Dear Ones:

As I write this column (my first for the new congregational year beginning July 1), the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly (GA) is in its second of five days. I can’t comment on the outcome of the GA here, because it won’t end for another three days, and I’ve already missed the newsletter deadline. Bottom line: while I don’t know right now how the vote on the proposed revisions to Article 2 of the Unitarian Universalist Association bylaws will go, we will know the outcome by the time you are reading this.

I am planning to share my thoughts on the outcomes of General Assembly at our Sunday service on July 14. I’ll be trying my best to name what the outcome of the Article 2 vote means for us as a congregation, and for Unitarian Universalism as a long-standing association of liberal congregations with historic roots not only in the United States but stretching back to the days of the early Christian church. I say I’ll be trying my best, because anything I can say on July 14 will likely be preliminary. Whether the Article 2 proposal passes, or whether it fails, I don’t think we’ll know the full implications for some time.

In addition, as part of our effort to understand the full implications of the vote on Article 2, the UUSE Policy Board has established two Task Forces which will begin work during the summer months. One Task Force will continue working on proposals to update our congregation’s constitution. The other Task Force will create a process whereby members and friends of our congregation can discern together the relationship we want to have with the Unitarian Universalist Association. Certainly, the outcome of the GA vote on Article 2 will shape our discernment process. So, what I can say right at this moment, in the midst of GA, on the first full day of summer, is that there’s more to come. That feels unsatisfying as a write it. But it’s true. There’s more to come.

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In other news, I am getting ready to take my usual summer vacation and study leave. I’ll be officially on leave from approximately July 5 to the end of the second week in August. (Though I will be preaching on July 14.) Our family will spend two weeks in the Azores at the end of July. We had originally planned this trip for the summer of 2020, but the pandemic forced us to cancel. We’re excited to finally be going. I’m mindful that the Azores were a vacation destination for some east coast Unitarian ministers and their families during the second half of the 19th century. That’s not why we’re going, but I’ve read up on what some of my predecessors wrote about the Azores. Some regarded the Azores as the most sacred place on the planet. I’m hoping to experience at least a glimmer of what those spiritual forebears experienced.

I’m also beginning to think about the focus of my summer study leave. One thing I know I want to study is the history and current implementation of Connecticut’s so-called ‘fiscal guardrails,’ which currently prevent the state from investing its enormous, multi-billion-dollar reserves in desperately needed public goods and services. Many progressive organizations, labor unions, and faith-based organizations, including the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance, are launching campaigns to reform the fiscal guardrails in next year’s legislative session. I want to learn as much as I can about this topic so that I can be an effective leader in this initiative. That won’t be the full extent of my summer study, but it’s the one topic I am definitely planning to look into.

Summer is the season for fun, play, relaxation, exploration, experimentation! I wish you a summer full of all these things. I wish you a wonderful summer.

With love and care,

Rev. Josh