Feb. 9, 2022

 Anyone who genuinely and consistently with both hands looks for something, will find it.--Rumi*

Beloveds,

The Soul Matters theme for this month is Widening the Circle, inspired by the title of the report released by the UUA’s Commission on Institutional Change not quite two years ago: Widening the Circle of Concern, which focuses on addressing racial discrimination and dismantling systems of white supremacy within our Unitarian Universalist movement. (It’s a big topic and a report worthy of study, if you feel called.) I particularly appreciate the title of this report because it feels both strong (centered, if you will) and compassionate–truly welcoming and offering an invitation into expanding our learning about systems and social/cultural dynamics which some of us have not recognized, understood, or considered until recently. 

I don’t know about you, but this time of year–winter, post-holidays–always seems like a good time to learn something new or to delve deeply into a topic only vaguely familiar. If this is you, if you’re wanting to widen your circle of concern or itching to hang out with a few other committed and interesting souls to explore how our UU values intersect with and guide our everyday choices, you’re in luck! Beginning soon are two opportunities to learn with other Nashville UUs: 

1. Let’s read & discuss: Defund Fear: Safety without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment, by Zach Norris, was chosen as this year's Common Read by the UUA, and several of us (including me) are planning to meet on Zoom starting in two weeks to discuss it as we read. (See the announcement for more details.)

2. My friend Marguerite Mills, Director of Lifespan Religious Education at First UU Nashville, has invited parents and caregivers of young folks to join an upcoming class at FUUN. It will support you as a sexuality educator and will quite likely be loads of fun, as well. No registration is required, although participants should be willing to commit to all four sessions. Marguerite says you can just show up for the first Zoom meeting. (See announcement for details.) 

If these sound appealing and you’re ready to spend time reading and learning in community, either (or both) of these could widen your circle this winter/spring. 

Yours in ever-widening and deepening connection,

Rev. Denise

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

*I know, it’s the same quotation I used a few weeks ago, but it’s good for this month, too!

 Anyone who genuinely and consistently with both hands looks for something, will find it.--Rumi

Dear ones,

For what do you look genuinely and consistently? Or, for what do you intend to look? At the beginning of this church year, your Board decided to make connection our shared mission this year. And many of you have been genuinely and consistently doing the work of creating and strengthening our connections: phone calls to check in with each other, meeting with covenant groups, joining worship online or in the sanctuary, spending time with our young folks in Children's Religious Education, working together in the garden or on our new covered pavilion, planning service projects, and so much more. 

In this month of “living with intention” (our Soul Matters theme for January), I wonder what you intend to look for. If, perhaps, you are looking for more connection with the congregation or the wider community, you might want to consider the following:

• Join the Worship Team meeting tomorrow evening (Thursday, 1/20, 6 p.m.) on Zoom. We hope to spend some time brainstorming creative ideas for worship. If you have ideas, or if you’re just interested in being more involved, we’d love to see you! 

• Watch for announcements from our Social Justice team–NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope) is a particularly good way to enter into the wider community of justice-builders in Nashville. 

• Consider joining the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Common Read of Defund Fear. I intend to read this book, regardless, but it would be great to join others in discussing it. (Indicate your interest in reading together here.)

• As the pandemic continues, I am keenly aware that I have not met many of you. If you’re interested in setting up a chat (about anything), please email me, and we’ll find a good time.

• Peruse all the announcements in this email. Whether you are a long-time member or the newest of visitors, you are invited to participate in any programming, meeting, or opportunity that looks intriguing to you. 

Whatever you are looking for this winter, I hope you’re looking with both hands and your whole heart, and I hope you will share your search with us!

Yours in connection and intention,

Rev. Denise

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

Heaven knows where we are going, but … we will get there; we know we will.

–”Woyaya” (STJ#1020)

Happy New Year, Dear Ones! 

I hope the coming year will bring happiness and wholeness to us all.  

You’ll have to forgive me, but I’m a wee bit COVID-obsessed this week. I’ve been watching the numbers of cases in our area, as well as our state and the entire country climb steeply over the last days and hoping that the gap between cases diagnosed and hospitalizations continues to grow, indicating that the effects of the Omicron variant are milder than earlier versions of COVID-19 and significantly moderated by vaccinations. 

I’m so, so grateful for the careful work over many months (we can now almost say “years”!) by members and leaders of this congregation to research safety protocols, craft an indoor meeting policy, and solve ever-evolving technical issues so that we can continue gathering for worship. Late last fall, we moved to meeting in hybrid/multiplatform mode. Almost every worship service is now available both online (Zoom and YouTube) and in person in the sanctuary (or occasionally outdoors). 

I expect our hybrid meetings will continue through the current spike in COVID cases, but I want to ask each of you to think carefully about your own safety, health, and risk levels. If you would like to join us in person, please continue to sign in when you arrive, to wear a good mask properly, and to maintain space between yourself and others while inside–these measures help us keep each other safer. Please, please, be sure to get vaccinated and boosted as you are eligible. But also consider your own individual level of risk: if you have underlying health issues, or other areas of your life involve higher levels of risk or exposure, please be mindful of whether or not your overall well-being is best served by joining us in person or online. Our policy and practices cannot keep us perfectly safe, but if each of us is thoughtful and careful, we will all be safer and able to sustain the congregational connections that nurture us.

I know we are tired of living with the pandemic; I know this has been a long slog. I also know that we can keep on being together and supporting each other, and that we will. 

Yours in love, hope, and so much more patience than we ever imagined,

Rev. Denise

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

December 29, 2021

All in all, I’d say this year in flight together has been fun.--Peter Mayer

Beloveds, 

I hope your holiday season is filled with whatever you most want or need, and that you are taking time to relax and enjoy it. 

I am away from work this week (returning to work on Tuesday, January 4), enjoying some time away with my family. While I am gone: 

• Rev. Michelle Pederson will be available for pastoral care in the event of an emergency. 

• Your worship and tech teams are taking a break, also–no service on Sunday, January 2! You might wish to join one of our sibling congregations for worship that morning; many are easy to find on the internet or on Facebook or YouTube.

• We will return (COVID permitting) to our regular pattern of hybrid Sunday services starting Jan 9, 2022. I look forward to wishing you a happy new year then! 

Sending you one of my favorite New Year’s songs: 

One More Circle, Peter Mayer

Or if you really dislike bagpipes (why?!), an acoustic version.

I am so happy that my circle around the sun came to include you this year; here’s to doing the next circle together!

Yours in celebration and hope,

Rev. Denise

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

Beloveds, 

The big news locally is that we will gather to celebrate Christmas Eve on Friday, at 4 p.m., in the sanctuary and online (Zoom and YouTube). We will share some stories, some music, and a few reflections, ending as always in candlelight. Please be sure to read here about Christmas Eve safety and programming for the Sundays of the holiday season. 

Also relatively locally, I will be enjoying a holiday week with my family–a little travelling, more than a little eating, and lots of rest and shared fun. I will be away from work beginning on Monday, Dec. 27 and returning on Tuesday, Jan. 4. While I am away, our affiliated minister, Rev. Michelle, will be available in the event of pastoral emergencies. 

On a somewhat larger scale, we just passed the Winter Solstice: Last night, while I slept the earth kept moving and passed an invisible line between tilting one way and tilting another. I might not notice it if not for other humans over millenia watching closely and keeping careful records, but tomorrow the light will last just a wee bit longer than it will today, and the next day, just a bit longer. Change happens, the world turns and orbits, the seasons spin out behind and before us. Our winter holiday celebrations make much of light–we enjoy more candles than usual, light more fires, sing songs in praise of the return of the light–but darkness is its own rich and lovely thing, not just a lack of light. In hopes that you will consider and enjoy the season’s gift of darkness, I offer these words from the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by the poet David Whyte: 

You darkness from which I come,
I love you more than all the fires
that fence out the world,
for the fire makes a circle
for everyone
so that no one sees you anymore.

But darkness holds it all:
the shape and the flame,
the animal and myself,
how it holds them,
all powers, all sight —

and it is possible: its great strength
is breaking into my body.
I have faith in the night.

This holiday season, I wish you joy and rest and peace–in the light and in the dark.

Yours in love and faith,

Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

Rev. Michelle is available to provide pastoral coverage while Rev. Denise is away.

December 8, 2021

 Let them come: the questions that draw you into rest, into dream.--Jan Richardson

 Beloveds, 

This noon, it is bright and sunny; the air is a little crisp, but nice; soon, I am sure, I will see a hawk gliding above the trees outside the window in my office, where I sit thinking of you, wondering how you are today, how you are planning to spend this holiday season (celebrating? waiting? enduring? scurrying? resting? wondering?), what words I can offer (oh, there’s the hawk, higher than usual) that might meet you right where you are. Really, what I’ve got is this: “Hello, I’m thinking of you. I hope you are well.”   

I hope you will read today’s Eblast and explore all the articles; congregational and community life is picking up and you have many options for connecting in the next few weeks. 

• I hope you’ll consider joining (or continuing to join) us for worship on Zoom or in person (if you feel safe to do so). If you (like me) feel better connected when you have a role or task during gatherings, please email me--I’ll bet we can find just the right way for you to contribute! 

• If you’re craving more connection with Unitarian Universalism beyond our congregation, this weekend's Compass--Navigating the Paths to Liberation Together, offered by our Southern Region staff, looks really nourishing. Please consider joining this online experience. (If the cost is prohibitive for you, please let me know.) 

• Reminder: Christmas Eve service at 4 p.m. on Dec. 24--in the sanctuary and on Zoom. We will share music and stories and the joy of being present with each other. 

Finally, I hope you will find some time this season, among all your options for celebrating light and joy, to appreciate also the cold, dark, quiet hours, to rest, to be truly present to yourself and your loved ones, to listen to the questions swirling around, among, and within us all. 

Blessing the Questions 

by Jan Richardson

Let them come:
the questions 
that storm through
the crack in the world.

Let them come:
the questions 
that crawl through
the hole in your heart.

Let them come:
the questions
in anguish,
the questions
in tears.

Let them come: 
the questions that whisper themselves
so slow,

the questions
that arrive with 
breathtaking speed,

the questions 
that never entirely leave, 
the questions 
that bring 
more questions still.

Let them come:
the questions 
that haunt you 
in shadowy hours,

the questions 
that visit 
in deepest night,

the questions 
that draw you 
into rest, 
into dream.

the questions 
that stir 
the wakening 
world.

Rest and be well, my friends. 

Yours in darkness and hope,

Rev. Denise

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

Beloveds, 

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. 

I’m not knocking gratitude (or to-do lists); in fact, I generally recommend it. But today, a little reminder to us all: sometimes, when everything is just a tad more than might be reasonably easy to handle, slowing down and paying attention may be the only authentic path to true gratitude. Your life doesn’t need to look like anything on Instagram or Facebook to be plenty wonderful. You are big enough to hold whatever you’ve got to hold. Even if you don’t have time to slow down, consider pausing to take a deep breath and a long look--inside and around you. Then take another breath, and another. Then go do, see, cook, eat, enjoy! 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

In love and hope,
Rev. Denise

P.S. I look forward to seeing more of you “at” church--whether that is in-person or on  Zoom. Please consult  the “Worship Updates” I sent last week for an overview of our worship schedule through the end of 2021. Christmas Eve is coming!

Nov. 17, 2021

 Come, yet again, come. --Rumi

Consider joining us for worship in the sanctuary! --Rev. Denise

Beloveds,

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

We are in between summer and winter, between the fall startup of church and school years and the start of the winter holiday season. Some days are cool or even cold; others are still warmish. The larger trees on our hillside have dropped their leaves, so through my office window I can watch the raptors that have probably been circling and gliding over the hilltop all along. 

As a congregation, we’ve experienced vandalism and destruction right alongside growth, construction, planning, and creative problem-solving. Three new members have signed our membership book recently! Our new gazebo awaits only the final installation of roof panels, and we are working out the technology for hybrid worship services and making decisions about safely making the most of our space during colder weather. We have begun a gradual process of opening our sanctuary to a live congregation in addition to online participants. (See more about all this below.)

Personally, I find myself toggling between excited engagement and the need to withdraw and rest. Long months of pandemic lockdown and worry have wilted some of the social circuitry in our brains--experts assure us those skills will grow back, but going slow and/or taking breaks will make our emerging forms of togetherness more sustainable. I am glad to have added in-person company for weekly worship and have enjoyed leisurely conversations with some of you during recent “picnics” with the minister. (If you missed those and would like a chance to talk with me and get acquainted, please email me--I’d love to make plans to meet or talk by Zoom or phone!) 

However this in-between season finds you or moves you, I hope you will make some time to pause and notice the worlds around and within you. Breathe deeply, be at home, and know that you are not alone. 

Yours in connection and hope,

Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch

Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation

RevDenise@gnuuc.org