Hello Unitarian Universalists! I am the Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray and I continue to be honored to be President of YOUR Unitarian Universalist Association. It is good to be with you for another season of Ingathering! This time marks the end of summer, when we come together to renew our commitments to each other and to our Unitarian Universalist communities, and begin another year of vital ministry. 

In the summer months, I hope you and your loved ones found time to rejuvenate your body and spirits, to rest, to pursue hobbies that bring you joy, or to simply take a break. I know the world is all too much and it matters that we make time for rest. Rest is necessary for the quality of our lives, ministry and spirits. 

We are all living in what I have come to call a liminal time – a time in between. The pandemic has upended so much. After two years of virtual and hybrid gatherings in our congregations, the ways in which people connect to religious community have broadened and new patterns are developing. On so many levels, what comes next is still being imagined. 

As Unitarian Universalists, we are called to care for each other and create resilient, theologically imaginative spiritual community that sustains and inspires us as we navigate what’s to come and what is needed. And there is so much needed – from supporting access to reproductive health care, to showing up through the UU the Vote campaign to elect leaders that will fight to protect our children, our future and our deeply-held values. And doing the fundamentals of religious community like supporting children and families recovering from, and in some cases still experiencing, the collective trauma of these last few years. Our world needs our message of love and justice. Our world needs brave, bold and loving communities in the struggle for justice, equity and compassion. One way to join other UUs in this work is by visiting uuthevote.org.  

Your Unitarian Universalist Association is the embodiment of the covenant that all our congregations make to each other. The UUA is here because of the commitment our congregations make to support a broader Association to amplify and strengthen our shared values, to support one another in times of need, and to be more than any of us are alone. At the UUA we are committed to being steadfast partners with you in this liminal time and in all that is ahead. 

As you gather in this sacred hour and light a chalice, may we each remember the hundreds of thousands of UUs gathered all across our Association celebrating and calling themselves back into the power and possibility of our faithful communities. For we are not alone - and we make each other strong. I send you all my love and blessings as we enter this new congregational year and celebrate Ingathering.