Joy & Woe are woven fine /A Clothing for the soul divine

Under every grief & pine/Runs a joy with silken twine

                                                                                 –William Blake

 

Dear Ones,

This is my last Weekly Message, and I feel both joy and melancholy as I write. Transition and change are the norm, the over-arching pattern of living. And at the micro, at the personal level, it is hard and often painful. And often strange and beautiful.

First, I am so grateful for the ministry that we have done together—for all the good works, for all the soulful and speculative and thoughtful worship, for all the hospitality and inclusion, for all the effort to run the business of the Fellowship in strong and transparent ways. We did all of this as partners, no lone rangers or dictators, no one holding the rest of us over a financial barrel. You are a strong and vital Fellowship. Long may you shine your beacon of love and light in this community.

Second, some updates on our lives. Jeff will continue working for Humana after we move back to Buffalo. I have signed a letter of agreement to serve as Interim Minister with the Unitarian Congregation of Mississauga, Ontario. We bought a house in the Elmwood Village neighborhood of Buffalo near many long-time friends and a block from a favorite restaurant. City living indeed! For all this, we are grateful and joyful. And our son continues to live in uncertainty, so do we all. He has seen his new team of surgeons in Philadelphia, and his prognosis is very good. There is still no surgery date, and so we find it a challenge to make any firm plans beyond the need to pack and move by July 26. His recovery will likely be more challenging than we would hope, and so his new life in his new city is delayed. But we all remain hopeful. What else can we do, and remain open to the shocks and surprises and delights of life as it is?

So, I will spend this week packing my things from the Minister’s Study, making room for the next professional who will serve you, and saying “Good-bye” to staff and to congregants. I’ll weed my garden. I’ll listen to the birds and count my blessings. So will you. And I will return for a final worship service and celebration once I am able to schedule it and in coordination with the Board and staff. We have grown together, even as we will part. We have impacted each other. We are not ourselves any longer without the influence of the other. We have been changed for good. May this you remember, as you remember also, that you are loved, you are worthy, you are welcome, and you are needed. May you feel it so and may it be so. Amen, and amen.

With love now and always, Rev. Rita