The winter holidays beckon the extremities on the generosity spectrum.

On the one hand, there are those who cannot give enough -- food, gifts, money, themselves -- and measure the "success" of their Christmas by their degree of exhaustion.

Then there are those who revel in the accumulation of holiday bounty but who refuse to reciprocate because they themselves are too busy, too important.

Both selflessness and selfishness are unhealthy and unholy. But, as the sermon title suggests, there may be a third way to set personal boundaries that result in a balanced approach to the constant calling of both soup kitchens and the Sunset Strip.

Following the service and coffee hour, the Congregation is invited to enjoy a Hospitality Lunch catered by the Society's young adults. Stay for friendship (priceless), conversation (priceless), and food ($5).

While building our justice community and meeting demands of family, friends, and personal expectations can be challenging during the Holiday Season, the Forum will take a break from the holiday frenzy with guest singers and musicians and poets.

Join our Solstice and Holiday Celebration and help Unitarian Universalists beat the holiday blues. The program will be facilitated by Anna Sylvester, Henry Kroll, and friends.

The program will start at 9:45 in the Martin Luther King Room. Come at 9:30 for conversation, coffee, and (for a slight charge) a light breakfast.

from Natalie Freeburg
Acting Director
of Religious Education

All ages of Children's Religious Education learners will start their exploration of this week's theme of "Music" by joining the Forum at 9:45 to sing Christmas songs.

After the children attend the 11 am service and return to the Chapel, the one-room class will learn songs for Kwanzaa, Unitarian Universalism, Hanukkah, and earth-centered faiths. The participants will also be making several musical instruments.

The pictures in this article were taken last Sunday when the children explored Nature and how various religions and cultures use it in their winter celebrations. Children and youth created orange and clove pomander balls, boughs of holly and evergreen, akuaba dolls (used as gifts for Kwanzaa), paper snowflakes, and clay dreidels.

The Christmas Eve pageant is under way! Religious Education classes have an eager cast of preschoolers through 6th graders and invite others in that age range to join as cast members for our second-to-last rehearsal this Sunday from 12:15 to 1:00 pm. Please contact Natalie at 776-4580 for more information.

Our community sends love, prayers, and healing thoughts to our friends who are recovering from serious injuries and illnesses.

Our sympathy to Sr. Carmen Barsody on the death of her father, Joe. Carmen is with her family in Minnesota.

Everyone in the Unitarian Universalist community is invited to join the Society for Community Work (SCW) for their holiday party Tuesday starting at 11:15. Lunch is served at noon, and Rev. Gregory Stewart will read a San Francisco Christmas story beginning at 1. The program will also include instrumental music arranged by violinist Kathy Marshall.

Reservations for the luncheon are needed. Sign up in the gallery after the Sunday service or call Barbara Bourns at 431-6054 by 7 pm on Sunday night.

The SCW will continue its tradition of collecting of unwrapped gifts for the women at the Marian Residence. A list of suggested gifts will be at the sign-up table.

Lunch is available for a low-cost. No reservation needed for the social hour and free program.

from Arthur Hubbard

• Who was the first Unitarian Minister to lead a San Francisco congregation?
• Who was Henry Bellows?
• What is that carved wooden tower in the corner of the Sanctuary?

Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions or has someone asked you and you don’t know the answers?

The Membership Committee is seeking Welcoming Tour leaders to greet and meet briefly with visitors immediately following the Sunday Services. The tours offer an historical overview of the Congregation, the Sanctuary, and the Center, and leaders provide answers to questions about our building and community.

Come join Arthur Hubbard of the Membership Committee for a half-hour of training in giving these Welcoming Tours. There are no prerequisites or class size limit. Just show up and learn the answers to these questions and other historical facts about our interesting Sanctuary and Center.

Three members of Iraq Veterans Against the War stopped on their bus tour to meet with members of the Congregation last Sunday.

Army Specialist Darrell Anderson, age 24 and wounded by an Improvised Explosive Device, said that he could not return to Iraq for a second tour of duty because he could not obey orders to shoot at innocent Iraqi civilians. Instead, he went AWOL and has spent almost two years in Canada.

Joining Anderson at the program were veterans Ethan Crowell and Damon Murphy. Stephan Funk also joined the discussion. He is the first conscientious objector jailed for refusing to fight in the Iraq War.

They spoke about their experiences during their tours of duty, including the effects this war has had on both our own American soldiers and the Iraqi population.

The soldiers are on a tour to tell communities about their experiences and to urge that the War in Iraq be ended now. Sunday's event was sponsored by the Social Justice Ministries, the Declaration of Peace, and Military Families Speak Out (MFSO). For more information, contact Dolores Perez Priem or Judith Ross (MFSO).

$35 early-bird registration for the day-long seminar is due tomorrow (December 15), and other discounted admission is available through the end of the month.

Rev. Larry Peers who has had experience with the Alban Institute and the Unitarian Universalist Association will be the featured presenter for the program.