Dear Ones:
By my calculation, August 15, 2012 marked the beginning of my tenth year serving as UUS:E’s minister. What a blessing it is to be doing work I love with people I love. What a blessing! I can’t thank all of you enough for the love, support and encouragement you’ve given me over the past decade. I’m excited to see how our shared ministry will continue to deepen and grow in the coming year and into the future.
***
Our ministry theme for September is “transitions.” There are some very obvious transitions at this time of year as children and youth head back to school; as tree leaves begin turning and falling; as the land gives forth its final bounty of the year and awaits the coming of winter. For me these autumn transitions evoke a sense of poignancy. I’m feeling it a lot these days. My kids are one year older. Max has a full day of school for the first time. Their childhood is moving quickly now. I recognize how precious this time is. I recognize that I don’t get this time with them back. As much as their transition back to school is fresh and exciting, it is also infused with loss. I suppose this is why our life transitions can be so hard at times. In order to enter a new stage of life, we need to let the previous stage go—and we don’t get it back. We need to accept loss.
So this month I’m wondering what spiritual resources we have at our disposal to meet the challenges of our life transitions. If change alone is unchanging, as Heraklietos said, then how do we change well? I’ll be exploring this question in my September sermons. If you have thoughts about spiritual resources for managing life transitions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
***
On Sunday, September 23rd, UUS:E is deeply honored to welcome the Rev. Mark Kiyimba into its pulpit. Mark is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kampala, Uganda (also known as New Life Kampala) where he has been a leading voice in the effort to block Uganda’s infamous anti-gay laws. For his courageous work he recently received the National Education Association’s “Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights.” His congregation runs an orphanage and school for children impacted by HIV/AIDS. He is a wonderful speaker with a gentle, caring and fearless presence. During his time in Connecticut he will be speaking at a number of other venues including the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford on Thursday evening, September 20th at 7:00 P.M. Please give Rev. Kiyimba a warm welcome when he comes!
With love,
