Minister’s Letter - January 2009

Well, here we are again at the beginning of a new year. The last year has not been an easy one for many, economically at least, and in other ways as well.
The New Year looks equally challenging, not only for many of us individually,but as a Fellowship. However, on a national level, with the election of a new administration, the coming year also looks hopeful, for many of us at least.
I also experience hopefulness and enthusiasm in our Fellowship. On the one hand, I am enormously impressed by and grateful for how much good work you do. We are a very active congregation. With Peter Callaway leading a Voluntary Simplicity Discussion Group, and Gerry Peet leading a UU History and Identity group,and Eric Scuccimarra leading an Ethical Eating Group, and with 7 Community Circles continuing to thrive, and an active Social Action Committee working to serve the community, and a growing Religious Education program led by Tracy Breneman-Penas, and a super charged OWL youth group led by Eddy and Clare Fried, and an active Youth Program led by Shahan Islam and Sonya Lewis,and an outstanding Board of Trustees, not to mention the other dozen committees that keep this place going, and Nenette Kress leading this year’s super-important pledge drive, and now having Keith Harris with us as our Music Director… wow! Amazing! I’m breathless!But as demands increase and we work to reach out more to the community and support our program and our building facility, we are going to need to find creative ways in these weak economic times to financially support our vital Fellowship community. So on January 18, we will have an open Budget Meeting after the 11 a.m. service for all to attend to share your thoughts and proactive ideas about how we can best financially support our growing needs and outreach during this uncertain economic time. Please read the column in this Newsletter from Greg Kullberg where he further explains the purpose of this important meeting. I hope you will attend the meeting on Jan. 18.

As always, as I write this column, for me it’s a bit of a surprise when the old calendar comes to an end and it’s time to hang up a new one. It hardly seems possible that all those days, so empty and abundant just a year ago, have now been used up. Alas, it is true. If there is more fixing to be done, it will have to be done in the future. That never seems quite as apparent as it does on New Year’s Day. Of all the holidays on the calendar, this is, in some sense, the most secular one, a holiday open to whatever we choose to make of it. The day acknowledges no presidents or heroes or movements or births or deaths. It merely signifies the turning of the year and your own place in time.

We may not think so consciously about it, but New Year’s Day makes it clear that the year is a vessel full of only so many days and that one’s life is a vessel full of only so many years. Seen that way, a new calendar naturally looks like a moral proposition.

It occurs to nearly everyone, sooner or later, to wonder why we measure out our lives in years. The fact is that in the strange business of being human, nearly the strangest thing of all is the consciousness of time. How can a year seem so short and so long all at once, like the one that just ended?
Looking ahead, it’s possible to say that the coming year, 2009, will contain 365 days. It’s impossible to say, from here, just how long they’ll take. Who knows? Between our personal lives-all the unexpected and planned events, new found friends, lost relationships that will inevitably take place-and the unpredictable occurrences in a glorious and violent world-who knows how this year will evolve? But we do have each other. And perhaps, that is all we need, as we continue to care for each other, our children and our families, serve the larger community, work for justice, and work to make our Fellowship a worthwhile and centering experience in all the days and years to come. Isn’t that why we come to the Fellowship? To help make those 365 days a bit more meaningful and purposeful in every way? I think so. I love you all. See you at the Fellowship.   Jim Covington