Greetings Church Family,
This comes to you as I hurl through the air! Maybe somewhere between Boston and Los Angeles? I am making my way to California for a short visit with my mom and will be home Wednesday evening. I am grateful to you and to our wonderful staff for making this possible. Our Worship Committee also has a beautiful service planned for Sunday, which I will look forward to watching when I return. There is a good chance that this will be my last trip to Los Angeles for a long while. After more than 50 years living in LA, my mom is planning to move to New England this summer! This trip feels like an important piece of the big ‘goodbye’ for me, and for her.
I guess that I am off to a good and timely start with February’s theme–The Path of Love. We are so deeply affected by who we love, what we love, how we love, and, yes, the places we love, aren’t we? I plan to spend some time considering this while in Los Angeles. I also plan to collect a bit of dirt to bring home–something my mom used to do when she would travel. I now have quite a collection of little jars filled with sand and soil displayed on a bookshelf in my home office. They remind me that this world is a big one, and my work is to know myself as a part of it. That’s Love too, right?
I look forward to hearing what comes up for you when you consider the many Paths (and places!) of Love in your life. There will be lots of ways to reflect on this over the month: in Sunday Worship or Vespers; at Second Sunday Social Hour; at our Heart of the Matter gathering; at the Beyond Welcome book discussion; or at the Getting to Know UU and First Parish workshop, just to name a few. Of course, the ways in which we connect, learn, and grow is ever-evolving here at First Parish. If there is something you would like to explore, teach, or learn with your fellow parishioners, just reach out to me, okay? Let’s see how we can make it so!
Thank you for all the love you bring to the world, and to this place. I am honored to serve as your minister, and so grateful for the connections we share.
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.