This Sunday Patricia Ice will lead our service exploring the legacy of African-American leaders in Unitarian Universalism.

This Sunday also marks the first day of Kwanzaa, a seven-day holiday honoring African-American culture. Each day during the holiday, a candle in the Kinara is lit representing the different principle being celebrated:

• Dec. 26 – Umoja [Unity]: To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Dec. 27 – Kujichagulia [Self-Determination]: To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.
• Dec. 28 – Ujima [Collective Work and Responsibility]: To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems and to solve them together.
• Dec. 29 – Ujamaa [Cooperative economics]: To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Dec. 30 – Nia [Purpose]: To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Dec. 31 – Kuumba [Creativity]: To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Jan. 1 – Imani [Faith]: To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Today begins the journey by celebrating the principle of Umoja (Unity).