December can be a busy month for ministers. Not only do we have additional services like Christmas Eve and the Winter Solstice Singing Ritual, but there is all the normal planning around Christmas that goes on. I admit, I tend to get a little humbug and hunker down, resenting the need to shop, to hit the malls and post office. Until two years ago.
Before the pandemic hit, Rev. Judy, when she was our Director of Religious Education, asked me “so are we having a Christmas party for the staff?” My first thought was “bah humbug!” But she seemed so disappointed at my resistance, that I organized a luncheon for us all to get together and have a Christmas gathering. And you know what? It made me feel better! I felt the joy of it – laughing and joking with my wonderful staff, thanking them for all the hard work they had one the previous year. Christmas didn’t feel like then something I had to get through, but something I could embrace.
I remember that now and look forward to it. Sometimes letting go and embracing the craziness is all that is needed to find the joy.
Wishing you love and joy this holiday season,
Rev. Sian
Rev. Sian Wiltshire is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's minister. Please feel free to reach out and say hello! She can be reached by email, revsian@ocuuc.org, or by church phone at (714) 556-2882 (x302).