The eighth and final [[Liturgical Season]], Viventibus Galaxia (Living Galaxies), stretches from mid-fall to the Winter Solstice. It covers the far future. When life spreads from star to star. Humanity may be left behind. Humanity may adaptively radiate. Life may become such a powerful force that it controls the paths of stars, slingshotting them around each other so that entire systems are thrust toward other galaxies. Life may become so powerful that it shapes the destiny of the universe. The four great advances of this time are interstellar life, the fate of humanity, intergalactic life and life as a shaper of the fate of the universe.
Here is the opening ceremony for the [[Weekly Service Calls]] during this season:
:Nothing ... still ... Nothing.
:And then ... <gasp> ... Something!
:Space! Time! Energy! Matter! Gravity!
:Galaxies coalesce.
:In one celestial nursery, Sol is born.
:''(Light a candle for Sol)''
:Sol's story has begun .. but it is only the beginning.
:The story continues with life, starfaring life,
:Green fire flowering as it spreads across our immense galaxy!
:''(Light some alcohol in a galaxy-shaped indentation in a clay plate, with powdered boric acid to make a green flame)''
:We wonder about the fate of humanity.
:Will we pass into the fossil record?
:''(shakers or tambourines or cymbals are played by children!)''
:''(fossils could be involved somehow, e.g. ammonites in a shaker)''
:Or will we adaptively radiate into an unimaginable diversity of forms?
:''(Hold up our fingers and wiggle them while crossing our arms in front of us and raising our hands above our heads)''
: Then will come intergalactic life!
: Shaping entire star systems.
: Sailing them across the great gulfs between the galaxies!
:''(Set a candle drifting from one side of a large water-filled container to the other)''
:Finally, life may come to shape the destiny of the universe!
:Turning dark energy into matter,
:Freely available to all living creatures.
:''(Add green food coloring to the water)''
:Life. Humanity. Living galaxies. The fate of the universe.
:From something ... Something else!
[[File:ViventibusGalaxyPlate.jpg]]