Three things I want to mention in this month’s article: one is about our new mission statement, the second is about my summer schedule, and third is about the importance of connecting to each other even when summer tends to separate us until the fall when we gather together again.

New mission statement for RVUUF
Our mission is to …

• Embrace diversity
• Empower connection
• Engage in the work

Passage of a new mission statement calls for new meaning-making this summer and into the fall. Beginning in late August through October I will be giving sermons on each word of the new mission and the opportunity for you to discuss each phrase will occur on Sundays, along with conversations you’re already having with others. The effort is for the purpose of making RVUUF’s mission more real and to become inspired to carry the mission out in the days/months/years ahead.

Moving forward with the congregation’s decision to affirm this new mission is the beginning of our “work” together. Please stay tuned to News to Note, Facebook page, Facebook groups and the website blog for articles and announcements about initiatives the Process Team is planning to help RVUUF’s mission become manifest.

Two of the ideas are underway: a congregation-wide T-shirt contest that includes words from the mission; a congregation-wide contest to compose a singable (for all ages) jingle that includes words from the mission. There will be deadline dates announced for everyone to offer up ideas and the dates to cast your vote on the best T-shirt and singable jingle, all in the spirit of marketing, memorizing and making meaning of RVUUF’s new mission. Watch for dates and deadlines.

Summer schedule
The summer has arrived and I’d like to share with you my summer schedule. I am taking the month of July for study leave to prepare for the fall, however, I will be available for hospital and/or death emergencies. This summer I am only taking one week of vacation, Aug. 15 to 21, and the remaining three weeks will be spread throughout the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The month of August will include my presence and preaching on Sundays except for Aug. 14 where I will be speaking at Grants Pass UU and Rev. Marge Keip will speak at RVUUF that day. We clergy pulpit-swap to promote our interdependent connections with sister congregations.

Importance of connecting
Summer calls away many members who travel to see family or vacation time, and yet, our connections to each other can continue because we hold in common our commitment to RVUUF always being a place to return to when summer ends. How fortunate we are to have a place to come back to, and for those people who don’t go anywhere during the summer, how fortunate you have a part to play in RVUUF always being here. I’m not just talking about RVUUF “the building.” Equally important, I’m talking about RVUUF “the people.” Staying connected to each other by way of News to Note, website, Facebook, or by your presence any day of the week and especially Sundays, is important because the summer does not shut RVUUF down. The services, ministries and programs offered continue and your volunteer responsibilities remain.

Living in community as a “we church” can sometimes be stretched because of people traveling, etc., so we want to be sure to stay connected by communicating as best we can. I remind you that during the summer the Worship Team and I ask that you prepare for September by bringing water from a place you traveled or from home and plan to speak about how water symbolizes a new learning/discovery about yourself or relationships you cherish. We hope the service becomes more about our learnings/discoveries and how they impact our lives and less about “where I went on my summer vacation”! Sept. 11 with be the annual Water Communion service with a picnic to follow. Blessings!

Rev. Nan L. White
Developmental minister