Read our latest announcement.
We are a community that invites you to awaken to love.
Beloveds,
Do you remember the last time you felt truly grateful—not just for something big, but for something small and quiet? Maybe it was the light through the trees on your drive home. Or the laughter that rose unexpectedly from a shared meal. Or perhaps the simple relief of a deep breath after a hard day.
In a world that constantly urges us to strive, collect, and consume, gratitude asks us to pause. Our culture tells us to accumulate, while our faith calls us to appreciate. If we lean on the original meaning of the word appreciate—“to move toward what is precious”—then gratitude is not just a feeling. It is a practice of moving toward life with open eyes and an open heart.
But here’s the truth: gratitude doesn’t always grow on its own. It needs tending. It needs weeding. It needs time. When our lives become crowded with hurry, worry, and striving, gratitude gets choked out before it can bloom. That’s why this month I want to invite you to not just feel grateful, but to nurture gratitude—to make room for it to grow through intentional practice.
I have a colleague who takes photos each day on their walk, capturing the things they’re thankful for. Another writes a short poem about the small joys that sustain them. I have conversations of gratitude with a few colleagues as a morning check-in online. Maybe, for you, it’s asking a friend what gratitude means to them—or imagining what your life would be like without something, or someone, precious in it.
What practice can you imagine for your daily life? How will you cultivate a garden of gratitude in your spirit?
Maybe this month we can learn not just to name our blessings, but to live them. May gratitude become not an afterthought but a rhythm—a way of being that roots us more deeply in joy, compassion, and connection.
As we move through this world, let us remember that nurturing gratitude is not about ignoring what is hard—it’s about finding the sacred in what is ordinary, and discovering beauty and joy that help regulate and balance our spirits.
So may we pause. May we notice.
May we move toward what is precious.
And may our gratitude bloom.
– Rev. Christe
my pronouns are they/them and this is why they matter (https://pronouns.org/what-and-why)
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I serve UUSMC at ¾ time, and I look forward to the time we share in ministry together.
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Other times may be arranged by mutual agreement via email.
I joyfully join committee meetings when I am able, with particular focus on the Board, Finance, and Worship teams.
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