It's September when it really sinks into my mind how long I have been working with the congregation, presumably because that's the month I moved to Florida. We have entered our third year together, UUCTS. May our work continue to carry us forward!

The spiritual theme for September is Belonging. In worship, we'll be exploring what it means to belong to Unitarian Universalism and to each other. We're starting off the month with a Question Box service -- as a seeking people, we might say we also belong to questions and curiosity, humility and exploration.

One way to explore belonging among groups about what is happening in the congregation is what we are tentatively calling Leadership Circle. This will be a time when leaders of the congregation can get together and talk about what they're working on, thinking about, wanting to collaborate on, and what's on their minds about how to make the church better and stronger. Not sure if you belong? Of course you do! We're meeting on Tuesday, September 6 at 4 pm on Zoom, and we plan to make this a monthly meeting.

Second Sundays/New to UUCTS resumes in September, with a chance for people who are new to the congregation to get to know more about us. This may be people who are new to Unitarian Universalism, or new to this congregation. These are on second Sundays, following the worship service. To tag along on this work, we are starting a Second Mondays monthly program, UU Conversation, Connection, and Community, where people who are new to the congregation and want a little more time and space can engage in deeper questions that will help them discern whether membership would feel right for them. We'll explore what brought new people to the church, help them know more about us, and what it would look like to move forward in becoming a UU here at UUCTS. These are on second Mondays at 6 pm on Zoom.

And also resuming this month: discussion of Covenant Groups! We've run Covenant Groups for two years here and they have mostly been well-received. There will be a Q&A session, where Rev. Kristina will introduce what Covenant Groups are, along with expectations for participating in the groups and will answer your questions. This is on Tuesday, September 13 at 6 pm on Zoom. The following week, on Tuesday, September 20 at 6 pm on Zoom, Rev. Kristina will lead a sample session (probably only part of a sample session) so people can decide if they are interested in participating this year. If you are interested in signing up for Covenant Groups this year and have been in a group before, you do not need to attend, but all are welcome.

I'm looking forward to what this year brings -- and to seeing you soon!