Christmas is the time of giving, of generosity and welcome. And Santa Claus embodies all of our hopes and expectations around receiving and abundance. Or does he?

That the CLF’s Worthy Now website offers education and opportunities for those involved in prison ministry?

In midwinter

the world comes indoors

and is our guest of honor.

I love my job. I love driving to the hospital each morning, having no idea of what will happen that day—who I’ll meet, what I’ll do, whether there will be triumphs or tragedies, joy or heartbreak, setbacks, small signs of progress or holding patterns.

What does it mean to bless one another? Is it an invitation to the divine? Is it an expression of good wishes?

I have not forgotten—nor will I forget until all memory fades—the day, the moment, in which my father and I parted.

I decided early on in my work as a minister that if someone asked me to bless something, I would say yes whenever humanly possible.

Blessings exist independently of time, in the land of the eternal. I know this most concretely in my garden.

The CLF’s Nominating Committee seeks members to run for positions beginning June 2018.

Lots of people, UU and otherwise, say a blessing before eating together. And for Thanksgiving it’s even more common.