“This place could be beautiful, right? 
You could make this place beautiful.”
–Maggie Smith, “Good Bones”

Friends–

I’m having a super-busy Wednesday, but it’s also a day full of gratitude for the congregation you have built and invited me to share with you. I love the life we are building together, and I love how all of your contributions make our place and the ways we share it beautiful. 

I hope you are enjoying this mild late spring day. 

In love and gratitude,
Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

“This place is sanctuary, and it is for you.”
– Kathleen McTigue

Beloveds–

Our Soul Matters theme for the month of June is Renewal. I’m thinking this week about how part of GNUUC’s mission is to embody sanctuary and about how necessary access to sanctuary is in seeking renewal. Who can relax, let alone renew themselves–in body, mind, and spirit–when they don’t feel safe?

I’m also thinking about GNUUC’s history of being sanctuary, and I have lots of questions: For GNUUC, what is “this place” now? It’s surely more than just our sanctuary and garden (although that, too, I should hope!). Notably, our “this place” now includes online spaces and email and website. It could include social media, if we decided to work on that. Thinking of our physical spaces, I wonder for whom our campus might be sanctuary. We already share our spaces; who else needs safety and hospitality? Who might be part of the “you” when we say “this place is for you”? What can we do to convey better the sense of sanctuary we want to extend to others? 

Don’t know about you, but this time of year usually finds me “ready for a vacation”, for some time dedicated to personal renewal. And it might be a good time to think ahead to the new church year (which officially starts in July, but really takes off in August) and to start dreaming of how we want to spend it. 

Yours in the hunger for sanctuary and renewal and the longing to share, 

Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

“Story is our only boat for sailing on the river to time.” 
–Ursula K. Le Guin

Friends–

You may have heard it mentioned, but this year (2024) marks the 30th anniversary of GNUUC’s founding, and we’re celebrating that a bit this summer. To start things off, Caren Spencer-Smith has laid out some tables in the hallway outside our sanctuary, on which we can all add notes about the story (or stories, for there are lots of sub-plots!) of the congregation. 

Whether you’ve been around for 30 years or 30 months or 30 days, feel free to add to this year’s telling of the story of Greater Nashville by recalling an important event or moment for you and us together. (When did you first visit? Why did you return? What memory of our community do you cherish? What do you remember that might delight others?) Feel free to grab a marker & some sticky notes and add what small stories you will to the larger story that holds us together. 

Yours in remembering our stories and making new ones, 
Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

“Any human being anywhere will blossom in a
hundred unexpected talents and capacities
simply by being given the opportunity to do so.” 
–Doris Lessing

Dear Ones–

I emerged from our annual congregation meeting last Sunday feeling energized and hopeful. Thanks to all who attended and to the Board for their leadership. 

If (as Doris Lessing says–and I believe she is correct) any individual can blossom in a multiplicity of unexpected ways, just imagine what all of us together–a whole congregation of human beings!–might become. 

Yours in wonder, imagination, and the will to do some things,

Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

“We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business;
we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”
–Gwendolyn Brooks

Beloveds–

Every spring, with the annual processes of our pledge drive and budget-setting and annual meeting, we are reminded that to a rather significant degree, we are each other’s, that our collective congregational life depends on our connections to each other, and that collectively we are magnified or diminished in proportion to the love, generosity, and trust (and trustworthiness), that flows among us.

Our Finance Team has been collecting pledges and crafting a realistic budget for the church year that will run from the beginning of July through the end of June 2025. I hope you are planning to join us for the annual (but by no means only) communal exercise in democracy–our congregational meeting–which will be held this Sunday at the end of our 11 am service. All voting members are strongly encouraged to attend either in person or via Zoom. (Others are welcome, too, to observe.)

Yours in business, magnitude, and love,
Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

“The earth laughs in flowers.” 
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dear Ones–

Ah, the flowers! And this thought from Toni Morrison: 

“At some point in life, the world’s beauty becomes enough. You don’t need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough.”

Yours in laughter, beauty, and enoughness,

Rev. Denise

RevDenise@gnuuc.org

P.S. Remember that this Sunday we are celebrating both Mother’s Day–with a special luncheon in memory of Barbara Belfiglio–and Flower Communion. DO NOT bring a dish to share (lunch is courtesy of Barbara’s family), and DO BRING a blossom (if you can) to add to this distinctively UU tradition of flower communion. 

P.P.S. Thank you to all who participated in the informational meeting offered last Sunday by the Board. I look forward to continuing the conversations we’ve started.

"All things seem possible in May."
–Edwin Way Teale

Friends–

Are you ready? May is going to be a busy month for us. I encourage you to pay attention to all the Sundays in May–there’s something interesting happening each week:

May 5 (this Sunday): Informational meeting with the Board (hybrid) immediately following the service, to prepare us all for the upcoming Congregational Meeting. 

May 12: Mother’s Day–with a special treat. The Belfiglio family has once again sent us a gift of funding for a post-service luncheon in memory of Barbara! (Thanks to Jane S., Mir, and Gina for planning and executing this event.)

May 19: Our annual Congregational Meeting (hybrid). This is crucial for our official business for the upcoming year, as we elect our Board and approve an annual budget for Church Year 2024-25 (July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025). Please plan to attend, especially if you are a voting member. (All are welcome at the meeting.)

May 26 (Memorial Day Weekend): Hymn Sign + Potluck + Listening Circle (in-person only). Instead of a regular Sunday service, our Music Director, Fran Gebuhr, and I are planning a Hymn Sing! We will meet at the usual service time, but focus on learning, practicing, and enjoying singing together. After our lunch, I will facilitate another in our monthly series of Listening Circles. Consider taking an hour to be held in a reflective circle of speaking and listening. By the end of this month, we will all have lots to think about! 

Yours in discerning, deciding, and doing! 
Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

P.S. Happy May Day! May1 is celebrated as Labour Day in much of the world and is also one of the pagan cross-quarter (halfway between equinox and solstice) holidays. 

Dear ones, 

Today, a poem for you: The Word by Tony Hoagland

Down near the bottom
of the crossed-out list
of things you have to do today,

between “green thread”
and “broccoli,” you find
that you have penciled “sunlight.”

Resting on the page, the word
is beautiful. It touches you
as if you had a friend

and sunlight were a present
he had sent from someplace distant
as this morning—to cheer you up,

and to remind you that,
among your duties, pleasure
is a thing

that also needs accomplishing.
Do you remember?
that time and light are kinds

of love, and love
is no less practical
than a coffee grinder

or a safe spare tire?
Tomorrow you may be utterly
without a clue,

but today you get a telegram
from the heart in exile,
proclaiming that the kingdom

still exists,
the king and queen alive,
still speaking to their children,

—to any one among them
who can find the time
to sit out in the sun and listen.

Yours, no matter the weather, but hoping you’ll find time for sunlight,
Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

"Anytime in my life when I have managed to go from a vision to a reality, the vision has not been a plan but a practice. In other words, what matters is not having a vision, but rather making a habit of returning to and revising the vision.  …  As new information arrives, the vision gets updated. The dream becomes more crystallized over time. It's a habit of thinking about where you want to go with an ever-increasing degree of clarity.
You do not need a vision, you need the practice of envisioning."
–James Clear

Beloveds–

In case you haven’t heard, it’s pledge season, that annual ritual by which we assess our resources collectively and individually and make plans for our future, specifically for the church year which will run from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. I hope you will read the message from our Stewardship Chair below and join this shared practice of envisioning by filling out the online pledge form, letting the Finance Team know about the financial support you would like to provide for GNUUC’s commitment to embody compassion, integrity, and respect by working together for justice, equity, and compassion. If you have questions or would like support in discernment, please reach out to me or Jesse Spencer-Smith or any of your GNUUC friends. (Culturally, we shy away from talking about money, but we all know about money, and talking about it can be a powerful practice of envisioning!)

Some other opportunities to engage the practice of envisioning: 

• The UUA is offering a hybrid (Zoom + several live gatherings across the Eastern and Southern US) conference on Saturday, April 27 entitled “Building Beloved Community: Beyond the Binary.” First UU Nashville is one of the in-person locations; I plan to attend and hope some of you will join me. The registration deadline is Sat. 4/20; the cost is very reasonable (GNUUC can help if needed) & includes lunch. More information here.

• I am starting a series of monthly Listening Circles, open to all, during which we will sit in a circle and engage with one or more carefully-crafted questions, speaking from our hearts and listening deeply to each other. Who knows what may crystallize among us?! The first circle will convene this Sunday (April 21) around 1 pm (or whenever we’re done eating).

Yours in envisioning and love (always the love),
Rev. Denise
RevDenise@gnuuc.org