As we head into this week of holidays, with our Winter Solstice service Thursday evening at 7:00 and our Christmas Eve service Sunday evening at 8:00, I hope you are each finding time and space to tend to your spirits in whatever way best meets your needs.

For some of you, that was attending our Blue Holidays sharing circle earlier this month; if you are struggling this season, please reach out to your support network, including me.

This past week, one of the ways I tended my own spirit was by attending two holiday concerts with my wife Shay: a performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Basilica in St. Paul, and a Mannheim Steamroller concert at the Orpheum in Minneapolis. With Shay’s recent surgery and recovery, the holiday season sort of snuck up on us, and we hadn’t really gotten into the spirit yet until those concerts. Over the next couple of days, we finally did some holiday decorating in our home and put Christmas music on in the background.

For some people, including my mother-in-law, holiday baking is part of the preparation both physically and spiritually. For others it may be buying or making gifts for loved ones, or the act of wrapping them beautifully.

Whatever your treasured winter holiday practices are, whichever holiday(s) you celebrate, or even if you are not celebrating at all this season, my wish for you is the gift of happiness and spiritual fulfillment. Fulfillment as in “filled up”—may your heart and spirit both be filled with love, contentment, and peace.

With gratitude and holiday blessings,
Rev. Diana