Hello lovelies.

It is deeply gratifying to be with you, gearing up to another congregational year. As the mornings become cooler, the garden harvest increases, and we recognize the level of activity here at Boulder Valley UU Fellowship, I invite you to acknowledge all the transitions we experience in a full life.

Grief and loss accompany every transition to some extent, whether it is the death of a loved one, a shifting of priorities, the season, or even a welcomed transition into a new relationship or job. If we are flexible and accepting of the constant of change, life is easier. If we recognize and accept the process of grief, watching it surface in the corners of our lives, we move through it with more ease. It can be, oh, so messy. Life is messy.

Perhaps you attended all the summer services on our Unitarian Universalist principles. No? You missed a Sunday morning service??? Our principles give us profound guidelines through which we can discern daily choices, ethical and foundational worldviews.

1. The inherent worth and dignity of every person;

2. Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;

3. Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;

4. A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;

5. The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;

6. The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;

7. Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

Dear ones, use your congregation. Use your beloved community. Use your leadership capacities. Spread your love and reason and wisdom and caring. As part of this congregation, you will be cared for, and you will be asked to care for others. Bring your whole self. Bring your questions. Share your spiritual practices and your spiritual dilemmas. Bring your whole messy self.

I leave you with these words from Denise Levertov’s “Beginners”: We have only begun to know the power that is in us if we would join our solitudes in the communion of struggle. So much is unfolding that must complete its gesture, so much is in bud.

In faith and service,

Rev. Ruth