I am still glowing
from the “The Big Wedding Party” we had in August. Thank you to all of the
staff and church members who helped make this big day happen, as we celebrated marriage equality. It was a blessing
to be witness to such love and joy!
As we begin to move
into the church year, I have been thinking about our mission to “give, receive,
and grow into Love’s people,” and I keep coming back to this prayer from
Unitarian Universalist Minister Kate Braestrup, from her book, Beginner’sGrace: Bringing Prayer into Your Life:
May love and strength
be in my hands
May love and courage
be in my heart
May love and wisdom be
in my mind
May love be with me
and work through me today
And all my days.
Amen.
I love this prayer
because it points to the essence of the church’s ministry; here, in the
Universalist spirit of love and hope, we strive to grow more fully into Love’s people and
to embody and become vehicles for that love.
In fact,
“Growing into Love’s people” is the drive behind our racial justice
commitment, which continues to deepen this year, with conversations, trainings,
and sermons about faith, race, racism, and racial justice. As a person of
faith, I am clear that love and the horrendous impacts of racism are
fundamentally in opposition. The deepest tap roots of our faith call us to work
for racial justice.
“Growing into
Love’s people” is the drive behind our Community Circles. Community Circles are
sacred spaces designed for participants to engage in the spiritual practice of
deep listening and connecting with others. I believe that smaller groups are
one of the best places to “give, receive, and grow into Love’s people.”
“Growing into Love’s
people” is the drive behind our Sunday morning worship, our Faith in Action work, and our Religious
Education Programming (we want our children and youth to know they are loved
and to grow up to be agents of a justice seeking love).
Here, in all that we
do, we invite a Holy Love to lay claim on our lives. Here, we practice giving,
receiving, and growing ever more deeply into Love’s people.
Welcome to the new
church year! May love be with you and work through you today and all of your
days.
I’ll see you in
church,
Justin
