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Message for Autumn

Welcome [back] to UUC. Even though we meet throughout the year for worship and all kinds of other activities, we also follow the rhythms of the school year. Many of us take time for vacation and breaks from usual routines during the summer, enjoying the longer days and warmer weather. The annual Water Service acts as our ingathering, marking the beginning of a new program year. It feels like coming home.

This year’s water service was especially poignant for me, marking the beginning of our ninth year together in shared ministry. Unlike my first water service in Blacksburg, when very few people brought their own water, instead pouring from pitchers we provided; this year, water was poured from all kinds of containers and came from many different places. There’s nothing magical about bringing your own water instead of pouring symbolic water from a pitcher, especially for those who couldn’t transport water from far away places or simply forgot. But it seems to mark a difference in culture – from one where the water service was perhaps not as ingrained to one where it has gained some importance in the life of the community. Shared rituals help us create compassionate community – one part of our mission at UUC.

We’ll be exploring the theme of Building Belonging in September’s worship services and small group ministry meetings. How do we go beyond welcoming to creating a sense of belonging? To what or whom do we belong? Why is belonging so important to us? So many questions to explore. Our monthly themes come from Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a network of Unitarian Universalist congregations that share resources. This year’s themes are remarkable for all starting with verbs – October’s is Cultivating Compassion and November is Nurturing Gratitude. The invitation is to go beyond our heads and hearts and get out in the world and ACT.

As autumn unfolds, we will all have opportunities to think, feel, and act in addition to Sunday morning services – from joining a Soul Matters small group or adult faith development offering, enjoying the company of others in a Circle Supper or one of our many social gatherings or support groups, attending the annual service auction (and donating and purchasing experiences and items up for sale), and volunteering in myriad ways. With elections coming up in November, consider joining some of our social justice efforts like weekly Get-Out-the-Vote postcard-writing in Elarth Hall after the service, and the Defending Democracies event, Democracy is on the Ballot on the morning of September 27^th. Read through the fall newsletter and watch for announcements in our email announcements to find ways you can build your own belonging at UUC.

Welcome home to UUC,

Rev. Pam