August 3, 2022

Aug 3, 2022

 ‘Tis a gift to be simple; ‘tis a gift to be free.

–Joseph Brackett (19th century Shaker elder)

Dear Ones–

I hope your summer has had a few pockets of simplicity and freedom. Our world, our country, our habitual ways of being human together can sometimes take us very far away from those values cultivated by Shaker communities and much admired by others over the years. What I am coming to realize is that the gifts of being simple and free are not things bestowed upon us by external powers that be; they are possibilities available to us if we take care to recognize, cultivate, and appreciate them. And they don’t generally present themselves in any absolute or perfect form. For example, I am spending much of my summer helping my daughter prepare to leave for college, a project that mostly feels neither simple nor free, but we recently shared a hike in the rain on a familiar and beautiful state park trail that was both. We were mostly alone, the rain didn’t last long, and afterward, we counted hawks in the sky and studied mosses and marveled at the shades of green around us. 

Where are you finding simplicity and freedom in your life? (I’d love to hear if you care to share–email me!)

An administrative note, for this about-to-get-busy August: As our renovation projects are being completed, I expect office hours are going to be irregular over the next few weeks for both me and Kris (our administrator). Please email us or leave a voicemail at the church phone number if you need to reach us. As soon as we settle into this new church year’s “regular” rhythm, we’ll let you know about office hours for the future. 

Glad to be back from vacation, and yours in the search for more of what is simple and free,

Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch

Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation

RevDenise@gnuuc.org