MENU
Join Us Sunday
I'm New
Give

The September Shift: Finding Our Rhythm Again

by | Sep 10, 2026 | Featured, Weekly Message

Against a grey background is a photo of a wooden metronome in action, its pendulum blurred as it moves. Text to the left of the metronome reads, "Finding Our Rhythm Again"
In my last message, we were deep in the sprawling, unstructured days of summer. Now, as the calendar turns over, there’s a familiar, grounding shift in the atmosphere. Even here on the coast, where the late-summer sun still shines bright, the early mornings are just beginning to carry that faint, welcome hint of Fall.

In some ways September feels like the real new year—a time of transition, readjustment, and coming back to center. If your house is anything like mine right now, the start of the school year is a beautiful, chaotic whirlwind. With a high schooler and middle schooler navigating new schedules, our family is working hard to replace the flexibility of summer with a functional daily routine.

It takes effort to get the gears turning again. It means setting earlier alarms, syncing the family calendar, and figuring out how to balance homework, work commitments, family needs, and taking care of ourselves. But we don’t build these routines just to be busy; we build them to create space. Structure provides the framework for connection. When we find our rhythm, we carve out those essential moments to pause, check in with each other over dinner, and truly connect as a family amidst the noise.

What is true for our families at home is just as true for our spiritual family.

September marks our collective regathering. Just as we are dusting off backpacks and re-establishing our household rhythms, we are also being called to find our rhythm again as a congregation. Summer often scatters us—to vacations, to camps, to weekends away—but Fall draws us back together.

  • Showing Up: Returning to our shared physical and spiritual spaces.
  • Deepening Connections: Moving past the casual summer catch-ups and leaning back into meaningful, supportive relationships with one another.
  • Embracing the Work: Re-engaging with our community initiatives, our music, and our shared values.

I’ve played music nearly my whole life.  And when I’m not playing, I’m probably thinking about it.  Sometimes it just runs like a software loop in the back of my head without me noticing much.  Sometimes I get real curious about it.  One thing I’ve considered is the relationship between rhythm, melody, and harmony.  That dissertation is for another day, but for this reflection, I will offer that I have decided among these 3 great pillars of music, rhythm is the most critical.  It provides the structure that allows melody and harmony to thrive.

As the air begins to cool and the days slowly shorten, let’s embrace this season of return. Let’s be patient with ourselves as we adjust to new schedules, and let’s be intentional about how we reconnect—both at our own kitchen tables and within the walls of our church.

– Will

Will Jernigan is the Vice President of the the UU Asheville Board of Trustees and a member of The Sandburgers.