Dearest Friends,

We at First United Church Community Ministry Society would like to wish you all happy holidays!

From November until January there are a number of holidays our community celebrates, and Christmas is just one of those.

Some of the holidays, starting from November, are : Diwali, Birth of the Báb, American Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Advent, Saint Nicholas Day, Saint Lucia Day, Las Posadas, Winter Solstice, Winter Feast, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, Omisoka, New Year’s Day, the Season of Epiphany, Three Kings Day, and the Season of Mardi Gras, and Buddhist New Year in Mahayana countries.

For those of us who celebrate Christmas, we all celebrate it differently. Some of us celebrate the Christmas season starting right after Black Friday. Some of us start celebrating the Christmas season on December 24th and end on December 26th. And some of us celebrate the 12 days of Christmas starting on December 25th and going until January 5th.

Season’s greetings to you and your loved ones! May we be hope, peace, joy, and love for and with all of creation. We pray all of your celebrations are merry and bright!

Yours Truly,

Lauren Sanders
Prairie Band Potawatomi/mshkodeni bodewadminwen
Kickapoo Nation of Kansas/kiikaapoa
African American/Black
Indigenous Spiritual Care Chaplain

P.S. If you would like to support our work, all donations are being matched up to $225,000 until December 31. We are already 80% of the way to our goal. In the spirit of the holiday season, give what you can.