Service. Homecoming Sunday; The Gathering of the Waters
An Intergenerational Service with: Rev. Carolyn Colbert, Interim Minister; Louise Paré, Director of Religious Education; Ed Fremouw, President; Tami Marston, Director of Music; and the RVUUF Choir with Jane Manning at the piano.
We gather on the shore of a new church year. A year of renewal and promise. In hundreds of other UU congregations all over the country, people are also returning home and in many, there will be a ceremony like ours. This water communion symbolically mingles our individual lives into the combined stream of the life we share together as a religious community. Bring a small amount of water from your summer activities for the sharing part of the ceremony.* We'll also covenant with our Interim Minister, Carolyn Colbert as she begins this transition year with us. Child care will be available for our youngest children.
*Your water might come from a mountain stream or an ocean way on the other side of the planet. It might have come from your own backyard where you spent some lazy, peaceful hours, or from your family's campsite beside a little creek. Not to worry if you forgot to collect water over the summer or left it in the motel in Overshoe Alaska. We'll have plenty of "faux" water so you can still be part of the ritual of return and reconnecting. The water will be saved for use in naming and dedication ceremonies as a way of welcoming new lives into the living stream of your religious community. Or, perhaps, we'll bless new projects or celebrate new accomplishments with a touch of UU holy water.
Order of Service
Food collection for Ashland Emergency Food Bank
After the service we'll continue to celebrate with a picnic and plenty of time to catch up with old friends and new.