Message from the Minister

This holiday season I am reminded of how grateful I am for our Tapestry community. When we live with something for a few years, or even just a few weeks it is easy to forget what a blessing it is. I often hear Tapestry members express gratitude for friendships, inspiration, and adventure they have found at Tapestry. I am grateful for those blessings too.

This month I am especially grateful for the strengthening of our congregation as an institution. As you have all heard we had some flooding issues at our building in mid November. Amanda Wainwright, Suzy Cassidy, Richard Boote, Jon Eckhardt, and our Board of Trustees are addressing the problem with all the care and skill anyone could hope for. We have solid insurance, reasonably good financial reserves, and were able to get back into our church home the same week.

For those who are newer to the congregation, it is difficult to describe how Tapestry has grown over recent years. Our attendance and membership numbers have increased marginally, but we are far more stable as an institution than we once were. When life and the world around us can feel uncertain, having a our spiritual home stand on a firm footing is worth so much. So I guess this season of gifts and gratitude, I invite you to pause to notice some of the less flashy gifts, the important things that are easy to take for granted. We all have much to be thankful for.

Sincerely,

Rev. Kent

Minister's Reading Group

Buddhish: A Guide to the 20 Most Important Buddhist Ideas for the Curious and Skeptical by Pierce Salguero

April 25, 2023, 6:30 - 8:00 p,m.

All are welcome to read and join in the discussion. Buddhist scholar Pierce Salguero analyzes the ideas and philosophy of the complex tradition through the eyes of both a critic and an admirer. He shares anecdotes from his time at a Thai monastery and other personal experiences that have shaped his study of Buddhism.

For more information or to sign up, please contact Rev. Kent at rev@tapestryuu.org .

Congratulations, Rev. Dr. Kent!

Proposed Revisions to bylaws of the Unitarian Universalist Association

In October, 2023 I preached about the proposed revisions to Article II of the UUA Bylaws. This is the section that contains what we know as the 7 Principles and 6 Sources. The proposed revision of the bylaws focusses on love as the central theme of our UU tradition.

For years, our faith tradition has been working on crafting an updated version of this section of our bylaws. At General Assembly in 2023 the delegates from our congregations voted to continue forward with the discussion, based on the proposed update listed below. In General Assembly in June of 2024, a final vote will be taken, to approve or reject the proposed shift. There is far more information about that process and history than will fit here. For now, I have included the draft of the proposed new language. In this journey of discernment, I hope we remember that we are always better defined by our actions than by the words we use to describe ourselves.

Sincerely,
Rev. Kent