Dear Friends,

I am fortunate to have been at a ministers’ retreat in Iowa the last three days. Regional Unitarian Universalist ministers gather for collegiality and to deepen our own spiritual practices so that we may be best prepared for all the beautiful work of ministry with the people of our congregations.

I encourage you to gain awareness of and connect to your deepest sense of longing and of being. The Soul Matters Collective offers us this spiritual practice in the month of Belonging. I would welcome knowing how it goes for you. Perhaps I will even see the evidence of your sense of Belonging to the Fellowship.

“This exercise is simple and hard (at least for us UUs) at the same time: Invite somebody to church!

“At the heart of this exercise is a deep religious truth: True belonging is something you give, not just get. If we don’t share the belonging, we’ve found, it becomes a cage not a home. And why would we want to keep it to ourselves anyway? Yes, it’s awkward to invite people to church. Nobody wants to seem like they are pushing their religion on someone. But at the same time, the gift of finding belonging comes with a deep sense of gratitude. And gratitude naturally leads to generosity. The best way to say thanks for a gift is to share it. In the end, it’s all one big reminder that being a people of belonging is inexorably intertwined with being a people of gratitude and a people of generosity.

“So lean into all three this month by uttering and completing these two simple sentences: ‘I think you’d enjoy my church because _____________. Want to join me this week?’”

Blessings, Rev. Rita