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

This is some artwork by a young lady in the UK with chronic illness. Migraines are so hard to describe, but sometimes a visual like this does it.

Dear Friends,

I have been on leave this month of April, and one of my goals was to work on getting to the bottom of why my chronic illness (migraines) have become so much worse in the past few years. Although I am otherwise healthy, and even though I hate complaining, because it doesn’t help, I want to let you know where things stand.

The persistence of the headaches along with family demands are a big part of the reason I am retiring now. My hope is to finally discover not just the triggers but some of the root causes of the migraines so I can move from taking medication to a more prevention-based approach. In April, I had a major revelation when I went for allergy testing and discovered that I am allergic to almost everything around me. It’s going to require a regimen of injections and months to years to see if indeed this is a big contributor to my ongoing illness. Meanwhile, I have been even more sick than I usually am at this time of year. I sincerely apologize for any lapses this has caused or cause in the next few months of my service to you.

I am back “on duty” now and will be with you on May 9, 16, and 31st. I will also be leading the service on June 20th. I had hoped to make a few trips to Nashville in May, but I can’t travel just yet. However, if you’d like to have a farewell chat or meeting with me via Zoom or just get on a list for when I do visit, please send an e-mail and we will set something up!

In the meantime, I will continue to work with the leadership to do what I can to help ensure a smooth and successful transition to your next ministry! You are a fantastic congregation and you deserve the best!

This Sunday is “Mother’s Day,” and many folks struggle with that day for lots of reasons. I usually try to approach the topic in a novel and unsentimental way. The title this Sunday is “A Mother of a Year” and I hope to share some thoughts about how the womb-like time of the pandemic has been nurturing as well as isolating. Let me know if you have stories along those lines! As ever, I am deeply grateful to the Worship team and all the GNUUC leadership who have kept the congregation going without me, showing once again how resourceful and resilient you are.

Here’s an article about the ambivalence of Mother’s Day: CLICK HERE

With Love,

Cynthia

The Easter holiday is supposed to be filled with joy and hope.

Even if you aren’t Christian, we in the temperate zones have the many rituals associated with Spring and renewal. We ministers are here to remind you that even when life ends, love goes on. And, sure, love in its many guises will go on as long as there is humanity.

But let’s face it. Some endings have no built-in resurrection, no easy explanation, and the best we can do is come to terms with them. When I’m no longer with you (and I just mean as your minister) I want to leave a few things behind.

Here’s the first. It’s three words: Come. To. Terms. Whether it’s your child, grandchild, client or Facebook friend, or you, sometimes the best advice when dealing with the irreconcilable losses and griefs of life is this: No, it won’t go away. But someday, you will come to terms with it.

Many of us are UUs because we think the literal interpretation of Biblical stories is nonsense, but worse than that, it causes harm. Easter, for example. The notion that suffering brings redemption has been used to subjugate women and explain their abuse by the Church for millennia.

And so on.

“Mama” by Kelly Latimore

This Sunday, I will endeavor to unpack the crucifixion story of Easter by discussing some similarities between the crucifixion of Christ and the extrajudicial killings and lynchings of Black people. Know that the sermon itself will not go into any disturbing detail, but it will mention these events, in case they are triggers for you. On a much lighter note, I will also be talking about Easter in a Unitarian village in Transylvania, our friends the Roma families (FKA gypsies) and showing you how to make beautiful, easy Hungarian Easter eggs!

And you’ll be treated to some beautiful singing by our own Tina Conti. Not to be missed!

Note that you will be getting a link on Sunday morning and can view the service at any time on Sunday. Details will also be on our website.

In April, I will be taking the remainder of my study leave and although I plan to travel, I will still be available via email if you need me. I do plan to come to Nashville several times in May and June, and I’d like to start a list of folks who are fully vaccinated (I will be) and would like to either meet or have me visit.

I hope your Easter is joyful and your April is full of blossoms!

With Love,

Cynthia

When I was in college studying literature, I had a teacher whose main subject was Linguistics. I took his class because my Dad’s brother Don, who died young, had taught Linguistics and I wanted to understand it. Turns out he also taught an occasional class on Irish Literature because he was Irish, and one of a small number of Irish Jews. We didn’t study Yeats or Joyce or Shaw; we read the stories of Peig Sayers and Tomas O Crohan, who wrote about their lives on the Blasket Islands.

He showed us his collection of slides from a trip he’d made to Ireland, and spoke so enthusiastically about the people, the land, the language, and the culture that I determined to visit as soon as I was able.

I felt an identification like I never had for any place or thing.

But life has a way of taking us along, and I didn’t travel to Europe until I was in my forties. Finally at almost sixty, I had an opportunity to visit Ireland. By then, I knew much more about the history of Ireland and of myself. I was about 90% Scots-Irish, so even though my ancestors were primarily in the north, it seemed more understandable that I might have this strong affinity.

Even more so, it seems to me that something that is taught to us or that we learn at a certain age can become a lifelong passion. I spent nearly a month there eight years ago, and hope to return. I wasn’t able to visit the Blasket Islands, but I visited the gravesite of Peig Sayers and it was like a pilgrimage.

CLICK HERE for a brief video about the Blasket Islands. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

As we approach the one-year anniversary of our first “pandemic” Sunday, I am sharply aware of how much has changed.

The seasons have all turned. The Still Spring garden at GNUUC has blossomed, wintered, and been tended and enjoyed. Our community has also weathered the year, making adjustments to separation, loneliness, and so many unfamiliar and sometimes overwhelming ways of doing things.

We were dragged kicking and screaming, or perhaps just whimpering, into the 21st century. We zoomed, we socially-distanced for holidays, we had cocktail hour online, we finally saw Hamilton. Many of us learned new skills and enriched our knowledge of the world, once we accepted that we’d have to “travel” digitally. The air became cleaner. The White House became more dignified. We prayed, sang, and held our breath through several elections and… guess what? We are still here.

A few dear ones left us, and for that we are deeply sorrowful.

When I made arrangements to come to Nashville part-time to work with GNUUC, I told the committee that I would stay as long as I was able depending upon my health and my family. And by family, I mean primarily my 16-year-old son Seth, who, because he is on the Autism spectrum, struggles daily. The pandemic has not been easy for any school kids, but for kids with disabilities, it has been excruciatingly hard. Seth begged me not to ever leave him again after I returned from serving in NJ for 2 years. We all thought the Nashville arrangement would be fine, because he was older, would be busy with band on weekends, and because it was closer and I’d be home for a few days each week. And it was fine, until COVID happened. He is failing classes, fighting anxiety attacks, and generally unhappy. (And that is with both of us here at the house.) ASD people need predictable schedules and lots of support.

My heart has been torn, because I love each one of you so much, and wish I could stay on a bit longer. At the same time, I can not say that I am the person to give you the best ministry with these other demands. I look forward to seeing many of you after I’ve had my second immunization in April, and to staying connected to hear all the great things I know you have in store!

Love, Cynthia