Minister's Musings September 2026

“Beginnings often frighten us because they seem like lonely voyages into the unknown. Yet, in truth, no beginning is empty or isolated. We seem to think that beginning is setting out from a lonely point along some line of direction into the unknown. This is not the case. Shelter and energy come alive when a beginning is embraced… We are never as alone in our beginnings as it might seem at the time. A beginning is ultimately an invitation to open toward the gifts and growth that are stored up for us.” ~John O’Donohue, from A Spell Against Stagnation

Beginning, and beginning again, is an invitation to embrace not only what is possible but to discover the profuse bounty that we hold within and to explore our capacity to share this bounty with our community. Every September, we begin the new program year for the congregation. As Unitarian Universalists, we acknowledge our beginning again by celebrating Water Communion, a Homecoming service and ritual, that uses water as a metaphor to remind us that though we are many streams, we all flow together to a great ocean. The water cycle even reminds us that there is a process, a system that repeats itself for the nourishment of our planet. So, we begin and we begin again, like water.

​Another thing we often explore at the beginning of the program year, especially in our faith formation programs like Soul Matters, is covenant. Because Unitarian Universalism is not a creedal faith, we instead rely upon covenant, or our promises we make to one another, for how we share, support one another in our growth, and practice together what it means to be imperfect humans in a community of mutuality.
Capacity is an interesting concept, one that I wish to explore in some depth this year. What is our capacity to love? What is our capacity to serve others? What is our capacity to frame our mission from a place of abundance rather than scarcity? Do we hold the capacity to dream big and then take action to make those dreams come true? Do we have the capacity to honestly reflect upon who we are, who we are and who we are called to be? Capacity and Covenant are woven together in UU spaces and require honest reflection, effort and grace.
As we decide where we are going mission-ally this year, as we work to center love, let us be clear about our desire and capacity to achieve our goals. And let covenant hold us, even when we falter, to remind us of our aspirations and let that covenant of the right relationship be remembered as the well of love that moves us ever forward. You are not alone. We can do great things together. It will take all of us to make it so. 

In faith,
Rev. Sarah