News: December 27, 2024
Dear First UU Houston Community,
As a child, I always looked forward to Christmas and the new books it would bring. An un-athletic, bookish kid in the pre-Barnes & Noble era, (not to mention the pre e-book era!), I relied on the school library, periodic trips to the public library, and my Christmas morning haul to keep me in quality reads. My family still knows to put some hard copy books under the tree, and to expect to lose me for a few hours on Christmas afternoon to a book and a box of Cheez-Its. (They also know to gift me Cheez-Its.)
This holiday season, I hope that we’ve all reclaimed some of those simple but profound joys that might have seemed elusive this year. The sight of our neighbor’s Christmas lights, over-the-top but still magnificent. Our favorite dessert cooked just right. A card from an old friend. Holiday music we’ve loved since childhood. I’ve enjoyed many of these this month, and I hope that these and other simple pleasures have also helped to restore and sustain you for the coming year.
As we move into 2025, uncertain quite what it will bring, I also wish that we may each find deep and sustaining joy within the bonds of our First Church community. May we be the love, the light, and the strength that each of us need in uncertain times. May we also commit to literally widening love’s circle- to bringing that joy and that connection to more people. People who’ve come to us (virtually or in-person) specifically in hopes of finding connection and a community that shares their values. Whatever our personal contact with the congregation looks like in the coming year, let’s each of us think on how we can better connect with one another, heartily welcome newcomers, grow our personal spirituality, and deepen our sense of community. As the beloved RE song* goes- “Love, is something if you give it away, you end up having more.”
I look forward to widening love’s circle together in 2025.
With love,
Sheryl
Sheryl Abrahams, Board President
* ”Magic Penny” by Malvina Reynolds
As a child, I always looked forward to Christmas and the new books it would bring. An un-athletic, bookish kid in the pre-Barnes & Noble era, (not to mention the pre e-book era!), I relied on the school library, periodic trips to the public library, and my Christmas morning haul to keep me in quality reads. My family still knows to put some hard copy books under the tree, and to expect to lose me for a few hours on Christmas afternoon to a book and a box of Cheez-Its. (They also know to gift me Cheez-Its.)
This holiday season, I hope that we’ve all reclaimed some of those simple but profound joys that might have seemed elusive this year. The sight of our neighbor’s Christmas lights, over-the-top but still magnificent. Our favorite dessert cooked just right. A card from an old friend. Holiday music we’ve loved since childhood. I’ve enjoyed many of these this month, and I hope that these and other simple pleasures have also helped to restore and sustain you for the coming year.
As we move into 2025, uncertain quite what it will bring, I also wish that we may each find deep and sustaining joy within the bonds of our First Church community. May we be the love, the light, and the strength that each of us need in uncertain times. May we also commit to literally widening love’s circle- to bringing that joy and that connection to more people. People who’ve come to us (virtually or in-person) specifically in hopes of finding connection and a community that shares their values. Whatever our personal contact with the congregation looks like in the coming year, let’s each of us think on how we can better connect with one another, heartily welcome newcomers, grow our personal spirituality, and deepen our sense of community. As the beloved RE song* goes- “Love, is something if you give it away, you end up having more.”
I look forward to widening love’s circle together in 2025.
With love,
Sheryl
Sheryl Abrahams, Board President
* ”Magic Penny” by Malvina Reynolds
