I hear that news of who will be serving UUCA as interim minister will be going out soon. What an exciting time! As it happens, I’ve already spoken a little with your person, as they called me ahead of the interview with our search committee to scope out this place and get my impression on leaving.
I sang your praises but also acknowledged some of the challenges that you face in the coming days. The one thing I particularly wanted to share with you is that I told them that this fall you need to find lots of ways to gather – formal and informal, fun and serious. Many of us are only now creeping out from behind our Zoom screens to experience people in person again. And I think we’re all hungry for real face time.
We as a congregation are an institution, of course, and we stand for many important principles, but most of all we are a people place. This reminds me of a talk I gave a couple of years ago to kick off one of our fund drives.
“Each Sunday,” I wrote, “I stand by our door, and I watch as the most amazing stories walk by me – some tall and moving fast, some small with wide eyes, some laughing in clusters, some moving slowly. Some of them I know something about, and we catch up as they pass. Some are total mysteries, and I wonder what is behind that shy smile. Some are smiling and talkative. Some are withdrawn, or just enigmatic. It is the most amazing part of my week, when I watch us inhabit this place, when we fill this space and give it life, when we venture out from our cozy homes, navigate city streets, scramble, sometimes, for parking, and find our way here.
“Walking up the sidewalk, we look around and see some people ahead of us, others behind. We come to the door, a hand reaches to welcome us, the busy stir of mixed voices washes over us and we are back, back to a place like nothing else in our lives, a place where our stories join a common story.”
This, I think, is what so many of us miss: the sense of connection and community that comes of our spending time together. And that is what you must find ways to create as you restart. I know you can because you have. In my experience, this has always been a warm, welcoming community, and it’s what everyone wants to have back again. Now, go and make it so!
Rev. Mark Ward, Lead Minister