Hello, friends! 

As my favorite season begins to slip away, it’s time to reflect on the Fall Religious Exploration programming and plan for the Winter and beyond.  Are you interested in supporting Religious Exploration at UUCT? What about getting something from youth and adult RE? How do we both give to RE and receive from RE? If you’re curious, please join me for Cocoa and Tea with the DRE on 11/18, from 4:30-6:00 PM!

Last year, I read Brene Brown’s Daring Greatly and this quote offered beautiful wisdom on generosity: “Until we can receive with an open heart, we’re never really giving with an open heart. When we attach judgment to receiving help, we knowingly or unknowingly attach judgment to giving help.

In our culture we’ve come to equate success with not needing anyone. Many of us are willing to extend a helping hand, but we’re very reluctant to reach out for help when we need it ourselves. It’s as if we’ve divided the world into ‘those who offer help’ and ‘those who need help.’ The truth is that we are both…”

Although I never consciously saw giving help as a judgment, Brown offered me a new lens from which to view my own generosity: some part of me saw myself as only a helper and not someone who needs help. Into my young adulthood, I gave and gave and gave, letting my cup empty until something had to give, usually my body or my mental health. 

In my upbringing, asking for help was judged as a weakness. Now, I am thrilled to report that the values of community and collaboration are not meant to be explored in isolation and judgment! True generosity is a powerful expression of community, of mutual aid. It is a transformative force for love and justice. 

I am grateful for our UUCT community as I explore my own generosity: as the DRE, I depend on volunteers to bring to life our UU values of religious exploration and that search for truth and meaning in the interdependent web of which we are all part. 

Join us on Saturday, 11/18 for hot cocoa and tea as we reflect, plan, and share our gifts with one another. We will meet in Rooms 2 and 3. Children are welcome to join! Stay after the meeting to enjoy our Monthly UUCT Game Night! There will also be a Zoom option for those who require online accessibility.

May we offer our blessings and be blessed.