Sunday Worship, 10am
RE Sunday, Naomi Yoshida
And the RE Committee

Sunday, 11:30 am
Racial Justice Workshop
What will we do as a faith community about the systemic racism in U.S. society?

Small Group Ministry (SGM)
Deadline to sign up is June 15

Next week
Board meeting on Tuesday
On Wednesday I’ll lead the staff meeting
And attend the Pastoral Care Team meeting
I have a sermon to write for June 21
And June 21, will be my last day preaching to you

In these last two weeks of Interim
I’m preparing documentation of the church which I will share with Lissa
I’m clearing our my office
And I’m attending online meetings
For General Assembly
And the UU Ministers Association

I began these daily messages on March 13
Exactly 3 months ago today
And today will be my last message
There are two weeks left in my interim with you
And I need to attend to some other business
As well as continue to take my leave-taking
as gracefully as I’m able
I prefer a quiet “fading into the sunset”
Rather than a dramatic end.

Three months ago
In my first message to you
It was necessary to inform the church
that we would not be having in-person worship
that Sunday, March 15
And that we would cancel our St. Patrick’s Day party
Which was scheduled for after worship on March 15.

It was a confusing and frightening time for us all
Back in the middle of March
We didn’t know what was going on
Or how long this would last
Or whether we would last
as a church
Now here we are
Three months later

I’m still feeling frightened and confused
Although less so
We are closer to being able to gather in person
Only because three months have passed
But still not close
To the necessary testing, tracing, treatment, and vaccine

The pandemic has not ended
In fact, infections are rising again.

The good news is that we avoided an early spike in infections
So our hospitals and medical personnel
Are now better prepared to handle the sick
But people are still getting sick
And people are still dying

I encourage you now
As much as ever
To take care of yourself
Wash your hands
Wear a mask
Keep your distance

In the church we have also done much
To respond to the epidemic

The worship service on March 15 
We conducted on facebook live
The way you are seeing me now
Michael Sallwasser, Naomi Yoshida, Francisco Ruiz, and I
Gathered in Wylder Hall
With a couple of tech helpers
Worship was each of us,
One by one
Sitting in front of my laptop
And sharing our message
Then scooting aside for the next one to take the chair

Now our worship is on Zoom
We’re taking better advantage of the technology available
I hope you’re enjoying the Worship experience
We’ve created church Zoom accounts
And nearly all of our former programs are continuing
In the new virtual format

In this strange new environment
We’ve passed a budget
That creatively responds to the economic situation
We conducted an all church survey
Created a Buddy program
Responded to pastoral needs
And updated contact information
We’ve elected new leadership for the coming year
We amended our bylaws
And you have all called a new settled minister
Rev. Lissa Gundlach
To start in August

We honored the Coming of Age youth in our community
We celebrated our Music Program
Tomorrow we celebrate our children’s religious education program

In all we have continued
Offering all the necessary aspects of managing a church
Caring for a church community
Attending to our personal spiritual lives
Responding to issues in the larger community
Growing our faith.

As I’ve learned to say in the last three months
The building is closed
The church is open

In person church ended on March 13
Over the following couple of weeks
We shifted to the virtual church we have now
And through that change
That ending, shifting, and recreating
The church continued
We remained a church
We stayed open.

Three years ago, nearly, now
This church experienced the painful ending
Of your last settled ministry
When Rev. Mitra Rahnema
Returned from her sabbatical
And announced her resignation 
With 30-day notice.

I can imagine how shocking that must have felt to you
How heart-breaking
Another time of confusion and fear
In our church

Rev. Mitra and the congregation at that time
Weren’t able to make a good ending
Too little time to prepare
Too much left unsaid
Which is one reason that I’ve been so purposeful
In making a good ending for this interim.

But in either case
In all these cases
Rev. Mitra’s resignation
The closing of the church building
The end of the interim coming at the end of this month
The church continued

We found a way
We did what was necessary
Leaders emerged
We cast a vision
We stayed true to our faith
Our principles
Our mission
People stepped up
Necessary skills appeared
or we learned what we needed to learn
We healed the hurts
We reached out to the most vulnerable
We invited in
We included
We solved problems
We adjusted to the new circumstances
We prepared for the future
We were generous
We were creative
We were cautious
But determined
We held each other accountable
Because we aren’t perfect
But we forgave
Because we are grounded in love.

So for this last message to you
As the end of the interim approaches
I want to remind us
How endings always come in the particular
In the midst of continuing in the general
An ending comes on the surface
Of a circumstance
While the deep, the large, and long
Moves on

Death comes to each life
But life continues
A relationship ends
Love continues
This work ends
But work continues
Theater, and opera, and symphony orchestras end
But art, and enjoyment continues
Church members come and go
But the congregation continues
Ministers come and go
But the ministry continues

There will eventually be an ending to Rev. Lissa’s ministry
And while she is with you
There will be sudden shocks
And surprises
And crises to respond to
Just as there were several times
During this interim
And the church will continue

The church is not about Mitra
Or me
Or Lissa
Whatever gifts Mitra brought
Or I did
Or that Lissa will bring when she arrives
Are not
Ultimately
As important
As what continues beyond
And beneath
The changing personnel
Of church ministers
And members

So let’s be careful to make good endings
As they occur
To honor the separate strands
Of time served
And gifts given
To notice the passings and partings
And shifting and shapings
To say goodbye
At the close
When closings come
But to stay connected in the midst of an ending
To what does not end

The principles
The mission
The faith

The generosity
The creativity
The love

This community
This unfolding story
This church