The month of July has been a respite for me in that I spent a lot of my study month catching up on reading books that always get pushed to the side of my desk during the year.

A couple of books I’ve read are by my friend and colleague the Rev. Nate Walker. One is titled Cultivating Empathy, The Worth and Dignity of Every Person—Without Exception. Nate re-awakens the notion of the importance of a moral imagination and how we can understand perspectives different from our own without agreeing with or “other-izing” the other person. His book is a nice compliment to the work we’ve been doing with Rev. Cat Cox on covenantal-collaborative communication (aka non-violent or compassionate communication.

My reading has been about finding ways for us to talk about and hear each other’s understandings/opinions when it comes to RVUUF’s new mission to embrace diversity, empower connection, engage in the work. I keep learning over and over again that it’s too easy to discount another person’s opinion when you believe in only your own.

The political climate we are living in offers too many chances to “other-ize” people and my hope and prayer for us at RVUUF is to continue to cultivate empathy as a deeply held value to be passed down to the next generation. I’m sure I’ll have more say about this in future sermons.

The month of August gives you a continued opportunity to plan on bringing a small container of water to RVUUF’s annual ingathering water ceremony on Sept. 11. Everyone will be invited to briefly share the meaning you’ve gained in your life over the summer months using the water as a symbol of that meaning. Often at this annual water ceremony we hear only about where you may have traveled, but this year we are asking you to reflect more deeply about how the summer days have impacted your life.

The continuous gun violence tragedies challenge us to dig deeper into how life matters to us all. I look forward to hearing how your meaning-making can impact our lives as we approach a new church year together.

I’m offering this new church year a “tea time” with me. This “tea time” is not a game of golf but an opportunity to have tea and conversation with me. The days and times will vary, and will be offered each quarter, as I want to choose times/days that non-working and working people can attend at least one tea time over the course of the year. The first tea time with Rev. Nan is Aug. 9, under the balcony, at 2 to 3 p.m. All that is expected is for you to show up.

Rev. Nan L. White
RVUUF Developmental Minister