From UUCGV Board President, Elizabeth High

     I was recently contemplating:  Why is it that some groups or projects grow and thrive, while others falter and disappear?   While the answer is complex, I believe that a key element of thriving groups is that people value their personal relationships with each other.  In addition to whatever hard work the group is doing, they also have fun.  And each person feels that they belong and are a valued member of the group. 

     We are all so busy these days, it is easy to get pulled into a “get down to business because that is all that we have time for” mindset.  And yet, if we remember the moments that felt meaningful and brought us joy over the past few years, isn’t it often those moments when we felt connected to others?  

     How do we help groups we are part of elevate the value of loving relationships?  If the group is a part of UUCGV, then regularly rereading our UUCGV Covenant of Right Relations can give us inspiration and clues to attitudes and actions that we each can each cultivate.  For example, wouldn’t most of us enjoy being part of a group in which members strive to “to express sincere appreciation for each other as we recognize our human fallibility, while maintaining a sense of humor as we live through both difficult and joyous times together”?

     We are seeing a light at the end of the COVID tunnel and hoping for a return to more in-person gatherings before long.  As we move in that direction, let’s celebrate the fun, beauty, AND challenges of the various friendships and bonds we each have or are building within others in our congregation.  Let us also take guidance and inspiration from our UUCGV Covenant of Right Relations:

Each of us, as members of this Beloved Community, do covenant: 
to live as a caring community, actively supporting each other in our spiritual values as expressed in our UU principles and sources of faith; 

• to work together respectfully, remaining honest and direct in our communication in order to draw wisdom from both our commonalities and our diversities;
• to share our gifts generously in order to contribute to the development and growth of our community; 
• to live, teach and demonstrate our UU tradition so that we pass a rich inheritance into the caring hands of future generations;
• to express sincere appreciation for each other as we recognize our human fallibility, while maintaining a sense of humor as we live through both difficult and joyous times together.