Friends,
I hope September finds you well, and the return to bonfires, apple cider, and pumpkin spice offers something that is both new and nostalgic, as it does for me. With sweater weather approaching, and morning coffee in a flannel shirt on the back porch—it stirs something in me.
I know that this fall in particular, our community needs us. They need the liberatory message that comes out of our tradition, and the warmth that we all feel when we walk into our church building, All Souls. They need us to listen, to offer presence, to be a good neighbor, to challenge systems of oppression, to side with love, and to sprinkle it across our interactions.
They might need an invitation from us, and they might take some time to acclimate—but everyone is worthy of love, and everyone deserves the liberation and community we experience. For some, it will feel like a soft place to land while healing from past traumas. For others, it will seem like finding a non-anxious and non-judgmental group to find belonging. And yet, others will bring their ideals and their ideas—and they will challenge and teach us things about Beloved Community and the privilege and assumptions we make, even without realizing it.
I want to encourage all of us to welcome the stranger, to invite the friend from work, yoga, or bridge club—share this community with them. Invite them to our potlucks and our services. Share about this non-creedal tradition that won’t tell them what to believe but will offer space for healing and discovery.
Join us at the World’s Fair, join us on Sundays, and journey with us and with each other toward truth and meaning, inching our communities closer to one another and our aspirations to live our values generously and interdependently—with love at the center.
Grace and peace to all of us,
Rev. Will