IllUUmination
History:
As Recounted in the Program for the Seventh Annual Celebration
Welcome to our seventh Illuumination holiday
celebration. As you know, most faiths have some form of ritual or tradition that
celebrates love and tells a story of hope and faith during this season of winter
and darkness.
When our children asked their Sunday School
teachers, Venita and Ben Lovelace-Chandler, what our faith’s tradition was,
they were at a loss for words. Of course that was now a long time ago because
Venita and Ben immediately got to work and with the assistance of the children
created the concept of our own Unitarian Universalist Holiday (Holy Day),
henceforth known as Illuumination.
This holiday/ holy day honors our flaming
chalice, the symbol of our faith and our Unitarian Universalist principles and
purposes. When we honor our flaming chalice, we also recognize the light that
our faith brings to the world and we take our place alongside other people of
faith who have holidays/ holy days to honor their own light and faith. Note the
proclamation of Illuumination elsewhere in your program.
Venita and Ben and the children have given us
a gift and asked that we be co-creators with them. Each year new aspects of our
celebration have evolved.
First, there was the idea of the feast; Then,
from the Shores-Johnson family came the notion of toasting each other; Ben wrote
Illuumination lyrics to some familiar tunes and we sang Christmas carols; and
JoEllen Willis and Doug Rose gifted an evergreen to the celebration. Our
children have performed plays, done readings, made IIlluumination crafts and
been an integral part of the creation. Special music has ranged from caroling,
serenading by individual musicians to group performances.
At the fifth celebration, we included a
bagpiper, Dances for Universal Peace and our own mythological character, the
IIlluuminator.
In the sixth year we added our special Illuumination
chalice made by our own Denise Patton to the festivities, chocolate chalice
candy, wandering minstrels, and chalice stickers designed by the Rev. JoEllen
Willis.
This year we had not one but two
Illuuminators, Jeanne Streiff, returning in her starring role, and Abe Smaardyk,
with special wardrobe assistance by Ellen Smaardyk; a beautiful steel chalice
tree built by our own Bish Williams; the world premier of an Illuumination
'Operetta' created by Rick Owen and performed by UUCLR's folk group, Stay Tuned,
and a brand new bedtime story, "Good-night Chalice," written by Linda
Van Blaricom and illustrated by Donna Riley.
Decorations
Every year the decorations have gotten more
elaborate and festive. We started with the simple of concept of asking everyone
to bring a chalice from home and also helping the children to make them during
Sunday School. We added evergreen, 'stained glass' windows, and many other
touches as the years went by. This year, our seventh, begins a new era as Marcia
Zamora and Virginia take the helm of our decorating ship. You will see her
vision everywhere tonight with lighting, chalice table decorations, and a new
and improved Illuumination aura. Also, Marcia and the Aesthetics Committee have
teamed up to decorate the whole church with an emphasis on Illuumination (yet
integrating the Christmas holiday into our church home.)
Feasting
Our feasting has improved each year as more
and more of you have caught the Illuumination spirit and brought out your most
sumptuous dishes. This year we also have the benefit of UUCLR chef Paul
Clifford' s expertise and a labeling program so that the vegetarians, vegans,
and omnivores can feast with comfort.
Open House
The tradition of having an Illuumination open
house has also developed over the years and was hosted again this year by the
Lovelace-Chandlers. Purple and silver, the official colors of Illuumination, as
well as flaming chalices and Edwin Markham 'Outer Circle' cookies were abundant.
Tonight each of you becomes a co-creator of
Illuumination as you join our celebration feast and bring your light to shine
here at UUCLR. I thank each of you for participating and I want to offer a
special thanks to the following people for all they have brought to this seventh
Illuumination celebration by their past or ongoing contribution.
Linda VanBlaricom
|
