UCUCC is participating in 30 Days of Gratitude! Each day during the month of November, folks are invited to post a photo, drawing, poem, song, or other expression inspired by a daily prompt.
Please enjoy some of the responses shared by members of our congregation this past week on Facebook or Instagram. You are invited to participate! You can tag UCUCC in your photos, comment on this Facebook thread or use the hashtag #ucuccgratitude
DAY #1: WELCOME
“An arms wide open hug for all in need of a welcome”
— Jennifer Johnson Gray
DAY #2 FADE
“I’m grateful for musical experiences so vivid that the word, the lyric, ‘fade’ conjured up a memory of an exact note. From that note came a phrase, and from that phrase, a whole song, sung by me in a different time and in a different place [‘With Rue My Heart is Laden’ by Ralph Von Williams, text by A.E. Housman]. My friend was there too, playing the violin, and together we wove friendship, music, love, loss, and exquisite melancholy.”
— Heidi Blythe
DAY #3 CONTEMPLATE
“I don’t think the world is at least half terrible. I also feel the impulse to believe my kids (all our kids) will make the world better, but then I think that I used to be one of those kids that everyone thought would make the world a better place, and what have I done to make a more just world? Have I done enough? Could I still do more? Could I make this place beautiful? And if I could, what stops me?”
— Anna Van Pelt
DAY #4: MONUMENTAL
“This photo is from a trip to Virginia in 2019. I climbed the “Devil’s Marbleyard” with my brother, a scramble of large boulders. He made this cairn, and then we got caught in a monumental rainstorm as we climbed back down.”
— Kyna Shilling
DAY #5: GATHER
“It’s the 5th of November and that means it would be my grandmas birthday if she were still with us! Gather feels quite perfect for this day as we would gather for family dinner every Sunday night at her house. There would be a warm yummy meal, candles and good company. Grandma and I have birthdays within a few days of each other so we always celebrated together! Grandma’s love was people and hearing their stories. And she’d often call to check in and see how you were doing. Happy birthday grandma! Love you! Miss you!”
— Margaret Swanson
DAY #6: COURAGE
Photo submitted by Lisa Klinger