen for the voices of angels!”

]]> 2020-12-02 00:05:10 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/978070677 The Story of the Shepherds and the Angels dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981280006 What do you think "listening to the angels" means? Share your thoughts in the comments. ]]> 2020-12-02 19:02:35 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981280006 Find the Angels dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981306002 Sometimes we need help noticing angels. It takes focus and stillness to find them! Was it easy to find the angels or did you find yourself getting distracted?]]> 2020-12-02 19:08:12 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981306002 Rekindle Hope by Watching for the Light dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981320974 We pay attention to nature and the sacred circle of life. Winter Solstice is a special day and night when the night is the longest night of the year. It marks the start of the returning of lighter days. We feel hope for the returning of the light. So what does our faith tell us?  It tells us, “to rekindle hope by being still and keeping watch for the light!”]]> 2020-12-02 19:11:27 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981320974 The Rebirth of the Sun dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981345743 Read the story and share your thoughts on the following questions in the comments below.  
Does even the sun need a time of stillness?
Do you suppose the sun really gets tired?
What do you suppose would happen if it was always dark without sun? Or always sunny, without darkness?
Where do you find rest and peace?
]]> 2020-12-02 19:16:49 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981345743 All Will Be Well Meditation dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981386059 Julian of Norwich was an “anchoress,” a nun in Medieval times who lived in a little room off of a church for 60 years. She spent her days in stillness, reading and writing by candlelight. All Will Be Well is from one of her writings. After listening to the song,  spend a few moments of silence and stillness steeped in “All will be well.”

Share your thoughts on these questions: 
How does the phrase “All will be well” feel to you?
How would you use it?
How did Julian rekindle hope in the song?
]]> 2020-12-02 19:26:06 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981386059 Wait for Freedom dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981423054 When it comes to stillness, we look to our siblings in the AME denomination who, among others, celebrate Watch Night/Freedom’s Eve. On Dec. 31, 1862, “Black slaves and free Blacks came together in churches and private homes all across the nation awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation actually had become law.  Lincoln had used the occasion of the Union victory at Antietam to issue a preliminary proclamation, which freed all slaves in the rebellious states after January 1, 1863.” Learning about the tradition of Watch Night/Freedom’s Eve as a “wait for freedom” lens for stillness helps support our Eighth Principle: “journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” Our faith has taken up this work and called on UU’s to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community. So what’s one of the ways our faith guides us into becoming a people of stillness? It says, “Learn about what it means to wait in the stillness for freedom to come.”]]> 2020-12-02 19:34:46 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981423054 JOURNEY PROUD: Freedom's Eve dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981460287 What did you learn?]]> 2020-12-02 19:43:35 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981460287 Watch Night Poem dre32 https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981478134 Cheryn D. Sutton of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania wrote a poem which highlights the African American history of Watch Night. What image do you remember the best? ]]> 2020-12-02 19:48:03 UTC https://padlet.com/dre32/Stillness/wish/981478134