Dear UUSE Members and Friends:

Our ministry theme for October is courage.

In his book Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment, and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words, the poet David Whyte tells us the word ‘courage’ comes from the old Norman French word cœur, or heart. “Courage,” he writes, “is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another, with a community, a work, a future. To be courageous is not necessarily to go anywhere or do anything, except to make conscious those things we already feel deeply and then to live through the unending vulnerabilities of those consequences.

Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another, with a community, a work, a future.

I like that. Our courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation.

I won’t try to develop this idea any further. I simply offer it to for contemplation as October commences and we move more deeply into autumn and our congregational year. Where in your life is your participation truly and deeply heartfelt? So heartfelt that, sometimes, as Whyte suggests, you feel vulnerable. So heartfelt that, sometimes, there are consequences. So heartfelt that, sometimes, your heart might even break. Is it your participation with another person—a partner, a child, a parent, a friend? Is it your participation with a community—a neighborhood, your child’s school, a service group, a social or environmental justice group? Is it your participation with the community of UUSE?!? Is it your participation in a work setting, or working for a cause or initiative that matters deeply to you? Is it your participation in some effort that seeks to build a better future?

Most of us have ready answers to these questions. And I suspect most of us, the more we think about it, have many answers to these questions.

I suppose some of us will immediately think, “I’m not courageous.” We’ll imagine all the brave things other people do that we would never have the guts to do. We’ll assume other people are so much more courageous than we are. If that’s you, I urge you not to imagine all the courageous things other people do. I urge you to contemplate your heartfelt participation in life.

I once had a mentor who reminded me that we as clergy have no idea what people are experiencing until they tell us. We have no idea what some people might have to go through just to get out of bed in the morning, let alone get through each day. Sometimes, for some people, leaving home and attending church on Sunday morning is a monumentally courageous act. I try always to stay mindful of this lesson. Courage comes in many forms.

For this month, contemplate your heartfelt participation in life, for it is the measure of your courage. As always, if you’d like to share the results of your contemplation with me, please do not hesitate to reach out.

With love, care . . . and courage,

Rev. Josh

#OctoberNewsletter