It was a busy weekend at UUSS! After lots of activities on Saturday, it was good to hear the choir rehearsing as we prepared for worship, and then to see all the folks in the circle, and those who attended online. We are grateful for Rev. Julie Taylor’s presence and message, and the reminder that congregations offer three things that support resilience: caring community, accomplishing things, and making meaning, (from Dr. Raymond Flannery.)

We get to witness or hear about some of the care that has really made a difference for people. Cards, phone calls, meals, an email, a batch of cookies, a visit to care for a baby, a listening ear, financial support through the Congregation and Community fund, a warm hello, or the offer of a hug, can all make a significant difference.

Accomplishing things, or what Flannery calls “mastery,” especially when done in community, makes a difference, too. This week there are opportunities to help with Sunday’s potluck picnic, as well as ongoing efforts for #UUtheVote. The goal is to have as many people as possible from the congregation participate during this election season. What will your part be? Not only will you be helping to increase voter access and participation, but you will be contributing to your own resiliency, too!

And, every week, we support one another in meaning making, knowing that the meaning that we make will not always be the same. We each filter through our own social location and life experiences. In our free and responsible search for truth and meaning, it can be truly nourishing to notice what other people are experiencing and what meaning they might make that is different from you.

This coming Sunday, we hope to see you for ingathering, as together, we share some of the meaning we made of what we experienced over the summer, and celebrate a community where grace and caring are possible.

The Board met on Sunday afternoon for the final six-hour session of this year’s 3-part Board retreat, and together we discussed what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist and a leader in this liminal time where something has dissolved but the new has not yet made itself clear.

In faith~
Rev. Lynn & Rev. Wendy