From DLRE: June 12, 2020

You may have seen this poem by Leslie Wright on social media or mainstream news:  

What if 2020 isn’t cancelled? What if 2020 is the year we’ve been waiting for?
A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw – that it finally forces us to grow.
A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us from our ignorant slumber.
A year we finally accept the need for change.
Declare change. Work for change. Become the change.
A year we finally band together, instead of pushing each other further apart.
2020 isn’t cancelled, but rather the most important year of them all. 

So how do we take this challenge to “declare the change, work for change, become the change” and reach our full potential at UCE? Our covenant states that our purpose is to “nurture the human spirit for a world made whole”. I believe that this applies within our walls as well as in the greater world. We must nurture our spirit to be out in the world helping to make change, and we need to offer that to those who walk through our doors. 

This past year, Rev. Karen Gustafson has been doing interim work with us, to enable us to “declare the change, work for change, become the change” within our four walls – to help us learn what it is we want and need to fulfill our mission and to call our next minister. Your valuable input has led to some changes already. And while change can be difficult, we need to continue to “declare the change, work for change, become the change” at UCE. 

This summer, I am inviting you to continue the conversation regarding our religious education program that was begun this past February and put on hold with closing UCE in March. How do we prepare our children and youth to become empowered and transformed? What does a robust RE program look and feel like?  

And this conversation is not just for parents of children and youth. Having a religious education program that nurtures our young people and builds relationships across generations gives a congregation such energy! Isn’t that what we want for UCE? 

And so we continue this exploration beginning June 24 at 5:30pm during the all-church Zoom gathering. There will be more opportunities in July to share thoughts and ideas, so look for these future dates in upcoming newsletters. Together, we will “declare the change, work for change, become the change”! 

In Faith, 

Kathy