On St. Patrick’s Day, two days after our last snowfall, the yard in front of the house where I live was suddenly alive with color: purple, white, yellow, blue– the crocuses seemed to have blossomed spontaneously and indiscriminately. In between the blossoms, here and there, were snowdrops, delicate blooms with demurely nodding heads. Spring had arrived. I’m still waiting for my first glimpse of forsythia, which should occur just around the time the daffodils bounce their jaunty heads in the wind. Maybe your daffodils have arrived by the time you’re reading this. If past years are a reliable indicator, the passing of the daffodils will yield to the emergence of tulips, followed soon thereafter by white narcissus. Then we’ll know that Spring is firmly established– no looking back.
The sun rises at 6:30 am these days and doesn’t set till after 7 pm. Every day the amount of daylight increases, brightening our spirits as it brightens the day. The increased daylight, the budding trees, the proliferation of flowers– how can we help but feel hopeful these days? The month of April will bring a new liveliness to the church, as well. On Sunday, April 2, Jeanie Gagné and Stan Strickland will offer the blessing of a lively and engaging Jazz Sunday. We’ll be celebrating a UU version of Easter on April 9, and our CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) group will lead us in an Earth Day celebration on the 16th. So much life and liveliness is coming our way!
I’m looking forward to April’s Song Circle session after hearing so much about it from the over thirty folks who attended in March. (Thank you to Bet Giddings and Andrea Priest and all who have helped organize this monthly event.) Kelly Lownds will be leading an LGBTQIA and allies group that will meet for the first time on April 26. After completing a very enjoyable Small Group Ministry on “A Short History of Universalism,” I look forward to leading another reading group before the month is out. Our Spring Auction is on April 16. Tony Soares will be organizing a congregational yard sale on the 29th. Also on the 29th, Sustainable Middleborough is hosting the Cooler Middleborough Fair. And the list of social justice-related activities on the SJ page of our website is long. We are looking forward to a Spring filled with hope and activities. I sincerely hope I will see you at many of these events.
A lively church is a living church. Your participation is what keep us alive– and lively!
See you at church,
Peter
