UU Church of Greeley Day of the Dead Multi­generational Service November 2, 2014 Minister: Kelly Dignan Worship Associate: Tabitha Covey Religious Educator: Tabitha Covey Child participants Dain ­ light chalice (no reading) Leila ­ read the offering Caidyn ­ read chalice extinguishing Maggie ­ put out the chalice Prelude Welcome and Announcements ­ Kelly Hello and welcome to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greeley. As we gather together each week we take a few moments to highlight information for guests and members. If you are a guest here today, welcome! If you’d like to find out more about this congregation, there are cards in the boxes of the pews. Please fill out a card and indicate what kind of information you’d like to receive from us. Drop it in the offering plate later in the service, and we will follow up. You can always chat with one of our greeters or me after the service. We even have a Newcomers Cafe table where we can gather, drink coffee and get to know each other. We hope your time here this morning is fulfilling and that you’ll come back again and again. I invite everyone to take a look at the back of your order of service. You’ll see a couple of announcements about upcoming events there. Today we celebrate those of you have birthdays during the month of November, so join us for cake. If we didn’t list your name and birthday in our newsletter, the Unifax, contact our Office Manager Erika so we don’t miss you next year! Now if you will please make sure your cell phones and other devices are silenced, we will begin the service. Musical Interlude ­ “The Circle of Life” ­ video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zLx_JtcQVI ­ Chalice Lighting ­ Tabitha Today we are celebrating The Day of The Dead, which is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and, more and more, in the United States as well. There are three other fall holidays, Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day, which also are, in some ways. about death. As long as humans have existed, we have wondered about death and tried to understand it. People in different parts of the world, at different times in history, have created special ceremonies about death. In the fall, the ancient Celts of Britain celebrated the harvest and the beginning of a new year. The Celtic dead were believed to have access to earth on Samhain (say: SOW in, with sow like cow), October 31st, when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead relaxed. The Celts danced around huge bonfires, wearing animal heads and hides to confuse the spirits, and burned crops as offerings to the returning dead. In Europe in the eighth century, the Catholic Church decreed November 1 as All Saints Day. Setting aside the day to honor the martyrs and saints was an attempt to replace the 2000­year tradition of the Celts and their Druid priests. Around the end of the first millennium, the church reinforced its attempt to cover the Celtic celebration by designating November 2 as All Souls' Day to honor the dead. All Souls' Day was celebrated with parades, big bonfires and the people dressed as saints, angels and devils. In the language of the day, All Saints Day and All Souls' Day were known as All­hallowsmas, and October 31 was "All Hallowed's Eve" or Hallow'e'en. The origins of the Days of the Dead reach into the ancient history of both Europe and Mexico. The beliefs around the Day of the Dead are based on the complicated blended cultures of the Aztec, the Maya, and the Spanish invaders, layered with Catholicism. More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death. It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years. A ritual the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate. The church attempted to transform the joyous celebration to a suitably tragic image of death and a serious day of prayer focusing attention and reflection on the saints and martyrs. The people of Mexico did not fully adopt the early priests' ideas, and by keeping their familiar ceremonies, All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day evolved into the celebrations that today honor the dead with color, candles, joy, a ritual known as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Today, we light our chalice in joyful celebration of those who have died. We rejoice in the gifts they gave us and the ways in which they shaped us. ( Dain light chalice) Please stand as you are able for the Call to Worship and Covenant Call to Worship ­ read in unison or sing if accompanist is there From all that dwell below the sky Let faith and hope with love arise Let beauty truth and good be sung Through every land by every tongue Covenant Love is the spirit of this church And service its law This is our great covenant To dwell together in peace To seek the truth in love And to help one another. Hymn #Hymn No. 108 “My Life Flows on in Endless Song” Story for all Ages “The Spirit of Tio Fernando” by Janice Levy Pictures displayed on screen Spirit Candle ­ Kelly Today, we welcome Bill Gotchey, Shauna Yanke and John Clark back to church after their surgeries and accidents. We have been with you in spirit, and we are so glad you’re back. In every week there are joys and sorrows that rest on our heart. I invite you to take a few moments to bring to mind any suffering you or others may be suffering. Unitarian Universalist James Luther Adams suggests we always remember the divine or human love that will not let us go. May be you feel held by this love. I invite you to take a few moments to offer gratitude for the joys in your life. In honor of the joys and sorrows here today, I light this candle. May we hold each other in our hearts as we move into the week. Music and Meditation ­ Tabitha Recorded music: “Angel Eyes” by Jim Brickman Death is a mystery and puzzle. Nobody knows for sure what happens after death, but we understand that death is a necessary part of life, as natural as the leaves falling off the trees. In our Unitarian Universalist faith we can believe that death is never the end of the story. By studying the world of nature, we know that spring always comes after Winter, and the trees grow new leaves. This is possible for the heart and spirit, too. We celebrate and honor the loved ones who have gone on before us to the mystery of death; we can celebrate the gifts and lessons their lives were to us, keep their love with us and continue on our life journey. Join me in meditating with the music. Homily ­ Kelly Last Saturday, we hosted a Day of the Dead open house for the Greeley community. We partnered with Create Meaning which, if you were here last week, you heard about then. It is an Unitarian Universalist organization that helps us spread the good news of our values beyond the walls of our congregation. The event was promoted at coffee shops, recreation centers, schools, the Children’s Garden, after school programs, and in the newspaper. Some of our church members planned fun activities for people to do including decorating sugar skulls, making box altars, and paper cutting ­ also called papel picado ­ like you see hanging in the back of the sanctuary. More than 60 people from the Greeley community came ­ here to our church. As I sat at the various tables with folks as they did their crafts, I asked them to tell me the story of what they were making. I heard about grandmothers ­ she loved these colors. These pearls I’m adding to my sugar skull are exactly what grandma would wear. I heard about grandfathers. My grandpa, he loved to fish. I heard about husbands. He watched those Broncos like it was his religion. And wives ­ She did a crossword puzzle every day. Sometimes words alone are hard to find when we’re talking about our losses. But when we do art or hold rituals or have parties, we are better able to honor, grieve and celebrate those who have died. In our story, Nando did just that. At the market, he found things that reminded him of his Tio Fernando. He and his mother decorated Uncle Fernando’s grave and went to the cemetery for a party. They celebrated the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead was the subject of a UU World magazine article several years back by our Unitarian Universalist Association President, Peter Morales. He tells us that the idea is not to mimic or misappropriate the Mexican tradition, but to draw from its wisdom. Traditional cultures, with their mediums and ghosts and reincarnations, have understood intuitively something we've repressed: the dead don't die; they live on. There is a Circle of Life. This is not just a metaphysical or theological claim. It’s the very real stuff of memory, history,and molecular biology. Look in the mirror. The DNA of your ancestors is alive in you. I look at my hands and all their sweet wrinkles, and I see my grandmother, Ninie. Look at your children and grandchildren and see yourself and your ancestors. I look at my kids ­ their teeth and eyes ­ and there I am. Think of the decisions made by your parents and grandparents. Their choices shaped your life. And the choices we make every day shape the lives of those to come. The interconnections stretch across time. There is a unity that makes us one. Peter Morales tells the story of a woman who was serving as the president of the board at Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden when he held the first Day of the Dead service there. That woman arrives at the church that morning with deep misgivings. Not sure of what will happen. But, she’s the president of the board and expected to attend as many church functions as possible. She walks uneasily into the sanctuary, clutching the photo of her 11­year­old daughter, unsure whether she wants to revisit the pain that has gradually diminished since her girl died 15 years ago. Why open up old wounds? She plunks down next to a fellow board member. They nod cordially and retreat into their own thoughts. The service begins. The music and poetry are moving. The time comes to silently place on the altar ­ photos or mementos of those they have lost. As everyone goes up to the altar, she feels a sense of community that helps relieve some of the pain she’s been feeling for years. When she returns to her seat, she leans over and quietly asks her fellow board member: Whose photo did you place on the altar?” ‘My son,' the woman whispers. All of a sudden these women sitting next to each other are more than fellow board members and social justice activists. They are grieving mothers­­ just like each other. They are connected in an interdependent web of life. When we do art, collect items, tell stories and hold rituals, we connect to those who have gone before us. We feel their spirit. We know they live on. We connect to each other. We feel good inside. And we reinvest in the hope and goodness of life. May that be true for us here today. Reading: The Day of the Dead: Tabitha In celebrating the Day of the Dead, the act of preparing an altar by placing photographs, flowers, candles, sugar skulls, favorite foods and drink of the loved one provides a special time to remember, and to transform grief into acceptance. The living invite the spirits of the family to return home for a few hours of laughter, tears and memories. Flowers, symbolizing the brevity of life, decorate the altar and the grave. The marigold is the most traditional flower of the season. In Aztec times it was called the cempasúchil (say: sem pah SUE cheel), the flower of 400 lives. In some communities, paths from the street to the altar inside the home are marked with marigold petals so that the souls can find their way home. The fragrance of the cempasuchil leads the spirits home. At this time, please form two lines on either side of our altar, bring your pictures, momentos, flowers, or whatever else you have to honor your loved ones. If you did not bring a token, take a flower from the bowl and place it on the altar. You may also light a candle. Ritual Room dedication ­ Kelly Barbara and Frank Bowles were founding members of our church. Today we honor them, and I I invite Hollis Berendt to come forward to place a picture of Frank and Barbara on the altar. Barbara was dedicated to our children and helping them develop a Unitarian Universalist identity. She worked tirelessly to form the religious education program here, so in honor of her commitment, we dedicate the Religious Education Room on the east side of our building to her and name it the Barbara Bowles room. May the room be a sacred dwelling for our children, and may anyone who visits it feel peace and love. At the end of the service, we will all process out during the postlude and travel together to the Religious Education room to place plaque on the wall. Then we will celebrate with ice cream, birthday cake and coffee. Teacher dedication. Kelly: On this day, we also honor and celebrate those who continue shape us. Children, will you join me here on the chancel? We dedicate our Religious Education teachers who have been called to minister to our children, to our future. Without them to teach, nurture, challenge, mentor, our religious movement would be greatly diminished; indeed, it would die. Religious education is a life­long process which integrates the wisdom of the world's religions and philosophies with our present experience of reality and hope for the future. Minister: I invite forward: Josette Schaffer Shelley Gotchey Michelle Noftsker Marcia Free Children hand flowers to teachers. Have teachers remain standing Director of Religious Education (DRE): Many people who discover our religious movement say they first came so that their children could have a religious, but not an indoctrinated, education. As children grow and discover our religious roots—you too will be on a journey, for some of you this is a new adventure, for others, a continuing experience. We are entrusting our future and faith into your hands. There are no words to express our appreciation for the work that you do with our beloved children. We appreciate the time, gifts, and diversity that you are bringing to our Religious Education program. We want you to bring both your heart and your mind, your love and reason. And we know that you are fully capable and that you will bring your authentic self in all you do. Minister and DRE: We dedicate these teachers to be a crucial part of the nourishment of our children's spiritual growth. You who have chosen to teach our children will have the special blessing of being not only part of their religious development, but a loving part of our children's memories. Teachers: We recognize the trust you are placing in us. We covenant to respect our children as the individuals they are, encourage exploration and growth, and keep them safe. Children: We appreciate the time, energy, and love that you will be sharing with us this year. Minister: Will the congregation please rise. DRE: Do we, as the congregants of this liberal religious congregation, covenant to nurture and support these teachers called to minister to our children, as well as acknowledging the great importance of Religious Education for all ages. Please respond with the words in your Order of Service All: We covenant with the teachers, the children and the Religious Education Coordinator (and the Religious Education Ministry Group) to acknowledge and value the ministry of religious education. To support you to the best of our abilities, and to realize that we are partners in the growth of all members of this congregation. Offering: Leila Today we lift up the spiritual value of generosity by taking an offering for the ministries of this church. Our plate, then, as it is passed among us, becomes filled with the evidence of that generosity. It is our harvest, gathered in every week for what most nourishes us. The ushers will now come among you to receive the gifts of the congregation. For those of you who are visiting this morning, please let the basket pass you by, for you are our guests. The offering will be most gratefully received. Offering/Music ­ Circle of Life rendition Receive the offering ­ Kelly We give thanks for these good gifts, given in trust and received in faith. The will be used wisely to support this community and to do our work in the world. May it be so. (M.P. Corrigan) Please rise in body or spirit for our closing hymn Closing Hymn #Hymn No. 311 “Let It Be a Dance” Extinguish the Chalice ­ Caidyn read; Maggie extinguish Our community light is extinguished but lives on in our individual hearts and minds. Go out of this place today with the knowledge that our combined light can never be put out as long as we remember our call to be in and of the world and to do all we can to make it a safer and better place for all. Benediction ­ Kelly and Tabitha together Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep Tabitha: Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am in a thousand winds that blow, I am the softly falling snow. I am the gentle showers of rain, Kelly: I am the fields of ripening grain. I am in the morning hush, I am in the graceful rush Of beautiful birds in circling flight, Tabitha: I am the starshine of the night. I am in the flowers that bloom, I am in a quiet room. I am in the birds that sing, I am in each lovely thing. Kelly: Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there. I do not die. ­Mary Frye Postlude ­ Jonathan Words in OOS for Circle of Life. Nants ingonyama bagithi baba [There comes a lion] Sithi uhhmm ingonyama [Oh yes, it's a lion] Nants ingonyama bagithi baba [There comes a lion] Sithi uhhmm ingonyama [Oh yes, it's a lion] Ingonyama Siyo Nqoba [We're going to conquer] Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw' enamabaal [It's a lion and a tiger] [repeats 5] Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Se­to­kwa!) Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Asana) [repeats 1] From the day we arrive on the planet And, blinking, step into the sun There's more to see than can ever be seen More to do than can ever be done There's far too much to take in here More to find than can ever be found But the sun rolling high Through the sapphire sky Keeps great and small on the endless round It's the Circle of Life And it moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love Till we find our place On the path unwinding In the Circle The Circle of Life It's The Circle of Life And it moves us all Through despair and hope Through faith and love Till we find our place On the path unwinding In the Circle The Circle of Life