 And so the shortest day came, and the year ended. And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world came people, dancing, singing to welcome back the light. They lighted the candles in the winter trees. They hung their homes with evergreen. They burned beseeching fires all night long to keep the year alive. When the new day's sunshine blazed awake, they shouted, reveling through all across the centuries, you can hear them echoing behind us. Listen. All the long echoes sing the same delight, the shortest day and longest night as promise awakens in the sleeping land. They carol, feast, give thanks, and hope for peace. And so do we, here, now, this year and every year. Welcome, you all. And what a joy to welcome you to our celebration of the winter solstice. We gather on this night in the early darkness and refreshing cold of winter to be together, to be in the darkness, to appreciate the restfulness and the peace that comes in the dark and also to recognize that this is the point when the light is reborn. Gathered here in darkness, we draw a circle of community and recognize that the darkness is where we hold seeds of hopes and dreams to come. Round and round the earth is turning, turning always round till morning and from morning round tonight. In the northern hemisphere, the sun is peaking lower in the sky and setting sooner. Each night grows longer as we await the longest night of the year, the winter solstice. The winter solstice celebrates the return of hope to our land as our planet experiences the first slow turn toward greater daylight. Soon we will welcome the return of the sun and the coming of spring. As we do so, let us remember and embrace the positive, enriching aspects of winter's darkness. To lure the sun back to us, we light candles, burn the eulog and decorate our houses with light. Many religions have a son-child born this time of year, a child who lights the way back to life. But it's not just children newly born who carry the light and give renewed hope for the world. Each and every one of us carries that light. As we gather this evening, hold in your heart this question. How do you carry the light? How will you carry the flame of hope, love and justice with you into this new year? How do you carry the light? I invite you to rise in body or in spirit and join us in calling in of the spirits. Please turn to the brightening east, spirit of the east, home of the rising sun. We welcome you into our circle this night. We feel the embrace of spring winds stirring our minds. We hear the soft rustle of air through leaves. We feel life renewing itself again and again. Here, knowledge is born on light, swift wings. We kindle this fire today in the east and invoke the spirit of air. Flow within us wind of love. Let there be truth and knowledge, spirit of the air. Be with us tonight. Please turn to the blazing south, spirit of the south, spirit of the noonday sun. We welcome you into our circle this night. We feel the blast of summer wind igniting passion. We hear the sharp crackle of dancing flames. Here, transformation rains. Here, cleansing fires temper and renew. The sun at the noon of its majesty illuminates the world and ignites the spark of life within us all. We kindle this fire today in the south and invoke the spirit of fire. Flow within us, O flame of life. Let there be passion and inspiration, spirit of fire. Be with us tonight. Please turn to the watery west, spirit of the west, spirit of failing light of the setting sun. We feel the caress of autumn in awakening dreams. We hear the ebbing and flowing of the sea. Here, intuition rains. We hear emotion flickers in the depths of the dark springs. The well fills with the waters of the bosom of the earth. The cup overflows with deep wisdom. We kindle this fire today in the west and invoke the spirit of water. Flow within us, O well of life. Let there be wisdom and intuition, spirits of the water. Be with us tonight. Please turn to the frozen north, spirit of the north, spirit of the star-strewn midnight sky. We feel the bite of winter wind chilling heart and bone. We hear the crunch of snow beneath our feet. Here winter grasps the land. Here darkness rains. Dreams are born and nurtured. The seeds of peace are sown. The visions of a new world are nourished. We kindle this fire today in the north and invoke the spirit of earth. Grow within us, tree of life. Let there be strength and courage. Spirits of the earth, be with us tonight. And now we will light our chalice symbolizing our center. Welcome the night. The longest night has come once more. The sun has set and darkness fallen. The trees are bare. The earth asleep and the skies are cold and black. Yet tonight we rejoice in this longest night embracing the darkness that enfolds us. We welcome the night and all that it holds as the light of the stars shines down. Please rise and body or in spirit and join us in singing hand number 1067, Mother Earth, Beloved Garden. Beloved Garden, leaving treasure underfoot. All our days you ground our being sage and this egress and root. Thirst to heal us, plants to feed us, land to entend and plow. With the pandas deep as midnight north we ask you be here. Nation holds together as we breathe our minds secretly and give. Raging whirlwind whispered breezes, violence, gale and gentle cloud. With the blade as sharp as morning east we ask you be here. Rather fire, gray transformer, share the passion of the sun. In our hearts your home stands full and heats our homes. With the wanges all that cover spirit in tuition, in the center of conscience. Deepest values voice inside with a drum and whip. By the fire and I'll tell you a tale for this longest night. It's a story about the rebirth of the sun. Now it was the middle of winter and the sun had grown very old. All year long the sun had worked very hard, rising and setting day after day. All year long the sun had fed everybody on earth. Shining and shining giving energy to the trees and the flowers and the grasses so they could grow and feed the animals and the birds, the insects and the people. All year the sun's gravity held tight to the spinning ball of the earth and the twirling ball of the moon and the other whirling planets as they traveled around and around and around until the poor sun was dizzy watching it all. Now the poor tired sun could barely make it up in the morning and after a very short time needed to sleep again. So the days grew shorter and the nights grew longer until the day was so short. It was hardly worth getting up for. Night felt sorry for the sun. Come to my arms and rest child, Knight said. After all I am your mother. You were born out of my darkness billions of years ago and will return to me when all things end. Let me cradle you now as I shelter every galaxy and star in the universe. So Knight wrapped her great arms around the sun and the night was very long indeed. Why does the dark go on so long? The children asked won't the sun ever come back again? The sun is very tired, the old one said. But maybe if you children say thank you for all the things the sun does for us the light may return in the morning. The children sang songs to the sun and they thought about all the things the sun gave them. Thank you for growing the lettuces and the corn and the rice and the wheat, they said. Thank you for growing the trees of the forest and the seaweed in the oceans and the krill that feeds the whales. Thank you for stirring the air and making winds that bring the rain. Every time a child said thank you, the sun began to feel a little warmer, a little brighter. Wrapped safely in the arms of night, the sun grew younger and younger. At last the children had to go to bed. We will stay up and wait for the sun to rise again, the old one said. Can't we stay up too? The children asked. You can try, but you will get too sleepy. But you can each light a candle because all fire is a spark of the sun's fire. Put your candle in a very safe place and let it keep vigil for you as you sleep and dream of sunrise. So the children lit their candles and put them in very safe places in each flame was a little spark of the sun's fire. And the sun peeped out from between the arms of night and saw all those little fires and began to feel warmer and brighter and younger still. Early in the morning, the old ones woke the children. Together they climbed a high hill and faced to the east the direction of sunrise. They sang songs to the sun and ran around trying to keep warm. They waited and waited to see what dawn would bring. The sky began to turn from black to indigo to blue. Slowly the sky grew light. A golden glow crept over the horizon. Night opened her great arms and in a burst of brightness the sun appeared new and strong and shining. For in the long night the sun had rested well. For the sun was held and safe and well loved in the arms of night. The sun had grown young from the songs and the thanks of the children, young as a brand new baby born out of night once more. Everybody cheered and the children jumped up and down. The sun has returned. The sun is reborn. The people cried and they danced and sang to celebrate the birth of a new day. And the sun coming home once more. What a magnificent and glorious day indeed. Teach, please, and people of the world. Okay, King and the Holly King, a yule story for our times. The story is told that in the beginning there were two gods who were brothers. And like many brothers they struggled with each other for ascendance and power. One brother was the king of the forces of light, light and warmth. He wore a crown made of green oak branches and brought with him all growth and vitality, fertility and abundance. He was called the Oak King. His brother was the king of the forces of death, cold and darkness. He wore a crown made of the prickly Holly branches and brought with him all withering and decay, stillness and hibernation. He was called the Holly King. The brothers were identical in strength and so year after year the same pattern was repeated. Each year the Oak King would grow strong and mighty and during his time of dominance the light would gradually increase bringing with it warmth and abundance. But each year at the height of his power he would be thrown down by the Holly King. In the wake of the Holly King's victory the light would gradually wane and as it did cold would come and the land would go dormant. But at the height of the Holly King's power he would be challenged again by the Oak King and would fall and the cycle would repeat again and again and again. Alone the brothers were equals but soon there came a race of beings known as people. The people watched this cycle and pretty soon they began to take sides. The people loved light and warmth and they feared darkness and cold. And so each year they would celebrate the victory of the Oak King but they would mourn the victory of the Holly King. When the two struggled with each other the people would lend their strength of their voices and their bodies, their minds and their spirits to the Oak King. But the Holly King was without their support and so time went by. Over time the people's adoration of warmth and light only grew and so they began to invent ever new ways to find light in the darkness and warmth in the cold. And finally if they wished it they could spend all of their time in the light they had created and they could be warm all year long. But their efforts to stay always in the light and the warmth were not without consequences. Generations passed and generations again and the people did not at first notice the shifts in the balance. But finally they could ignore it no longer. The people began to notice that darkness was disappearing from the land driven out by millions of lights the people had created. Animals birds plants even people began to suffer the effects of light unbalanced by darkness. But it was not just darkness that was disappearing cold began to flee to the whole world began to get warmer. Summer became sooner came sooner and lasted longer ice that had been frozen far longer than the longest memory of the oldest person in the land began to melt. Migrating birds and animals began to be confused about when to begin their migration plants found themselves rooted in climates that no longer supplied their needs. The air was changing and the winds that had brought rain and taken it away again began to flow in unexpected directions causing drought here and flood there. The people began to see that their support of warmth and light over cold and darkness had altered the balance of the whole world. They began slowly one at a time to realize that the Holly King was dying and for the first time this thought filled them with fear. What would happen if the balance continued to be destroyed? Could they even survive in a world without the Holly King? And in the world of the gods the Oak King realized it too. And though they had been competitors all these many centuries he also realized that he loved his brother deeply and could not live without him. The longest night came and the Oak King and the Holly King met again but this time the Oak King had no heart for the fight. He lay down his sword and spear. He came open handed to his brother who was struggling just to stay on his feet. The Oak King wrapped the Holly King in a tight embrace and he promised to set aside their enmity and to help his brother heal. On the night when he usually claimed ascendance the Oak King realized that the world was already too warm and too light. And so he laid the great oak crown on the head of his brother, took his hand and each supporting the other. They went out into the world to see what could be done to restore balance. Round and round the earth is turning, turning always round till morning and from morning round to night. Round and round the earth is turning, turning always round till morning and from morning round to night. Round and round the earth is turning, Turning all the earth is turning, Turning all is round till morning, And from round the earth is turning, Turning all is round till morning, And from morning round till night, And round the earth is turning, Turning all is round till morning, And from morning round to night, The earth is turning, Turning, oh, is all this morning, Turning, oh, is all this morning, Turning, oh, is all this morning, Turning, oh, is all this morning, Turning, oh, is all this morning, And from morning round and night, Round the earth is turning, always round till morning, and from morning round to night. How Fire Came to the People This story is based on various versions of the Keruk myth. The Keruk, meaning upriver, people are native to the rugged Klamath River region of northwest California. With their neighbors, the Uruk, Hoopa, and Shasta, they share many of the old stories. This is one of them. Long ago, the animal people had no fire. Day and night, they huddled in their houses in the dark and ate their food uncooked. In the winter, they were so cold icicles hung from their fur. They were miserable. Then one day, wise old Coyote gathered everybody together. We have heard about fire, he said, but the only fire is far upriver at the world's end. It's guarded by the Yellow Jacket Sisters high atop a snowy mountain. They are wicked and will not share it. But listen, if we all cooperate and work together, we can steal the fire. There was much fearful murmuring about the Yellow Jacket Sisters, but all grew quiet as Coyote told them his plan. Then he went on his way. Grandfather Coyote slowly trudged up the mountain at the world's end. When at last he came to the Yellow Jacket's house, smoke was rising from the smoke hole. Coyote looked inside. The three old sisters were sitting around the fire. Coyote said, as friendly as can be, if you let me in, I'll make you all look pretty. Suspicious, the three sisters put their heads close together and buzzed. Come in, they said, but no tricks. Old man Coyote sat down and took a chunk of oak bark between his toes and held it in the fire. When it had burned onto a blackened coal, he marked their yellow faces and bodies with black stripes to make them pretty. Now said Coyote, if you close your eyes, I will make you even prettier. Here was Coyote's chance. While the Yellow Jacket's eyes were closed, he took the charred oak in his teeth and silent as the moon in the sky he crept outside. Then he raced down the mountain like the wind. When the Yellow Jacket Sisters found out that Coyote had tricked them, they were screaming mad. They too flew like the wind and it wasn't long until they caught up to Coyote. They were almost on him when Coyote tripped, rolled downhill like a snowball and landed smack at Eagle's feet. Snatching the glowing coal in his talons, Eagle spread his wings and took to the sky. Eagle was swift, but the Yellow Jacket soon caught up with him. Suddenly Eagle dropped the coal below mountain lion, caught it in his great teeth and bounded off through the snow. Still, the furious Yellow Jackets followed. Just as they were about to sting mountain lion, Fox snatched the fiery coal and bounced in among the tall cedar and pine. Fox ran and ran until she was so tired she couldn't take another step. She huffed and huffed. Her breath made clouds and the Yellow Jackets were right behind her. Just in time Bear took the fire and lunged away through some brambles. Bear too was quick, yet the Yellow Jackets were right on top of her. Even Bear could not fight them off and she finally tumbled in exhaustion. As Bear fell, measuring worm, the long one took the fire. The long one stretched way out over the three ridges, yet the Yellow Jackets were there waiting, ready to strike. Somehow, right under the Yellow Jackets' eyes, Turtle sneaked in, grabbed the fire and scrambled off, but of course Turtle was slow, and one of the Yellow Jackets' sisters stung him in his tail. Aki, aki, aki! Turtle pulled in his head and legs and flip-flopped down the hill, vloom, vloom, vloom. The Yellow Jackets were swarming all over Turtle when Frog leaped out of the river and swallowed the fire, gulp. Then Frog hopped back into the river plot and sat on the bottom. The Yellow Jackets stormed the river circling one, circling twice, circling three times, buzzing the surface. They waited, and they waited, and they waited, but Frog held the fire and his breath. Finally, the Yellow Jackets gave up and flew back home. As soon as the Yellow Jackets' sisters were gone, Frog burst out of the water and spat the hot coal into the roots of a willow growing along the river. The tree swallowed the fire, and the animal people didn't know what to do. Then once again, Coyote came along, and the animal people said, Grandfather, you must show us how to get the fire from the willow. So old man Coyote, who was very wise and knows these things, said, Ha! And he showed them how to rub two willow sticks together over dry moss to make fire. From that time on, the people have known how to coax fire from the wood in order to keep warm and to cook their food. And at night, in the seasons of cold, they have sat in a circle around their fires and listened as the elders told their stories. And so it is, even to this day, Kapanaka Nakana. Today we celebrate the beauty of this darkest and coldest time of the year and the promise of the beginning return of the sun. It is a beautiful time of year, if you have warmth and shelter. This year, especially, we are mindful of those who are homeless or facing the possibility of homelessness or unsafe crowding in families and friends' home as the eviction moratorium expires in little more than a week. Families, in fact, are already on the rise. So 100% of the offering at this service as well as our Christmas Eve and December 27 services will go to support FUS's eviction prevention fund through Just Dane. Your generosity is needed, our generosity this year, more than ever. I invite you to join me in supporting this work that is doing so much to help people in need in Dane County keep their dwellings. We thank you for your generosity and your faith in this life we create together. We have come together from within our many homes to join in this celebration of darkness and light. We have come together out of the cold. Roger and I have done what we could to fill this place with stories and songs. Let us now join together in bringing our light and wishes using our own energy, our power, our hope, and goodwill to encourage the sun to return to us once again. We invite you to think about a wish that you have for our world, for your own life, for those you love. In the season of wishes, what do you wish? If you had but one wish, what would it be? Take your time thinking about it, so much as its stake, an end to all suffering, stop all violence, a solution to poverty and all its ills. Would you wish for love, for forgiveness and healing? Would you wish the world joy or the wisdom to change? Would you wish to understand everything or to know less than you do? Take your time thinking about it, so much as its stake. For a wish is a thought and a thought is an idea. An idea leads to commitment and a commitment cries out for action. A wish can be a dangerous thing, something daring, and it need not be witnessed by the stars to come true. Let us be glad that we are not given just one wish in our lives, but many. Let us be grateful not for wishful thinking, but for the discipline of thoughtful wishing that can lead to change. What would your wish be? Here in the darkness of our sacred space, let us feel the warmth of community, knowing we are not alone. For in the quiet shadow is the glow of life within all. Let us know in the darkness the dreams within all and the gift each one of us bears. We are each a small flame, a diminutive light, and it is a wondrous gift to see another's glow. Let us be in awe at this moment as we bring our wishes together. As our hopes for peace and good will fill this night. And now we invite you to bring your wishes, to light your solstice candles in your homes as we fill this room with light and love and hope once again. Please join us in singing hymn 1063, Winter Solstice Chant. To sing to each other, sisters and brothers, songs of our mother. Here at a winter rest, help us to enjoy your peace. Remind us to pause during the season. Remind us to wish, to hope, to dream. Grant us awareness, keep our gratitude fresh each day. May the songs of our heart be blessings and insights to us and to others. And may compassion always shine forth from the depths of our hearts. I invite you to rise in body and or spirit and sing with me. Deck the hall with boughs of holly. La la la la la, season to be charlie. La la la la la, la la la la la la la la la la. Grateful this night for the spirits who joined us in our circle and released them now. Spirit of the north, power of earth. We thank you for your gifts of growth and nurturing. We ask for your blessing on this solstice night. Spirit of the north, hail and farewell. Spirit of the west, power of water. We thank you for your gifts of cleansing and healing. We ask for your blessing on this solstice night. Spirit of the west, hail and farewell. Spirit of the south, power of fire. We thank you for your gifts of passion and transformation. We ask for your blessing on this solstice night. Spirit of the south, hail and farewell. Spirit of the east, power of air. We thank you for your gifts of clarity and inspiration. We ask for your blessing on this solstice night. Spirit of the east, hail and farewell. The circle is open but never broken. Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again. On this winter's night, we wish you a season of love and light. May you hear the dreams, the hopes, the shout within you waiting to be reborn. Blessed be and go in peace.