Minister's Notes June 2010

Lessons from the Garden  I was out in my garden this morning, noticing how well the spinach is spouting up.  I did a little watering, enjoyed the lush green of the season, picked off a few yellowing leaves, and wondered when the Bleeding Heart will be going dormant for the summer.  It's been a wonderful spring in the garden, mostly due to the warm weather.  Planning, hard work, patient waiting, the right combination of seed and soil, water and light: it's all needed to make a garden grow.

 Life is like that...the seeds for some things sprout and grow, while other seeds seem to fall on ground that's not ready.  Under the right conditions, things thrive.  Some factors we can control, others not. It strikes me that our life in religious community is like this too.  Some ideas catch hold and grow wildly.  Other times, the ground isn't ready.  Things of great beauty go dormant for a time or fade away.   Planning, hard work, patient waiting, the right combination of factors...all that is part of life in our religious community too.  As we approach our Annual Meeting, it's a time of reflection and appreciation for all that has been nurtured and grown in the past year, as well as planning for the year to come.  It's part of the process that helps the garden of our community to grow and thrive.  And we are all gardeners in the life that is our congregation.

Bring Your Flowers  June 6th is our annual Flower Celebration and Cycle of Life Service.  Don't forget to bring a flower from your garden (and there will be some from our church garden available as well.)  The Flower Celebration is a tradition that comes to us from our Unitarian cousins in Eastern Europe.  Everyone brings a flower to share and then we bring home a flower from the bounty of our community.

 Children to be Dedicated? Retirements to be marked?   Email or telephone the Office Manager ( office@uurochmn.org) so that we can include your celebration in the June 6 Cycle of Life service.  That day, we'll also thank Gwen Hendee for her service as our Director of Religious Education (DRE) these past two years.  

 DRE  Search Committee  The Search Committee has been formed for a new Director of Religious Education.  Committee members are Rachel Froud, Amy Nelson, Dave Pesch, Stephanie Podulke and myself.  We have met and plan to interview applicants in early to mid-June.  A description of the position is on the Church Website; we are still accepting applications.

 It's not too late for General Assembly  The great UU gathering known as General Assembly will happen June 23-27 in Minneapolis.  It never gets more convenient than this!  It's still possible to register on-site for the entire Assembly or for just a day.  Check the UUA website.

As we enter the summer season, my wish for you is that you find times to rest and enjoy life.  When we come back together in the fall, we'll bring water from our summer journeys and share our stories.  Meanwhile, Sunday services continue here at the Church throughout the summer, with one service, at 10:00 a.m.