For the month which includes Father’s Day and the Summer Solstice

 

Here’s a little story about a father for your meditation, on the strength of community: A father wanted to leave his estate to his children, but he wanted to be sure that they would stick together and look after each other when he died. So he gave each of them a small stick and asked them to break it, which they easily did. Then he took several of the same size sticks and bound them together, and asked them to break the bundle. No one could. Moral: you are stronger when you are bound together than when separate.

 

This congregation has certainly pulled together lately, to become like a strong bundle of sticks rather than a collection of fragile single twigs. Your commitment has shown through the many things you have done here: the many volunteer tasks and projects, the committee work, the unanimous vote to support the Black Lives Matter movement, the recent successful pledge drive, candidating week and the unanimous call of your next minister. Congratulations on many jobs well done!

 

The people I have had a chance to work with are so many—way too numerous to mention here, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for you good work and support as we have moved together through this time of transition. I do want to especially thank Diana Dickerson, current President, Colleen Dino, past President and the entire Board of Trustees of both years for their great work and support of interim ministry over the last two years.

 

Next month at this time I will write my final column. It is hard to believe that almost two full “church years” have come and gone since I began in August of 2014. My personal news is that I will go on to serve the another congregation in transition: the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Marin, for the next 18 months, beginning in mid August. I served this congregation for a year as interim back in 2003-2004, and am happy to be able to return and help them through another ministerial transition.

 

Here is a thought for your summer, wherever you find yourself:

 

“I wish to begin my summer well; to do something in it worthy of it and me; to transcend my daily routine…to have my immortality now…in the quality of my daily life.”               Henry David Thoreau