Lighting the Way

I will light candles this Christmas,
Candles of joy despite all the sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all year long.

from "The Mood of Christmas" (1973), by Howard Thurman, a prominent African American author, theological, educator, and civil rights leader.

In 1944, Dr. Thurman co-founded with Dr. Alfred Fisk The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples as the nation’s first interracial interfaith congregation, in San Francisco. (fellowshipsf.org)