December, 2009

December 2009 - Holiday Cheer!

During this time of year (whether we celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or all of the above), we are supposed to rejoice and celebrate -- in fact, we are supposed to be of good cheer, aren’t we? Sometimes, however, we feel we have too many things to do and too little time, winding up harried and hurried. Or, for some, this time of year brings up past hurts and sorrows, and we spend the month in sadness. At CLF, we will come together each week in December to take a deeper look at what there is to cheer about as we reflect on the spiritual dimensions of the Holiday Season.

Talk 1 - Three Cheers for the Holidays!
In Religious Science, we teach God’s three modes of Being (Spirit, Soul and Body), which inseparably and interdependently form the whole. The same is true of the Holiday Season, which starts with Thanksgiving, embodies Christmas, and ends with New Year’s Day. Each is an inseparable part of what we call the Holidays and today we will find the Holiday cheer in each one.

Talk 2 - Your Christmas Carol
In the context of Charles Dickens’ classic tale, A Christmas Carol, today we see how our ghosts of the past and the future affect our present. When we let the past remain past and allow the future come to us as it will, we certainly have something to cheer about!

Talk 3 - The Rebirth of the Light
As we come together on Christmas Eve morning, we will be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. As Religious Scientists, the birth it celebrates is not the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem, but the rebirth of the Christ Light in each one of us. As Hanukkah also represents the power of the Light, today we will illuminate our lives from these two faith traditions.

Talk 4 - Pausing Into the Present
On this, the last Sunday of 2009, we will take time to pause into the present and receive the gifts of clarity, focus and intention to set the tone for 2010. Today, we will gather and be of good cheer.