In this episode, Rev. Marti Keller speaks about the annual tradition adopted by dictionaries of picking a word that best reflects the past year. Rev. Marti shares her own pick, a word that reflects the doldrums we often feel at the start of the year, when winter challenges us with shorter and colder days punctuated with snow or a chilling-to-the-bone rain. During this time, how do we keep our spirits buoyed?
The service was recorded on January 11, 2026. Gary Lerude served as the service associate and gives the chalice lighting.
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AUUF is a faith community based on shared values, including equity, justice, pluralism, interdependence, generosity, and transformation, all in the service of love. We believe each person has the right to seek their own spiritual truth rather than accepting a single religious creed.
AUUF is one of more than 1,000 Unitarian Universalist congregations around the U.S. and Canada. If you're in the Auburn-Opelika (Alabama) area, we hope you'll join us Sunday mornings at 10:00. Visit our website at auuf.org.
Our theme music is "A Call to the Soul" by Folk Acoustic Music. It's available on Pixabay.
