“Everything has to come to an end, sometime." --L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz
On the fifteenth of this month, one year to the day since it began, my time with you at UCC Watertown will come to an end. I can’t wait to move to New York City with my partner Satya in August… but it’s a bittersweet kind of excitement, because I have to say goodbye to a community that has meant so much to me. This has been an amazing year, full of learning and growing and serving together, and I wanted share just a couple highlights:
Praying with you through Holy Week, from high-energy theater on Palm Sunday to quiet reflection on Good Friday to the early-morning, anticipatory joy of Easter Sunrise.
Blessing birthday cake and sparkling juice communion at Wednesday Youth Church.
Witnessing to your deeply personal stories about their journeys with faith and sexuality while we read Nadia Bolz-Weber’s SHAMELESS: A Sexual Reformation for book group.
Laughing with you in the kitchen while serving the Banquet at Trinity Lutheran.
Seeing the fellowship hall full to bursting with people (and baked goods!) for the Pilgrim Fair.
Performing “glitter blessings” at Watertown’s first-ever Pride in the Park celebration, a culmination in so many ways of this community’s work to live into the open and affirming promise that “no matter who you are, no matter where you are on life’s journey, you are WELCOME here!”
I could go on and on, but that would take another year in and of itself. I suspect you have your own treasured memories. Suffice it to say, our time together has been a gift. I love y’all. I’m grateful for each and every one of you. And I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you on this next leg of your journey in faith.
Blessin’s now and always, --Tom
QUESTIONS FOR THE WEEK: What new things have you learned about yourself in the past year? About this community? About God? Where do you imagine yourself in a year?
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