A month after the solstice, it now feels like winter has arrived with its cold and snow. I have started taking daily walks in the past week, rousing myself from a sedentary routine where I was not getting outside much or getting regular exercise. My walk usually takes me to the city parks by the river.
 
When I cross the river on a footbridge I stand and appreciate the water flowing below me. I’m amazed that the river flows so deep and strong at this time of year. One day this week I noticed that ice was beginning to form on the edge of the river, extending about three feet from the bank. Looking ahead on the path, I saw someone else also going for a walk, and as I watched he picked up some snow and threw it onto the ice. I thought he was trying to punch through the ice, but the snowball splattered on impact, sending snow exploding and skittering across the ice to disappear into the flowing water.
 
“That’s cool!” I said. It was so fun and beautiful that I had to try it. Like a little boy, I threw the snow again and again, hearing the smack of snow hitting ice, the skidding sound of snow sliding across ice, seeing the pattern of white snow on dark ice.
 
It is tempting to stay inside and warm during the cold and snowy days, but the reward of going out in the winter is precious. I bundle up, I walk briskly, and I try to take what is offered—beauty, serenity, or just a break in the routine of my time indoors. I’m grateful that I’m able to fit this into my day and that my body is able to do this. I’m grateful for the winter, the snow, the river, for my chance companions on the path, and for the joy of the little boy within.
 
PRAYER
Spirit of Winter, hear this prayer.
 
Spirit of the North, snowy owl, wisdom of the elders, be with me now. May I be open to the wisdom of winter.
 
May the simplicity of winter show us what we need to see,  a figure against the white background of snow.
 
The forest sleeps and we move through it alert and silent, like a hare. May we be alive to the wisdom of winter, within and without.
 
Blessed be.
 
Rev. Andrew Frantz
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The human heart is the first home of democracy. It is where we embrace our questions. Can we be equitable? Can we be generous? Can we listen with our whole beings, not just our minds, and offer our attention rather than our opinions? And do we have enough resolve in our hearts to act courageously, relentlessly, without giving up—ever— trusting our fellow citizens to join with us in our determined pursuit of a living democracy?     ~Terry Tempest Williams
 
Today’s inauguration of President Joe Biden represents a sense of closure and relief, a sense of hope that saner times are ahead for the public life of this country, the space where civic and political discourse are held.

The quotation by Terry Tempest Williams above helps me to bridge the gap between politics and the spirit. Williams points out that it is a matter of the heart to live up to the ideals of democracy—which are also our Unitarian Universalist ideals: equity, generosity, deep listening. This is what we are called to do.

I know that many in our Fellowship will share the sense that today is a day of relief. I invite you to breathe deeply into that. Feel in your heart what is possible now. Feel in your heart the resolve to move forward with our religious ideals expressed in our personal circles, in our congregation, and out in the wider world.
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PRAYER
God within us, divine love between us, light of mystery and wonder beyond us, hear this prayer.
 
May this day be a new beginning for all of us who share this land: indigenous original dwellers here; recent immigrants; citizens; refugees and visitors. May we see how better to share the land with one another; may we see that our destinies are tied together. May our path forward be one of healing the earth, healing one another and keeping safe from this deadly virus. May our path forward be one of greater equity and opportunity and inclusion for all, not just for the privileged and the powerful.
 
May we be reminded that democracy and community begin with the heart.
 
Blessed be.
 
Rev. Andrew Frantz

A week after the deadly riot in the nation’s capital, I am still struggling with how to react to it. I spoke on Sunday about the spiritual tasks of self-care and imagining the world we want to see –imagining the opposite of the violent, Trump-flag-waving mob that thronged the steps of the capitol building. I also said that we need to find ways to love and understand the people in the mob if we are to move forward. Since preaching those words on Sunday I’ve doubted myself—a response of love seems so weak and inappropriate here.
 
Then today in my email in-box came the weekly installment of “Braver/Wiser” from the UUA (it’s my favorite email and I encourage you to subscribe to it). My colleague Rev. Kristin Grassel Schmidt is clearly wrestling with the same thing I am, and I love her conclusion. She says,  

We may even need to say [to the Trump rioters] "I love you, but I will never agree to disagree on this. Truth is too important to set aside just because it challenges and upset you."
 
And then she continues,

While I don’t believe we’re called to seek unity with those who committed acts of insurrection and violence, we are absolutely called to continue affirming the fullness of their humanity. Wanting people to be held legally accountable for harmful behavior does not mean we can’t insist that society provide for their basic needs, just as it should provide for the basic needs of us all. Even the most despicable people are still human beings, and are deserving of care. Even those who have committed grievous acts have the capacity to grow, to learn, to experience a change of heart.
 
I echo Rev. Schmidt’s call for both love and accountability. This is tough love. This reminds me that love is not a weak response to crisis. Love is a fierce response. To hold onto being loving in the face of racist lies that incite an insurrection—this shows that we don’t answer hate with hate. We answer with love. Dr. King, whose memory we honor this month, had this figured out: both the hard spiritual work this requires and the absolute necessity of it. May we be equal to this challenge in these dangerous times.
 
PRAYER
Spirit of love, you are with me in every aspect of life. You are easy to recognize in the cuddling of my cat, the spark of connection with my children, the embrace of my beloved.
 
And you are there in the conflicts in my life: the challenging personal relationships I’ve had and the deep divisions over politics and ideology that confront me in the news every day. Your voice, spirit of love, reminds me what is right.
 
May I be as fierce in my loving in times of conflict, as I am gentle in times of harmony.
​May love make a seamless whole of these two, and may I give myself to that whole  love unreservedly.
 
By Allah, Jesus, Yahweh, Great Spirit, Mother Earth I pray. May it be so.
 
Rev. Andrew Frantz