Ingathering Sunday

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So this was the day I've been waiting for and working toward all Summer -- the first Sunday after Labor Day, and the official start of a new Church Program year. Lots of energy and excitement, and a pretty full house too, although I didn't get an actual count from the ushers before I left. So I guess I'll just have to wait to see it Tuesday. Lots of new faces too, especially among the twenty-something crowd. Plus the annual "return of the stalwarts," who in traditional UU fashion take the summer off to renew their spirits in other ways.

Like many UU churches, First Parish celebrates its Ingathering with a Water Ceremony, during which members of the congregation line up to contribute water which they have brought home with them from the various places they have traveled to over the summer, pouring it into a common vessel to symbolize the combination of our diverse talents and experiences in a single community.

We've tried to steer the ceremony away from your basic "show and tell" to more of a brief "check-in" that is somewhat less intimidating than our usual candlesharing, and it seems to be working. Like a lot of "unique" UU rituals, when it is good it is very, very good; and when it is bad it is horrible. I try to keep it simple while still keeping it authentic, and that seems to work pretty well.

There were also a few opening day glitches which probably went unnoticed but just about everyone but me, but which still required a little scrambling around to get straightened out. Like not having a pilot candle from which to light our chalice, and some confusion over the announcements...the sort of thing we'll have running like clockwork in another two or three weeks.

And let's face it, this was a fairly complicated service, despite its intended simplicity -- two other clergy (who will be working with me part time throughout this year as I figure out just how much "light duty" I can really handle), plus four lay readers, the full choir, and our "ad hoc pick-up Summer Ensemble & Chorale" (shortened today to simply "The First Parish Summer Ensemble") to sing the benediction response. They were one of the many high points of this year's summer services (where we enjoyed nearly double the average attendance over last summer's services), and I was very pleased to be able to show them off for the 9 & 1/2 month congregation today.

The actual preaching was still a little rough as well -- very emotional, plus still fighting the dry mouth and scratchy throat that are side effects of my chemotherapy and of the painkillers I'm taking just to be able to get around at all. That too I imagine will get easier over time, as the chemo comes to an end (at least for the time being) and my pain control continues to improve by trial and error. But these days my emotions are never far from the surface. And that's not necessarily such a bad thing.

Here's a Link to today's Homily and Ingathering Water Ceremony at the First Parish in Portland, Maine. Enjoy!