Ours is no caravan of despair. --Rumi

Are you ready? Our options for worshipping together are expanding!

Starting this Sunday, we will be slowly finding our way (both technically and socially) back to using our sanctuary for worship services. Upcoming services will continue to be available on Zoom (except for 5th Sundays, which we will spend working together on service projects), but will also be available to enjoy in-person in our garden and/or sanctuary. Different options will be available on different weeks, so please be sure to watch the Eblast, website, and other communication channels for reminders each week.

It may be difficult for any of us to see from a distance everything that has been and continues to be poured into our weekly worship life, but your leaders have been generous in donating time, energy, skill, and personal resources to research and implement health and safety measures, solve technical problems, and perform feats of logistical wizardry so we can stay connected and move toward connecting in more satisfying ways than have been possible since the beginning of the pandemic.

Last Sunday (a 5th Sunday), we met outside on the church grounds to welcome a new member, make care packages for Room in the Inn, play together, and feast on deli sandwiches. It was a glorious day in many ways, and I realized that I probably quadrupled the number of congregants I’ve now met in person just that morning! I can’t wait to meet more of you…

 If you’d like to spend a little outdoor time with me while the weather is good, consider signing up for one of the Picnics with the Minister. (Dates are coming up soon; follow the link in the article below to register asap.) And of course, I’m always just a phone/Zoom call away—just email me (RevDenise@gnuuc.org) to set an appointment.

As we move into this new, not-quite-post-pandemic season of congregational life, I’d like to encourage us all to keep a few things in mind:

• If you are joining us for worship in person, please pay close attention to our safety guidelines. Knowing and following key points of our policy (such as properly wearing masks inside our buildings) expresses care and respect for each other and our visitors.

• Please be patient with everything (including yourself). We’ve been through a lot, and we’ve all been solving brand-new challenges weekly (or more often) for months on end.

• Expect things to change, perhaps frequently:

  • Sundays will look different from what has been recently, from what was in the pre-pandemic past, AND from one week to another in the next few months. Not every Sunday will include indoor worship options, and for now we will not sing or eat together inside. (But we can if we’re outside; let’s plan to do that!)

  • You may feel differently than you expect, and your feelings and needs may change from week to week. Part of keeping each other safe is learning to listen to ourselves and make good decisions that align not just with our intellectual values, but also with our emotional needs and sense of safety. You know best what you need, and that could be joining worship in the sanctuary one week and staying home with Zoom the next. Please be kind to yourself and patient with all of us.

• Think of our process of moving from worship during a pandemic to worship in whatever world we will inhabit next year as more of a long on-ramp than an abrupt 0-60 acceleration. We are still figuring things out as we go and may need to go slower than we’d like to avoid crashing or running down our batteries, but we will move forward, and we’re going to have good company as we ease onto that road ahead.

I am so grateful for all the good work that has gone into keeping our congregation vibrant and healthy this year, and I can’t wait to be in closer proximity with you (as you feel ready)!

Remember, you are a good gift to GNUUC and to the world; take good care of yourself!

Yours in connection and hope,

Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch

Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation

RevDenise@gnuuc.org

Beloveds, 

I don’t know about you, but the shift from summer to fall always brings me an upsurge in energy. Besides the shift to cooler (well, at least overnight!) temperatures, there’s a sense of plans being made and anticipation of opportunities to meet with friends old and new. At church we have several programs on the horizon that you won’t want to miss. 

Personally, I wonder what the hills around our  property look like with fall foliage. I walked up the hill behind our Still Springs Memorial Garden a couple weeks ago, and I look forward to enjoying the view through the coming seasons. 

I hope you also are enjoying the fall weather and making plans to engage with your church family and perhaps visit our campus. Some things I’m looking forward to that you might want to join: 

• The (virtual) annual meeting of NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, a justice-seeking coalition of Nashville faith communities, of which GNUUC is a founding member) this Sunday afternoon (Oct. 17). 

• GNUUC’s on-campus Fall Fest on Sunday, October 31. A few worshipful moments, a service project, fun for all ages, and an optional box lunch.

• Picnics with the minister--a few chances for us to meet in small groups, outdoors, while the weather is good. I really, really want to meet y’all face to face, so please sign up!

As always, find details for all these possibilities, and many more, in the weekly eblast and on our website. 

Until I see you next, I remain

Yours in connection and gratitude,

Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch
Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

Dear ones, 

Can you feel change coming? I get a bit of a lift every year when cooler mornings reassure some deep part of me that heat and humidity are not the only modes of Tennessee weather. Similarly, church life in September has a cheerful busy-ness around the making of plans and startups of programs, this year even more so than usual, as we (congregation and new minister) are meeting each other and learning how our work patterns and imaginations mesh. 

This past week, I chatted with Caren S-S while moving tables and chairs into the breezeway between our buildings, and a few days later was able to enjoy morning breezes while meeting (in person!) with a team leader and then a prospective new member. (You, too, might plan to meet a friend for a chat in the breezeway or the garden, you know.)

The leaders of our congregation have been meeting to cook up all sorts of good things for the fall. Keep an eye out for outdoor gatherings for religious education and worship and service, and for Picnic with the Minister signups (woo hoo!). We plan to enjoy the mild fall weather, and our dedicated tech folks are already working out what we will need, when colder weather arrives, to move part of the congregation into our building while connecting remotely with many others. We are embracing as many possibilities for connection as we can!

Sunday’s worship service will celebrate the possibilities found in good questions. We’ll have a classic story about questions and, instead of a sermon, a classic Unitarian Universalist favorite: The Question Box. You are invited to submit questions which I will do my best to answer during the service. What are you wondering? About me, about Unitarian Universalism, about ____? Our “question box” is actually a Google Form, which you can find here. (It’s open now, if you want to submit your question early, or you can do it during the service.) Serious questions are welcome, but send some fun ones, too, please! 

Until Sunday, I remain
Yours in connection and possibility,
Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch
Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

Beloveds,

It’s been a whole week since I became your minister, and I am having such a good time! Thank you for the warm welcome and your generous gifts of time and attention to the process of getting me oriented. 

During this week, I’ve moved books into my office, discovered some bits of GNUUC history and memorabilia tucked away on shelves and in drawers, been taught how various locks and keys work, joined you for worship, sent a few emails and read more of them, and met with congregational leaders both in-person and virtually. I’m beginning to learn where all the things live--both in our building and among all the online tools we use. (I’m brand new to Slack, but finding it very useful.) 

The annual Board Visioning Retreat (which was delayed so I could participate) was a highlight of my first week--we spent an evening & a morning together exploring and articulating a vision for the congregation’s ministry this year. On the side (y’all are an amazing group of multi-taskers!), we figured out a few things about hybrid meetings, with some in-person participants and others joining online. It was a couple of days steeped in possibility (which happens to be our Soul Matters theme for September), and I think you will be inspired when you hear about this year’s Vision of Ministry from the Board during the worship service on Sunday, Sept. 19. I can’t wait to see how we transform lives together this year!

As I begin my ministry with you, part of my personal vision and an important goal for the year is simply to enjoy the process of getting to know you all. Over the next several weeks, I will be joining various regularly-scheduled groups and teams, but I also look forward to getting to know you individually. I am a half-time minister, which means you’re not likely (especially in this still-pandemic-haunted season) to find me by simply dropping by the church, but I would love to hear from you by email and would be glad to schedule a time to talk by phone or Zoom or to meet in person. 

Until Sunday, I am 

Yours in possibility,
Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch
Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

We welcome our new minister, Rev. Denise Gyauch. She started as our minister on September 1, 2021. Denise, we are so happy you are here! If you have not yet watched the welcome video from Rev. Denise, click play above. If you would l like to reach out to Rev. Denise, she has been added to Breeze and Slack. Her email is: revdenise@gnuuc.org

Most recently, Rev. Denise Gyauch was the Assistant Minister of Congregational Engagement at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville. She has been involved with Unitarian Universalism for many years as a volunteer, staff, and Assistant Minister.

She has previously served as Intern Minister at the UU Church of Huntsville and the Sabbatical Minister for the UU Church of Tullahoma. Rev. Denise holds a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University Divinity School, a second Masters from Vanderbilt, and mostly-fond memories of not-quite-completed Doctoral studies

Flowers from Gene Bryant’s garden.

Dear GNUUC members and friends,

Although I have said most of what I want to say in my final board report and in my June 20th service, I want to make sure those who don’t attend can access the remarks. I want you to know how much I love, appreciate, and wish you well.

I officially retire on July 30th, but since the last week of the month is my week off, and July is my scheduled vacation, this will be farewell.

Here is the link to my final Board report:

Here is a link to Sunday's service. The service is great, especially the meditation featuring Gene Bryant's graden and his photography (starts at 20:00) The sermon itself starts at 26:00.

Stay in touch! I know GNUUC has a bright future. I can’t think of a better congregation to have served as I retire, and I thank you all.

Cynthia

Last night, I learned that another UU colleague had died. He was only a bit older than I, and he followed me in interim ministry at the UU Congregation of the South Jersey Shore in 2016. He’d had a stroke a year ago, but was recovering. He had been planning to preach in CT just 2 weeks ago.

He was a kind, generous, thoughtful, and effective minister, a true professional. When the NAACP of Atlantic City awarded our congregation for our antiracism work during my ministry, he welcomed me back even though I’d already left NJ. Here’s a photo of him and me offering a prayer at the banquet:

Rev. John Marsh, UU minister, died suddenly 6/6/21

I also read this week that a colleague who has served the Unity Temple Unitarian in Oak Park, IL (Chicago) for 18 years is leaving this month. This news has particular significance to me since I knew the Rev. Alan Taylor before he even considered UU ministry. I was in seminary in Berkeley (Pacific School of Religion) and he was a part of the weekly Young Adult group that Eric and I led at the seminary. I recall suggesting that he’d be a good minister, and if I count all the people that I have tried to talk OUT of ministry for any number of reasons since then, the score would be about 50 to one. I may have just been lucky with Alan, but he did go to seminary and he has been an exemplary minister. Interestingly (but not shocking, since UUism is a rather small denomination) he was the mentor/supervisor for the young minister who now serves the Lexington congregation I left seven years ago!

I recall think Alan was SO young. Eric and I were newlyweds, and Marjorie was born while we were in Berkeley. The first photo is of our young adult group in 1993 (I hope you can still recognize me; Eric is in red to the right. I’m in KY blue, not holding Marjorie) at a baby shower they held for us. Alan is the long haired guy whose shoulder I have my hand on. The second is a recent one of Alan. He’s married with two daughters. He’s 54.

Berkeley CA UU Young Adult Group 4/93

Rev. Alan Taylor with UU President Susan Frederick-Gray and Rev. Marlin Lavanhar of Tulsa.

Time passes. Sometimes slowly, and sometimes unbelievably fast. I want to tell young people this and to especially warn younger ministers how soon it will be over and how much they will regret. I will surely miss most of all the amazing people I have met in the congregations I have served. I am grateful to have known each one of you.

I’m here to acknowledge that I haven’t been a great minister to you over the past many months.

I can say more about that, but I will be explaining to the Board how I became ill this past year, and how it kept me from performing and scheduling certain tasks I should have done. I thank you for your patience and understanding, and I ask your forgiveness. I deeply hope that you will find a caring minister who can be present for you going forward!

So, as I contemplate “retirement,” I do not think ministry will end. I don’t know exactly what form it will take; that remains to be seen. It depends upon my health, the opportunities available, and other choices I have yet to make.

When I was ordained, almost exactly 26 years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the trajectory my ministry would take.

And I can’t think of a better place for it to wind down than at GNUUC. My experience with you has been rewarding beyond anything I could have imagined. Indeed, it was you who taught me. I will say more about that in my sermon on June 20th. I hope you will join me!

With Love,

Cynthia

Mariana Garzon, of El Carmen Ecuador, died 19 April 2021 of COVID.

At times, the deaths of the past year seem overwhelming. Even as COVID deaths begin to decrease, we are left to contemplate the losses the pandemic has wrought. Not only has the virus taken the lives of tens of thousands, (almost 600,000, nearly 3.5 million worldwide) but so many have been unable to travel to be with family or loved ones who died by other causes, or to attend or even hold services.

My dear GNUUC family, this is trauma. Those of us who’ve experienced trauma in our lives know the feeling: beyond grief, it’s a kind of despair and shock combined that takes a lifetime to manage. The good news is that it can be held in a safe and trusted community. The good news is that you are part of such a community.

Although no one in my family even contracted COVID, I had friends and acquaintances who did, and some who died. One that struck me was a friend from my many trips to Ecuador, the mother of a doctor here with whom we’d planned our medical mission trips. She was perhaps seventy. But two of her children were physicians, one nearby, the other here in the US. Her American family couldn’t get to her. She died without seeing them. It is so hard for me to fathom her family’s distress and grief.

Sunday after this one (Memorial Day weekend) we will take a slightly different approach to Memorial Day, and I am asking you to help with the service by telling a brief story about someone you know (or don’t know, but whose death affected you) who died this past year. Please let me know by next Wednesday the 26th if you’d like to share. When we see how many speakers there are, I will give you a time limit. You may record your part or share it live during the service.

Eric, Marjorie, and I with Mariana and her son William about 2005. Santo Domingo, Ecuador.

I will tell you a short, funny story about one of my visits with Mariana and her family, that has to do with horrifying Ecuadorian drivers, my terrible Spanglish, and horseback “lessons.” Let us keep those who have passed on alive in our hearts by sharing stories.

With Love,

Cynthia

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

This week, we will honor our graduating Seniors, Xander and Zoe. Each of them will have time to say a few words about their plans and you will have the opportunity to donate to the traditional Cash Jar Fund for our senior grads. I hope you will make time to attend and show these two amazing young people how much we love them and support their next steps.

We will continue with the theme of story. What’s your story about the time you graduated high school? Did your plans change? Looking back, how do you feel about your story? Are there things that you’d change? Regrets? Things you’d still like to accomplish, or experience?

I will be sharing some stories and ideas with you from a teacher and author who was a member of my UU congregation in KY at one time. She was raised in the Netherlands, but is Afro-Surinamese by heritage, and has lived and studied in the US. Her new book, Holding Space, is about how we tell and how we hear one another’s stories.

I think you will enjoy “meeting” her! She has been a true light on my journey. Here’s a story.

Aminata, a single mother of three sons, had been attending the Lexington church for a while with her two younger sons, Essien and Nasim, when Seth came to live with us. We weren’t prepared for the first Christmas when he suddenly joined us a few days before, but she dropped off a big trash bag of wrapped toys that had been given to Nasim through community donations. “He doesn’t need all that,” she said. There was a bounty of toys. Such generosity from someone who had so little.

Her sons have grown up to be very successful. Nasim was just offered a full scholarship to the Air Force Academy. She is a Professor and lives in the Hague, visiting the US regularly. As soon as her book is in print, I plan to buy several copies.

Another story: several times, she took part in or led a service at our UU Congregation. She is also a dancer, and shared some of her knowledge of indigenous dance with us. While she was at our congregation, we also had an exchange student from Germany living at our home; her name was Anke. Aminata offered some African dance classes at the YMCA, and Marjorie, Anke, and I all attended. We had so much fun, and it was a small miracle to see Anke, who had known few people of color, learn from a woman of the African diaspora. I cherish the opportunities I have had to make friends and share stories across time and space.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Love, Cynthia