For the past 15 years, Denton CUUPS has held open rituals on almost all the eight major Pagan holy days. Providing seasonal celebrations and worship for UU Pagans, Pagan-identified UUs and UU-friendly Pagans (and anybody else who wants to come in good will and friendship) is part of our mission and we take it very seriously.

So it was with great reluctance and sadness that we canceled this Saturday’s Yule Circle following the fire at the Denton UU Fellowship. The building will not be usable for at least a week, and a variety of logistical issues would make it extremely difficult to relocate this ritual to another location, or to hold it in the front yard of the church.

Some friends have suggested that we do it anyway, even if all we can do is gather in the parking lot and sing a song of defiance in the face of adversity. While we admire that resolve, it simply isn’t doable for us at this time for a variety of reasons, some apparent and some not.

Our sacred space has been desecrated by intentional violence – the building is not the only thing that’s been damaged. On Saturday evening, CUUPS members will hold a private gathering where we’ll talk about what’s happened and how we want to respond. We would prefer to be leading a public Yule circle instead, but this is something we simply must do.

We thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you at Imbolc on January 30.