Over the summer I decided to memorize 5–10 of my favorite poems and prayers so that they could go with me everywhere. It became clear, quite quickly, that I was in too deep, and that memorization can be hard! In the end, I finished one: the Jerusalem Bible’s version of Psalm 23, which is near and dear to my heart. This endeavor taught me many things, one of which was that you really get inside a text when you try to memorize it. It also reminded me about worthwhile undertakings being less about the outcome, and more about the slow, steady, journey to get there. This particular Psalm now lives in me, every blessed word, and I’m glad I took my time to make this so.
Church invites this slow and careful journey too. This is certainly at the heart of Intention, which is our year’s theme, and Compassion, which is the theme this month.
This past month of church has been a full one–brimming with good dreamings, gatherings, and offerings. It is clear to me that your stellar staff and good leaders have an enormous amount of passion and vision. I see them working together to: assess and reimagine structural systems and processes; offer nourishing faith-based programming; prioritize needed updates to our building; and learn how to be a people of justice–all in ways that embody our mission, values, and attempt to meet this moment. And just like memorization, all of this requires a slow, steady pace–so that we don’t leave any wisdom behind, or race by the most important thing which is each other. I think we all hope that these good works and learnings meaningfully live in us for a long, long time!
And this is what I love about you, and being your minister—that I get to see you working hard at being the church and living your faith, day in and day out, doing your own inner work and doing what you can to help bless our church and world. I hope you see this too, in yourself and in others. Much love to you as we journey together.
I’ll see you in church!
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.