On this day before Thanksgiving, I feel like I should be gathering my thoughts about all for which I am grateful, in preparation. (And if I were doing that, GNUUC would certainly be on my list!) What I am doing, however, is doing my best to be present to myself and those around me, rather than to my (perhaps a tad overlong) to-do list.

Wow, this month has been even more liminal (on the line between one place/time/reality and another) than November usually is!

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.

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!

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.

We welcome our new minister, Rev. Denise Gyauch. Today is her first day as our minister! Denise, we are so happy you are here! If you have not yet watched the welcome video from Rev. Denise, click Read More below. 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

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.

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.