We had uncertainties and anxiety. At least I did! How will the pledge drive turn out? Will we have enough money? Who will be our new minister? Seek and you shall find, so they say, so the Search Committee sought and were fortunate enough to find our wonderful new minister, Amy Rowland. In the pledge department, we are still seeking, but I like these words of Henry Ward Beecher: “Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.” So I am practicing faith in the future of TRUU!
In July, Susan Cashel and I drove to Alta, Utah, to attend Russell Lockwood Leadership School. We spent a week talking to, listening to, eating with, laughing and crying with, sharing stories with, singing and dancing with U.U. members and leaders from several different western states. It was an incredible experience!
On Aug. 26 we had our Ingathering / Water Communion and our first service with Amy. It was a wonderful surprise to learn that Amy and her partner, Gaye, have purchased a home in Carbondale and will be half-time residents here. If you haven’t already, please introduce yourselves and welcome them into our church and into the valley.
So, we are off and running in our second year at the Third Street Center, and TRUU seems to have established a solid place in our community. Thanks to the collaboration of Lisa Dancing- Light and Jimmy Byrne, we will have the use of a beautiful new piano for our services. Other exciting news: we will soon have an on-site office for Amy connected to the Calaway Room.
We can look forward to another year of Jimmy’s fabulous musical talents, and Heather Rydell will continue running her very successful R.E. program. The TRUU calendar is filling up with Circle Suppers, Fellowship Sundays, Sunday services with Amy, and much more. Once again we will observe the Blessing of the Animals on Oct. 6 at C.A.R.E. On Oct. 20 we will hold the First Annual BFF (Bidding For Fun) Service Auction, so Save the Date and be thinking of an auction item or service you can contribute. Contact Mike Schermer with ideas or offers to help. On Dec. 21 we will again celebrate the Winter Solstice, and we are very grateful to Patty McKinney for agreeing to coordinate this fun event.
My big “take-away” from Leadership School was the concept of Covenant, and I hope we will be talking a lot about that throughout the coming year. Here is one excellent description of Covenant from Mark Morrison-Reed, and I think it expresses very succinctly and beautifully why we choose to spend our Sunday mornings together:
The central task of religious community is to unveil the bonds that bind each to all. There is a connectedness, a relationship discovered amid the particulars of our own lives and the lives of others… The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen, and our strength too limited to do all that must be done. Together, our vision widens and our strength is renewed.
Please share your own strengths and vision and honor our connectedness by joining one of our committees and participating even more fully in our TRUU community.
I also encourage you to check our website regularly for news and updates. www.TwoRiversUU.org . Trina Haines is our “web master” and does a great job with our newsletter and web site.
The Board of Trustees meets monthly, and we always welcome your suggestions and input.
Sue Coyle, President Leo McKinney, Vice President
Kathy Feinsinger, Secretary Pat Seydel, Treasurer
Bill Spence Nicolette Toussaint
Trina Haines Thelma Zabel