The change and uncertainty we have all been facing over these many months can feel overwhelming, and one of our challenges is to do our best to find the opportunities in it. We can remember that what really matters is that we keep faith with our values and our principles, and that we hold one another in mutual support and love. I am honored to be trying my best to do that with all of you. (Read more here).
September 2021
“I have walked out in rain and back in rain….” (Robert Frost)
Or at least, I’ve walked out under rain clouds and made a quick about-face when drops began to fall. We have had more than our share of rain this summer - both actual and metaphorical. World and national news has been full of suffering. The pandemic is still with us. Like most of you, I had hoped for a different beginning to our new congregational year.
Our themes this month are possibility and innovation. We are getting lots of practice with innovation! We are carrying on, making decisions, coming up with new ideas, waiting, moving forward, stepping back. We have made good progress in getting ready for safely worshipping in person as it becomes possible for at least some of us. Our Zoom services are also here to stay.
We'll see changes this year. Our wonderful administrator Lisa will be moving to Maine sometime this fall, where her husband has taken a job. Lisa has done extraordinary work for us for eleven years, and her knowledge of how things need to be managed runs deep. I will miss her tremendously. Please spread the word if you know any outstanding administrators who might be a fit for us.
Congratulations are due to Lemmy who has accepted a position on the music faculty at Smith. He will be transitioning away from his responsibilities here in order to devote his energies there full-time. Lemmy’s musicianship has been a gift to us, and we wish him well. Beginning in October we’ll hire substitute pianists to play for us on Sunday mornings before making a longer term plan.
I hope many of you will join us at Laurel Park for our In-Gathering Water Ceremony service on September 12. We will also stream the service on Zoom/YouTube. Jess and Markus’ Jones will bring baby daughter Afton and three-year-old Charlie to be blessed and dedicated at that service. We will celebrate the return to familiar patterns even as we continue to innovate and embrace the possibilities in today’s realities.
I am looking forward to the year ahead, with its promise of continued strength and support in all we do together. I’m blessed to be your minister.
