"Darkest Days" (November 23, 2025)

November 23, 2025 service for the First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City, with music presented by the Chancel Choir.

Rev. J Sylvan reflects on the literal and metaphorical darkness of winter, exploring the idea that darkness – often feared or pathologized – can instead be a sacred space of rest, intimacy, and spiritual perception. Drawing on experiences of total darkness and the mysticism of St. John of the Cross, Rev. J invites us not to rush toward the returning light but to linger in the long night, where the subtlest glimpses of the divine may find us.

Lay minister Cathy Chambless muses on the "butterfly effect" in her own life, tracing her family's abrupt move from Iowa to California to her father’s undiagnosed H. pylori-related illness, which set off a cascade of upheavals that uprooted their lives. She considers how such disruptions can also lead to unexpected growth, taking us to new places we would never have imagined.

ORDER OF SERVICE
00:00 🎵 Introduction: "We Will Go Out In The World" by David Owens
00:57 🎵 Choral Prelude: "Woke Up This Mornin’" – traditional song, pub. in 'Circle of Song' (1993) compiled by Kate Marks; arr. & directed by David Owens; presented by the Chancel Choir
05:05 🎵 Introit: # 188, "Come, Come, Whoever You Are" – words adapted from Rumi (1207-1273); music by Rev. Lynn Ungar (American, b. 1963); led by David Owens
05:53 Welcome & Announcements – Rev. Monica Dobbins
09:40 Chalice Lighting – Rev. Monica Dobbins
10:56 🎵 Opening Hymn: #69, "Give Thanks" – words: anonymous (c. 1904); music from William Caldwell's 'Union Harmony' (1837); David Owens, organ
13:05 Introduction of the Lay Minister – Rev. J Sylvan
13:41 Lay Minister: Cathy Chambless
20:19 🎵 Choral Interlude: "Give Thanks, Alleluia" – words & music: anonymous; presented by the Chancel Choir
21:14 Meditation – Rev. Monica Dobbins
23:35 🎵 Meditation Response: Theme and Lento (Variation XII, "Galope y epílogo") from 'Variations on a Theme by Chopin' by Federico Mompou (Catalan, 1893–1987) – David Owens, piano 
25:50 🎵 Song of Gratitude: # 1010, "We Give Thanks" – words & music by Wendy Luella Perkins (Canadian, b. 1966); led by Rev. J Sylvan
26:32 🎵 Doxology: "From All that Dwell Below the Skies" – words: composite based on Isaac Watts (English, 1674-1748); melody: "Old Hundredth" from Genevan Psalter (1551)
27:50 Sermon: "Darkest Days" – Rev. J Sylvan
44:59 🎵 Closing Hymn: # 203, "All Creatures of the Earth and Sky" – words attributed to St. Francis of Assisi (Italian, 1182-1226); music from 'Ausserlesene Catholische Kirchengesang,' 1623; adapt. by Ralph Vaughan Williams (English, 1872-1958); David Owens, organ
48:10 Benediction – Rev. J Sylvan
48:44 🎵 Choral Postlude: "Ordinary Miracles" – words by Alan Bergman (American, 1925-2025) & Marilyn Bergman (American, 1928-2022); music by Marvin Hamlisch (American, 1944-2012); arr. Mac Huff (American, b. 1955); presented by the Chancel Choir, Holly Stuart conducting
52:08 Closing Words – Rev. J Sylvan
52:32 🎵 End Credits

Rev. J Sylvan, Senior Minister
Rev. Monica Dobbins, Assistant Minister
Amanda Esko, Director of Religious Education
David Owens, Director of Music
Stefanie Park, Administrator
Tristan Moore, Audiovisual Director

🌎 First Unitarian Church of Salt Lake City
→ Website: https://slcuu.org/
→ Facebook:   / firstuuslc  
→ Instagram:   / firstuuslc  
→ YouTube:    / firstuuslc  

🙏 All of First Unitarian Church's programs depend on the generous contributions of our members and friends.
→ Donate: https://slcuu.breezechms.com/give/online

🎬 Related video topics from First Unitarian Church
→    • 2025-2026 Church Season