Greetings Church Family,
I pray that the holidays, in whatever way you spent them, brought you closer to some much-needed love and joy. I savored time away from chores, errands, and agendas to enjoy time doing puzzles, playing board games, and watching movies with my family, along with night walks in the woods (a favorite of Jason and I’s!) Often, it’s the sweetness of small things that bring me a feeling of gratitude and renewal–particularly in unsteady days like these.
Returning to church has been sweet too! At Tuesday’s staff meeting we all agreed that we were a bit ‘out of routine’ and looking forward to getting back into the rhythms of our ministries. A lot of creative energy emerged around our month’s theme of Courage, which we are excited about exploring more deeply with you this month. Our monthly worship themes get set in late spring–just before the church year begins winding down. We use Soul Matters* for theme setting, however this was the first year that we decided to branch out a bit. Charlyn Bethell, your stellar Music Director, and I have always delighted in coming together to shore up the worship calendar for the year ahead. This year Kyle Belmont, your Director of Faith Exploration, joined us as we worked to creatively bring our ministries together through theme. We had a ball doing this–and look forward to taking it up again this May.
Courage seemed right for January, and I am glad we listened to our intuitions, for who doesn’t need Courage these days? I draw comfort from Courage being etymologically rooted to the latin ‘cor’, meaning heart. Courage isn’t something that eradicates fear, but rather brings heart to it. I think about how things would be in the world if more people led with their hearts–or, at the very least, had the capacity to check in with them from time to time. Ultimately, we might be more in touch with our feelings, and one another’s. This sounds like a good way to try to live, don’t you think?
Church is place of heart. And amid all the unknowns, I hope you can see this community as such. Thank you for sharing your lives with us; for what you bring and need; for being so very courageous. I hope to see you in church!
In faith and with heart,
Rev. Sophia
*Soul Matters is commonly used yearly subscription that connects UU congregations to monthly themes through rich resources and creative ideas. We’ve subscribed to Soul Matters for the last 7 years.
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.