I went to my first UU service this morning, and I think it fits.
The Yakima Valley is officially about a third Hispanic (unofficially probably more than that), so Dia de los Muertos is a big thing around here. The service this morning talked a lot about the cycle of life and death, and about the traditions of Dia de los Muertos.
And then La Catrina paid us a visit. Sound familiar?
That's from Beth's description of the Dia de los Muertos scent. I never quite got it before.
La Catrina, as she appeared to us, is the skeleton of a fancy lady dressed up to go to a ball. She came down the aisle wearing a big frilly hat and waving a fan, wearing skeleton gloves and skeletal face paint. She curtsied to us and pulled a few people out of the congregation to dance with her, both men and women, and several couples got up on their own to join the dance as a Spanish ballad played.
When I first arrived at the church, one of the greeters mentioned that it was going to be an unusual service. And it was, and I loved it.
I was raised in the Episcopal church, and I still enjoy their services for the most part, but there are always things that seem wrong. The main thing that got me thinking about the UU church is that the man I plan to marry was raised Muslim, and I really want our family to have a shared spiritual life. He came to midnight Mass with me last Christmas, and while he enjoyed the music, a lot of the service made him very uncomfortable because it just isn't what he believes. I imagine it'd be the same for me if I joined him for Friday prayers. But based on this morning's service, I think we could both be quite happy in UU.
It isn't often that I'm in town on a Sunday morning, but I plan to go back.
Edit 'cause I totally forgot to comment on the music.
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