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

 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