Winter Solstice Service 2016
Prepared with joy and love by Kellie Kelly, Alice Muciek, Sharon Storbeck,
Nina Brewer-Davis, Teresa Heit-Murray, and Betsy Brewer
Centering ALICE
Call Directions (by Rev. Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe) KELLIE
We honor everything that comes to us from each direction, showing gratitude for their gifts.
All gifts are significant.
While we honor all directions, North is the focus of Winter Solstice.
Please face each direction when it is called, either by standing or sitting.
To begin, let us welcome the Spirits of the Skies and the Spirits of the Underworld for our protection.
EAST TERESA
Winter is a time for cold winds and freezing breezes.
Spirit of the East, Yours is the power of clarity and inspiration.
By the Air that is Her Breath, bring forth your power and be with us this Solstice night.
SOUTH SHARON
Winter is a time for sitting in front of roaring fires for warmth and blazing candles for light.
Spirit of the South, Yours is the power of passion and transformation.
By the Fire that is Her Spirit, bring forth your power and be with us this Solstice night.
WEST NINA
Winter is a time of snowflakes falling and water turning to ice.
Spirit of the West, Yours is the power to cleanse and heal.
By the Water that is Her Blood, bring forth your power and be with us this Solstice night.
NORTH ALICE
Winter is the time of barren Earth and crops returning to the ground.
Spirit of the North, Yours is the power to produce, grow and nurture.
By the Earth that is Her Body, bring forth your power and be with us this Solstice night.
Hymn “In Sweet Fields of Autumn” (#52) KELLIE, BETSY
Reading adapted from “Winter Solstice 2009” by Starhawk SHARON
Each year the Great Mother labors through the long night to give birth again to the new year, to hope and light.
This year the darkness has been intense. The bright hopes of last year are worn and tattered from obstructions and betrayals and compromise. Our personal health and the health of all the life support systems of the planet hang in balance….
But the message of Solstice is this: hope does not come once into the world and fulfill itself. Hope and light must constantly be reborn, over and over again. They wax and wane, and must be renewed.
That renewal, that birthing, requires labor. Labor means work, commitment, perseverance through that time when it seems you just can’t push any more….
The child begins to emerge, is drawn back, pushed forward another increment.
We are the laboring Mother, we are the spark of light. New possibilities kick and squirm within us. No, it’s not easy to bring them forth, but we are strong, and we are made for this work. Bear down…breathe…push. This morning the sun rises; each day a new world is born.
Hymn “Winter Solstice Chant” (#1063) KELLIE, BETSY
Reading KELLIE
from "A Celebration of Winter Solstice" from The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr
"There is a tendency to want to hurry from autumn to spring, to avoid the long dark days that winter brings. Many people do not like constant days bereft of light and months filled with colder temperatures. They struggle with the bleakness of land and the emptiness of trees. Their eyes and hearts seek color. Their spirits tire of tasting the endless gray skies. There is great rejoicing in the thought that light and warmth will soon be filling more and more of each new day.
"But winter darkness has a positive side to it. As we gather to celebrate the first turn from winter to spring, we are invited to recognize and honor the beauty in the often unwanted season of winter. Let us invite our hearts to be glad for the courage winter proclaims. Let us be grateful for the wisdom winter brings in teaching us about the need for withdrawal as an essential part of renewal. Let us also encourage our spirits as Earth prepares to come forth from this time of withdrawal into a season filled with light.
"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 springtime. As we do so, let us remember and embrace the positive, enriching aspects of winter's darkness. Pause now to sit in silence in the darkness of this space. Let this space be a safe enclosure of creative gestation for you.”
Blow Out Candles TERESA, SHARON, NINA, ALICE
Silence
Chant in Darkness NINA, BETSY
1. Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? NINA
2. Mystery. Mystery. Life is a riddle and a mystery. BETSY
Silence
Prayer to Earth Mother KELLIE
Light One Altar Candle (Center) TERESA
“May your Light Grow” (Spread light one by one) TERESA
Thank Directions (by Rev. Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe) KELLIE
Let us thank the Spirits of the Skies and the Spirits of the Underworld for our protection.
NORTH ALICE
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.
WEST NINA
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.
SOUTH SHARON
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.
EAST TERESA
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.
Parting Words (by Rev. Sunshine Jeremiah Wolfe) KELLIE
The circle is open, but not broken.
May the Peace of the Goddess go in your hearts.
And May the Light of the Sun shine upon you in your lives.
Merry meet and merry part, and merry meet again.