Dear Friends,

One of my favorite hymns in our gray hymnal, Singing the Living Tradition, says:

The sweet June days are come again; the birds are on the wing;
bright anthems, in their merry strain, unconsciously they sing.
Oh, how our cup o’er brims with good these happy summer days;
for all the joys of field and wood we lift our song of praise.

Our Soul Matters theme for June is Blessing, and this song reminds me of a blessing, helping us notice the beauty around us and remember to be grateful.

We have made it through the busy time of our stewardship drive, budget process, and annual meetings and are well on our way to happy summer days, when we celebrate our accomplishments and our growing relationships. I hope everyone will join us at our Intergenerational Potluck and Picnic this Sunday, June 10, after the service at Garden Way Park (corner of Walker and Clark Avenues.) Bring a lawn chair, place settings, and a dish to share.

We have done so much good work together and as things begin to slow down for summer, it is a good practice to take time to appreciate all the people who help get things done at RVUUF. We thought about having a volunteer appreciation Sunday service, but we realized that we’d need more than an hour to name everyone who has helped make this year so special: the Board, the the staff, the members of committees, the neighborhood teams, the people who pulled weeds, the amazing singers in the choir, the people who made soup or salad or cookies, the people who showed up for justice…it seems like we need to thank everyone! So THANK YOU for all you do. It makes RVUUF an amazing community that truly shares the ministry of embracing diversity, empowering community, and engaging in the work!

As summer arrives, you should know that one thing that will not slow down is the quality and importance of our Sunday services. The Worship Team is working hard to create a series of summer services that explore the multiple identities within Unitarian Universalism. While I enjoy a bit of vacation, you will get to hear from a number of other UU ministers, community members, and members of RVUUF. They will share stories about being Unitarian Universalist and how it connects with other parts of their identity such as being humanist, pagan, Christian, Jewish, etc… I hope you will attend as many of these services as you can to learn about and from our UU community.

Thank you again for all you do to make RVUUF so amazing!

Love will Guide us,

Rev. Sean

P.S. I will be away from June 18 until Aug. 16. I’ll first attend the UUA General Assembly in Kansas City, MO, where I will connect with colleagues and participate in workshops, worship, and as a delegate doing the business of our association. I’ll spend a few days in the office tying up loose ends at the end of June and then will be on vacation for the month of July. The first two weeks of August will be study leave–a time for preparing and planning for next year.