Greetings Dear Ones,
I really am counting the days to see you and be with you again.
These past weeks have been rich ones–your staff and I had our yearly retreat where we learned about healthy ways to serve and be in community with a congregation, alongside a delicious lunch at Red Lentil in Watertown, where we took time to tell stories and catch up with one another. We have revisited our staff covenant, as we always do at the beginning of the year, and plan to spend the next few weeks engaging in an exercise about our personal values and how they align (or don’t align!) with the church’s values. This staff team is just superb–they are wise, focused, passionate and devoted to their work. If you haven’t thanked one of them lately, won’t you do this soon? Allison, Charlyn, Guy and Nathan are such treasures here.
And we have a new staff member in our midst–who you will meet at our September 29th worship service! Phoebe Eckart-Lee is the new Assistant Minister at the First Parish in Lexington, and is leading our Coming of Age ministry, which will not just be for our teenagers, but will also be offered, in small bites, to the adults! Phoebe will be contributing to the newsletter regularly and offering lots of ways for you to get to know her. We are so blessed to build this bridge with our friends in Lexington and look forward to a healing and enriching year with them and Phoebe.
Last, this church year’s overarching theme is Relationship. It’s one that I have chosen for us as we continue to build and forge trust, and work towards the promise and practice of our Unitarian Universalist faith, which depends on intentional, spiritually-grounded relationality. But it’s also because I see the purpose of church, and interpret our covenantal religion, to be about co-creating a community of inclusive kinship and tenderness. I plan to preach about this rich, and yes, complicated, theme throughout the year; I look forward to learning more about it right alongside you; and I pray that you will engage with it in your own personal ways, and in our coming-together ways.
Here’s to inviting in a good month, and another soul-nourishing year together. See you in church!
With love and in faith,
Rev. Sophia
Reverend Sophia Lyons
Rev. Sophia is committed to radical welcome and spreading the good news that is our bold Unitarian Universalist faith. Some of her areas of interest include interfaith partnerships, addictions ministry, spiritual direction, and working towards collective liberation for all. Rev. Sophia aspires to live her life and fulfill her ministry guided by spiritual seeking, big love, and the seven principles of Unitarian Universalism.