May 28, 2025.
What a year this has been. You will hear more about the strong state of the congregation at the Annual Meeting this Sunday, but I wanted to communicate what might be called the spiritual state of the congregation.
Living in the DMV certainly has its benefits. The many cultural institutions, beautiful state and national parks, and so many activity options. This region is also extra vulnerable to political changes and upheavals that come with the times in which we live. And, this all lives within us and the people with whom we interact – our neighbors, our families, and the people we love.
It is unavoidable that it also lives with us as a faith community trying to call each other and the world to our best selves as we work to transform ourselves, our community, and our world – as best we can – through acts of love and justice. This may be one of the reasons we have seen so much growth and energy in the congregation over the last couple of years – that need for connection, that desire to feel the spark of hope, that overwhelming longing to experience joy as we work to navigate these rough cultural and political waters.
There are reasons for the growth, energy, and strength of this community. We are here for each other. We are here when someone who is grieving needs a loving embrace or a meal. We are here when our children need a foundation of kindness and goodness as the world swirls around them. We are here as a place of solace and peace on a Sunday morning when our candles are lit and the music fills us with the spirit. We are here in times when the future feels so unknown that it becomes important just to be somewhere where we can be known.
It’s trite but true that in the past year this congregation has been a shining beacon of connection, goodness, and love in what has been one of the most challenging years most of us have lived through.
So, what does this mean moving forward? It means that, as you will hear this Sunday, we are in the best financial position we have been in for a very long time. It means that with dedicated staff who love all of you and UUCF as an institution, with lay leaders who have spent an incredible amount of time and energy working to both support the present and make plans for the future, and with this vibrant community of caring, there is still a great need. The need is for all of those who are seeking what we have found here to also find it. For those who are feeling alone and isolated. For those who need a non-dogmatic, incredibly welcoming, community of love that will spiritually sustain and hold them and others through these difficult times.
These are difficult times and that speaks loudly for the need for UUCF. We need to be present for the larger community to have a place of spiritual grounding. We need to continue to do the best we can to spread love and support justice in the world. We do not know what the future will bring, but what we do know is that the world, our country, and our community is struggling and we are and will always be better together.
Please remember, you are loved and you are love.
I love you,
Rev. David Miller
Senior Minister