“Margaret, are you grieving/ over Goldengrove unleaving?”
Gerald Manley Hopkins
In the midst of the beauty of autumn, the falling leaves bring to mind thoughts of loss and endings. We turn again to our annual all ages Ritual of Mourning this Sunday at 10:30am as we sit with grief and remember our beloved dead with light and song. Like so many cultures and religions at this time of year, people of the chalice gather to share our sorrow. We sit in shadow, with our backs to the windows, and light candles for the dead, speaking their names into the circle. We honour our UU ancestors, beloved members, and those who have died by violence and war. This shared space is also a time to honour the other losses in our life – of relationships, careers, health. You are invited to wear brown, black, or the traditional colour of mourning in your culture.
As usual the service will end with a ritual of hope to bring us back into appreciation for all the good that exists alongside the sorrow.
It can be a challenge to sit in shared sorrow and it will be an especial challenge this Sunday with the Hurontario and QEW road closures occuring this weekend. Please see this map for details. Plan extra time to get to and from UCM. The Zoom Room will be open as an alternative. Those who make the trip in person will be rewarded with breakfast treats!
Blessings, Fiona
The YouTube livestream of the Service will be available to subscibers to the UCM channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD8jh9eDfIPsl51oMKSpqPw?view_as=subscriber
To subscribe, find the Unitarian Congregation in Mississauga on YouTube, and hit the subscribe button. The livestream will appear on the main page when it begins. Live Streaming without a Zoom gathering is an experiment so please let us know what you think at admin@uucm.ca.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88155648070
Meeting ID: 881 5564 8070
One tap mobile: +12042727920,,88155648070# Canada
Remembering Carole Berry
There will a collection of Carole’s scarves on a table at the back of the Great Hall at this week’s Sunday Service. You are invited to add some pizzaz to your wardrobe with one of Carole’s scarves. Thank-you to her daughter Susan for sharing these with us so we can remember the colour and style of a long time friend and member of our congregation. Sheila Bjarnason, Chair, The Caring Circle.