What Are You Reading ?

Jul 17, 2024 | Weekly Message

Faith formation doesn’t stop over the summer – we’ve been reading and learning with Banned Books Summer! In June, we read LGBTQ+ themed books to celebrate Pride Month. We heard the stories of This Day in June, And Tango Makes 3, and Jacob’s New Dress. In July, we’re exploring racial justice and equity with the books Separate is Never Equal, Something Happened in Our Town, and The Day You Begin. All of these books have been banned or challenged in schools and libraries across the country. We share the story and then have a conversation about the book, including why it has been banned or challenged, and then we process through art. This past week, we read the true story in Separate is Never Equal of the Mendez family, who fought long and hard to desegregate schools in California in the 1940’s. In response, our kids made welcome signs for our congregation, because everyone is welcome here. It was their idea to make the signs in multiple languages, I can’t take credit for that. Special thanks to all the adults who have stepped up to make this happen!

Though things are a little slower in the summer, we are working on plans for next year! I have to tell you that I am very excited for the upcoming year – we are going to have some fun together! Now is the time to register your children and youth for 2024-25 programming – help us plan to welcome your family by registering! You can register here: https://forms.gle/VSTe2TyRUgZeYgSq6. Interested in our OWL offerings for children and youth? You must register to participate in OWL and there is a link in the registration form to let us know you’d like to participate – please fill that out ASAP! We are also still looking for collaborators for next year. We have spots open on all teaching teams right now, you can find more information and sign up here: https://forms.gle/pmk7p6SZNDZcNtZJ6. Our children and youth program belongs to the congregation and we can’t do it without YOU. It is crucial to have folks from all walks of life and of all ages working with our children and youth – your lived experience is so valuable to building this beautiful community! I can also promise that you will be changed for the better by spending time with the future of our faith community. I have been doing this work for nearly 10 years and I learn something new every Sunday! We’re also always looking for behind the scenes folks if working with others is just not your thing. 

Speaking of our beautiful community – our youth have returned from their trip to CERSI and had a fabulous time, thanks to all of your support! They work hard to raise funds throughout the year and you all make it possible for them to do things like CERSI that gives them the opportunity to learn, grow, and make friends with other UU’s! Special shout out to the fabulous Jen Johnson for all of her terrific work with our youth program – we are so blessed to have her kindness and compassion leading the way. She’s on vacation now, but please tell her thanks the next time you see her!

In faith and with tremendous love,

Kim Collins, Lifespan Religious Educator

Less & More

Jul 11, 2024 | Weekly Message

The last Soul Matters theme for the congregational year was the gift of renewal, an appropriate theme to launch the summer season. What does renewal mean to you? Replenishment? Recovery? Restoration? Summer can be a time of replenishment when schedules slow down – a little- and there might be opportunities for vacation time. For me, this month will also be a time to take a break from social media and explore those things that bring joy to counterbalance the challenging news headlines and concerns about the upcoming elections. I have challenged myself to disconnect from social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and use my cell phone a little as possible. It has indeed been challenging! I’m so accustomed to checking emails and social media platforms on my phone, that I instinctively reach for my cell phone. Two weeks into what I call my social media sabbath, I am less attached to my phone. It is liberating to focus on other things like art projects without phone alerts and interruptions. This summer I have been inspired by a Creativity Matters prompt to create a “Less & More Mural” to consider what I want more of and less of in my life. What would your mural look like?

Creativity Matters is part of the Adult Faith Formation Soul Matters program. Participants receive packets with reflection questions and prompts that explore the monthly theme through art. During COVID I participated in the pilot program on-line and became a fan. At first, I was intimidated by all the artists participating in the program: a photographer, a quilter, an art therapist zooming in from her art studio, and other folks who already had an art practice. I completed the assignments but rarely shared, preferring to talk about the process and emotions behind the pieces I created. Over time I realized the goal wasn’t to produce the
perfect piece but to enjoy making time for creativity, playfulness and imagination in community. Creativity Matters was a lesson in embracing vulnerability and taming the inner critic. It was also a journey into creating collages which I have used to explore sermon themes, unpack ideas that arise during spiritual direction sessions or simply play with images and color. I wanted more creativity in my life after participating in the pilot. Although I am no longer in a group, I continue to create collages and find inspiration in the monthly Creativity Matters packets. I am glad we have had a Creativity Matters group that meets on campus each of the last two years. A special thank you to EJ Haack and James Cassara for co-facilitating the group. I hope we can form two groups next year since there is usually a waiting list. If exploring our monthly themes through art is of interest to you, please let us know by filling out this form.

Have a wonderful summer! I look forward to our work together in the fall. If you haven’t read “How We Ended Racism,” our congregational common read, I encourage you to do so. Rev. Audette and I will be hosting a monthly series “Collective Liberation in Action” starting in October for learning and action as we reflect on themes and exercises in the book. We hope you join in!

Hasta pronto,

Rev. Claudia

Minister of Faith Formation

Good Trouble

Jul 3, 2024 | Weekly Message

As I write this, it’s Friday morning, June 28th – the morning after the first Presidential debate of the momentous 2024 election. It’s not a good morning for those of us deeply concerned about democracy and the health of the US system of governance. But you are likely reading this on or around July 4th, when we take the time to celebrate American values, in their most aspirational form. This year, that celebration is more important than ever.

Elections are not about any one candidate. They are often deeply flawed expressions of our hopes and vision of who we are as a people, a praxis that tries to bridge the gap between our theories and the very real law-making and work to which politics leads. 

People have faced difficult times throughout history. We are not alone in our struggles, although it often feels to us living through them as though they are more existential than ever. 

In times such as these, it’s important to not merely look outward – for example, at candidates – but rather, inward. What are your core values? What are your responsibilities to the whole – to your community, to your country? How can they best be practiced in times like these? What do you serve? What feeds your courage, and sustains your hope? How will you live so as to make those values real in your actions and choices?

Those of us lucky enough to live in North Carolina not only have the fortune of living in an exquisitely beautiful place, but we have unique political potency. Unlike what I could accomplish in deep blue New York, for example, I am profoundly aware of the greater impact of my vote and my participation in North Carolina, a state that needs people who will vote for the values so well expressed by our Unitarian Universalist faith. 

If you want to make a difference, now is the time. Our UU the Vote work is ongoing – contact Joanne Fox to get involved through the congregation, or visit uuthevote.org. Get in touch with your neighborhood precinct. Love. Serve. Act. If you’re concerned about autocracy here, see my American autocracy resource center: American Autocracy Resources

The late John Lewis saw some hard times, and yet he spent his life in service. Let us always keep in front of us his advice: 

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”

With love,

Rev. Audette