At last month’s Worship Planning Team meeting, we watched a webinar about ritual and embodiment in worship. In it, Rev. Danya Edwards said, “A noisy church is a healthy church.” While there are moments for silence and quiet, I agree that our robust and often noisy UCE is vibrant and healthy.
The rummage sale is a great example. I love the buzzy energy of rummage sale week. I love having dozens of volunteers about, organizing, pricing, chatting, eating and laughing. And then, on sale days, standing at the front door as we welcome folks in from our neighborhood and wider community, witnessing their smiles as they enter, smiles warmly returned with convivial conversation, it is beautiful to behold.
I overheard one customer say to another as they paid by Venmo, “this is the most organized rummage sale I’ve ever been to.” I was able to pull Gillian Lawrence, one of our co-leads, over so she could take that well deserved compliment in. I witnessed Judy Holman helping young children shop for Mother’s Day gifts in the jewelry department. I heard the story of a woman discovering the photo in the art department of a friend’s grandfather on a pony. So random. She left to verify the photo was indeed her friend’s grandfather as a child, returned for the photo the next day after the sale was over, and was crestfallen to discover she was too late. But then, Martha Holman called her back because Carol Nielsen had found the photo set out by the trash. Amazing!
And our noisiness and healthiness goes well beyond the rummage sale. You hear it in the Nest on Sunday mornings, kids playing and partaking in the service. They’re loud, yes, but they know they belong. You may have also noticed a lot more young adults at UCE as well. Okay, they’re not so noisy on Sunday mornings but they can be on Friday nights! Though lots of young adults have visited UCE over the years, we’ve struggled to nurture a sense of connection or deeper belonging that sticks. But in the last year or so, that has begun to change.
In the spring of 2024, one of our young adults, Kiley Korey, came to me to ask about spiritual deepening. We met to discuss how to better engage young adults. Kevin Barrow joined the conversation, and then my own kiddo, Grey. Together, we decided to try some form of spiritual deepening followed by games on a regular monthly basis.
Kiley, Kevin, and Grey started planning the spiritual deepening portion of the gatherings, using the Soul Matters materials, which involved check in and some reflective questions and exercises. The group started to grow and coalesce. On Sunday mornings, when young adults came to church, they were seeing more people their age whom they could connect with, sit with, and chat with during kinship time.
As the group has grown, we’ve decided to explore the next phase. We called a meeting on the third Friday in April to pose some questions and gather feedback. About twenty young adults showed up, and it was clear that the desire for more connection and more spiritual deepening, including the fun and social kind, is longed for.
The group also made it clear that while connection with other young adults feels very important, they really want to be a part of the wider community too. They talked about planning and co-hosting more intergenerational events, including the camping trip in June. They helped put together a worship service with the Jr. High group in April. A bunch of them helped with the rummage sale and welcomed the graduating Senior High kids into young adulthood. They agreed to continue the monthly Friday night games and other social events, decided to start meeting weekly on Sundays after the service for an hour of reflection about the service topic, and are planning to begin a covenant group for young adults this summer. Again, amazing!
It was wonderful to watch the service on May 4th, when we welcomed 17 new members and heard the touching stories of four high school seniors, sharing what UCE has meant in their lives. It is rewarding to see the depth of connection and care that happens across the lifespan. Let’s keep building those connections and being the vibrant, noisy, robust, and thriving community that strengthens us all and inspires us to build the Beloved Community beyond our walls, no matter how old we are.
And, if you do happen to be 18-35 and want to get connected with the Young Adult Group, please reach out to me, or Kathy, Kiley, Kevin, or Grey and we’ll make sure it happens.
I’m so grateful to be on the journey with all of you.
Love,
Rev. Eileen
Practicing Beloved Community at UCE 