President’s Message

Welcome to Autumn everyone and to the close of the hottest Northern Hemisphere summer on record. Unfortunately, hurricane season is not yet over so we should not yet let our guard down.
Despite the heat and our August “vacation”, our congregation and friends have been enjoying some stimulating travels as well as activities here on the Nature Coast and we have been treated to some very interesting services in the month of September. The Board of Directors also resumed its monthly meetings and made a slight change in the meeting days for these meeting. Beginning on October 10, the BoD meetings will take place on the second Tuesday of each month beginning at 4:00 PM. All are welcome to attend and offer input, but voting is limited to BoD members.

It has been suggested by several members and friends that we should resume our “Kitchen Table” forums with the aim of promoting greater community awareness of several important social justice issues, perhaps starting with some theme related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, which of embraces racial, economic, and legal justice. We invite your suggestions for topics and discussion leaders.

Several of our services have attracted visitors who expressed interest in learning more about us. During the coffee and cake social gathering following a recent and very informative service led by a Christian minister, a couple asked me how Unitarian Universalism differs from other religions. Without mentioning any other religions as examples, I attempted an answer along the lines of the following: “The Nature Coast Unitarian Universalists are a welcoming congregation with open minds and hearts. We value and promote reason, diversity, compassion, social and environmental justice, and especially love. Unitarian Universalists are aware of the vastness, mystery, and interdependence of the cosmos and all life and encourage unbridled spiritual growth without the constraints of creed, dogma, or scripture.” This is, of course, only one of many possible answers to this question. I expect that there are as many perspectives on this as there are UUs and those perspectives are hopefully constantly evolving, not static. I invite all of you to share your perspectives with the rest of us at any time that seems opportune. Diversity of thought and belief is one of our cherished strengths.

Namaste,
Don Wright