Last year, as I began my ministerial internship, a congregant gave me a small bottle of seeds they had collected after I shared my love for seed starting. That bottle sat on my desk throughout the church year. And when I finished my internship, I planted those seeds in a container on my back porch.
This is a shady area and it took the entire summer for the stems to emerge from the soil and twist in the dappled sunlight. Then last week, the flowers started to bloom.
I carry this image as our church year begins, and as I start as your Director of Faith Exploration. I know this year will be about planting seeds and tending to the soil. And I am so thankful that this work of tending to the soil is work we do together, and work that has been done together.
Building from Kelly and Kyle Morton’s stewardship of Faith Exploration these past years, we’ll continue Sunday Faith Exploration classes during worship services starting on September 14. After the time for all ages, our youngest are invited to join our Classroom Assistants (Cas and Maddy), volunteers, and me for sharing circles, learning about our shared values, and often engaging with arts and crafts. If your family has yet to complete a Faith Exploration registration form, please do so!
In October, I hope to refresh a youth group. I’ll talk with some of our most recent and current youth to prepare. I’m also talking with UU colleagues nearby to imagine possibilities. This might lead to partnerships in offering OWL, for example, or ways for youth groups to connect.
Beyond my focus on Faith Exploration, this year also continues my formation in UU ministry. I am a candidate in this process which means I am neither fellowshipped nor ordained, but on the cusp of important next steps. To be true to my place in this process, I will wear a robe on Sundays, similar to Rev. Sophia, but without a stole because I am not ordained. My hope is that by the start of the next church year, when I write a similar beginning message, I’ll have a stole picked out for our water communion service.
So much is happening, both here in our church and beyond. So much is happening, both within Faith Exploration and for the people engaging in this exploration.
I am incredibly grateful for your support and patience as I settle in.
Please feel free to email me with any questions, and to find me on Sundays to say hello.
Thank you,
KYLE