September comes again...

The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.

~John Updike, September

At some point, the end of summer becomes the beginning of a new year. We don't have much heat to shake off this year, but I've heard people say that just means they are still waiting for summer to begin. However our expectations were thwarted or exceeded, September has come again.

Each year I study the year before and find that the threshold of the new church year forms in my mind. This year brings a number of opportunities for reflection, evaluation, and rededication for us as a congregation and as individuals committed to Unitarian Universalism and to Bradford Church. How has our mission matured and grown? What are our strengths? Where do we intend to deepen and grow: in our spiritual lives, in our involvement, in our understanding of the religious journey we have chosen to share?

Although I will only be away for 4 months (January-April), in many ways I see the whole year as a sabbatical period. I am looking forward to stepping back from the trees of the day to day in order to see again the forest of our ministry together and of my personal calling.

I look forward to learning and contemplation, rest and restoration. I look forward to solitude—and to Hope joining me in the Northwest, right about in the middle of it all. This sense of having already begun the process means I should be ready for the focused part of this journey of rediscovery!

How about you? This journey is not mine alone. This is your opportunity to do the kind of evaluation and planning that this church has thus far only done during search years. Its an important process—and important that it be guided by members of the congregation and not the minister. BCCUU is your church , first and foremost.

In this edition of the Quilt, you'll find a copy of a questionnaire developed by the Sabbatical Committee ( Heidi Helgeson, chair, Ebba Johnson, Jim Kuntzelman and Mare Wheeler.) It will help them and you continue your part of the process. So please set aside the 20-30 minutes they estimate a thoughtful response will take. If you need more copies for other members in your household, just get in touch with Cheri Esperon in the church office.

It's going to be another full, rich year here at Bradford. How glad I am to be sharing it with you!

Love,

Georgette