Web References

Church of the Larger Fellowship
Resources for Day of the Dead
October 30, 2003

Unitarian Universalist congregations across North America have been celebrating their own versions of the traditional Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos; CLF members are invited to join in!

Opening Words
by Rev. Diane Tiechert
"At this time of year, we are conscious of the passing of time, the passing of autumn. We've turned back the clocks and gained an hour, we've seen the leaves falling past our windows and noted that it is time to rake. We are conscious of the passing of time, the passing of autumn, and the passing away of people we love.

We are near the time of the Day of the Dead or, in Spanish, Dia de los Muertos celebrated by Mexican people. Combining All Soul's and All Saints Days in the Christian tradition with 2000 year old Mexican Indian traditions, the Day of the Dead honors and remembers those who died.

Today, for us, is a day for remembering, too. A time for remembering, and celebrating, the lives of loved ones who are now dead. This time has a somber feel to it, for we are sad when a person or pet we love dies. Yet, it is also a joyful, light-hearted time, for it makes us feel glad and lucky to know that love lingers, like an autumn mist, long past death."
(http://home.att.net/~fpuucanton/S102900.htm)

Essay
Bringing the Dead to Life by Peter Morales
"A simple ceremony of remembrance puts us in touch with our place in time and our mortality, and it reminds us that to live is to create a legacy that endures for generations." This article from the UU World explores Dia de los Muertos and its meaning for Unitarian Universalists, suggesting that "rituals borrowed from another culture restore a sense of history--and joy--to the act of remembering." http://www.uua.org/world/0700feat3.html

Religious Education Perspective
Betsy Hill Williams
"Many different cultures and religions have long traditions of giving meaning to the phrase, "the spirit lives on"." What, if anything, can we UUs learn from these traditions and how can we make our own meaning more clear and real for our children?" http://www.uua.org/clf/quest/2001-10.html#REsources

Sermon
Sugar Skulls & Marigolds: To Celebrate & Remember
Rev. Kerry Mueller, Unitarian Universalist Church of Delaware County, explores both her personal experience of the holiday as well as the broad cultural connections and implications. http://www.uucdc.org/dead.html

Service
This Day of the Dead service was celebrated at First Parish Unitarian Universalist, Canton, MA in 2000. A children's story is included, and the homily is by Rev. Diane Teichert, Minister. http://home.att.net/~fpuucanton/S102900.htm

Pan de Muerto Recipe
Where ever you are, you can make this traditional bread. The loaves are often shaped into human figures or round loaves with strips of dough rolled out and attached to resemble bones. http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg1096/panmuert.html

Closing Words
The Larger Circle by Wendell Berry
"We clasp the hands of those that go before us, and the hands of those who come after us. We enter the circle of each other's arm and the larger circle of lovers, whose hands are joined in a dance, and the larger circle of all creatures, passing in and out of life, who move also in a dance, to a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it except in fragments." (Reading #646, Singing the Living Tradition)

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Last updated June 12, 2005