Beloveds, 

I don’t know about you, but the shift from summer to fall always brings me an upsurge in energy. Besides the shift to cooler (well, at least overnight!) temperatures, there’s a sense of plans being made and anticipation of opportunities to meet with friends old and new. At church we have several programs on the horizon that you won’t want to miss. 

Personally, I wonder what the hills around our  property look like with fall foliage. I walked up the hill behind our Still Springs Memorial Garden a couple weeks ago, and I look forward to enjoying the view through the coming seasons. 

I hope you also are enjoying the fall weather and making plans to engage with your church family and perhaps visit our campus. Some things I’m looking forward to that you might want to join: 

• The (virtual) annual meeting of NOAH (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, a justice-seeking coalition of Nashville faith communities, of which GNUUC is a founding member) this Sunday afternoon (Oct. 17). 

• GNUUC’s on-campus Fall Fest on Sunday, October 31. A few worshipful moments, a service project, fun for all ages, and an optional box lunch.

• Picnics with the minister--a few chances for us to meet in small groups, outdoors, while the weather is good. I really, really want to meet y’all face to face, so please sign up!

As always, find details for all these possibilities, and many more, in the weekly eblast and on our website. 

Until I see you next, I remain

Yours in connection and gratitude,

Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch
Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

Dear ones, 

Can you feel change coming? I get a bit of a lift every year when cooler mornings reassure some deep part of me that heat and humidity are not the only modes of Tennessee weather. Similarly, church life in September has a cheerful busy-ness around the making of plans and startups of programs, this year even more so than usual, as we (congregation and new minister) are meeting each other and learning how our work patterns and imaginations mesh. 

This past week, I chatted with Caren S-S while moving tables and chairs into the breezeway between our buildings, and a few days later was able to enjoy morning breezes while meeting (in person!) with a team leader and then a prospective new member. (You, too, might plan to meet a friend for a chat in the breezeway or the garden, you know.)

The leaders of our congregation have been meeting to cook up all sorts of good things for the fall. Keep an eye out for outdoor gatherings for religious education and worship and service, and for Picnic with the Minister signups (woo hoo!). We plan to enjoy the mild fall weather, and our dedicated tech folks are already working out what we will need, when colder weather arrives, to move part of the congregation into our building while connecting remotely with many others. We are embracing as many possibilities for connection as we can!

Sunday’s worship service will celebrate the possibilities found in good questions. We’ll have a classic story about questions and, instead of a sermon, a classic Unitarian Universalist favorite: The Question Box. You are invited to submit questions which I will do my best to answer during the service. What are you wondering? About me, about Unitarian Universalism, about ____? Our “question box” is actually a Google Form, which you can find here. (It’s open now, if you want to submit your question early, or you can do it during the service.) Serious questions are welcome, but send some fun ones, too, please! 

Until Sunday, I remain
Yours in connection and possibility,
Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch
Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

Beloveds,

It’s been a whole week since I became your minister, and I am having such a good time! Thank you for the warm welcome and your generous gifts of time and attention to the process of getting me oriented. 

During this week, I’ve moved books into my office, discovered some bits of GNUUC history and memorabilia tucked away on shelves and in drawers, been taught how various locks and keys work, joined you for worship, sent a few emails and read more of them, and met with congregational leaders both in-person and virtually. I’m beginning to learn where all the things live--both in our building and among all the online tools we use. (I’m brand new to Slack, but finding it very useful.) 

The annual Board Visioning Retreat (which was delayed so I could participate) was a highlight of my first week--we spent an evening & a morning together exploring and articulating a vision for the congregation’s ministry this year. On the side (y’all are an amazing group of multi-taskers!), we figured out a few things about hybrid meetings, with some in-person participants and others joining online. It was a couple of days steeped in possibility (which happens to be our Soul Matters theme for September), and I think you will be inspired when you hear about this year’s Vision of Ministry from the Board during the worship service on Sunday, Sept. 19. I can’t wait to see how we transform lives together this year!

As I begin my ministry with you, part of my personal vision and an important goal for the year is simply to enjoy the process of getting to know you all. Over the next several weeks, I will be joining various regularly-scheduled groups and teams, but I also look forward to getting to know you individually. I am a half-time minister, which means you’re not likely (especially in this still-pandemic-haunted season) to find me by simply dropping by the church, but I would love to hear from you by email and would be glad to schedule a time to talk by phone or Zoom or to meet in person. 

Until Sunday, I am 

Yours in possibility,
Rev. Denise

Rev. Denise Gyauch
Minister, Greater Nashville UU Congregation
RevDenise@gnuuc.org

We welcome our new minister, Rev. Denise Gyauch. She started as our minister on September 1, 2021. Denise, we are so happy you are here! If you have not yet watched the welcome video from Rev. Denise, click play above. If you would l like to reach out to Rev. Denise, she has been added to Breeze and Slack. Her email is: revdenise@gnuuc.org

Most recently, Rev. Denise Gyauch was the Assistant Minister of Congregational Engagement at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Nashville. She has been involved with Unitarian Universalism for many years as a volunteer, staff, and Assistant Minister.

She has previously served as Intern Minister at the UU Church of Huntsville and the Sabbatical Minister for the UU Church of Tullahoma. Rev. Denise holds a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University Divinity School, a second Masters from Vanderbilt, and mostly-fond memories of not-quite-completed Doctoral studies

Flowers from Gene Bryant’s garden.

Dear GNUUC members and friends,

Although I have said most of what I want to say in my final board report and in my June 20th service, I want to make sure those who don’t attend can access the remarks. I want you to know how much I love, appreciate, and wish you well.

I officially retire on July 30th, but since the last week of the month is my week off, and July is my scheduled vacation, this will be farewell.

Here is the link to my final Board report:

Here is a link to Sunday's service. The service is great, especially the meditation featuring Gene Bryant's graden and his photography (starts at 20:00) The sermon itself starts at 26:00.

Stay in touch! I know GNUUC has a bright future. I can’t think of a better congregation to have served as I retire, and I thank you all.

Cynthia

Last night, I learned that another UU colleague had died. He was only a bit older than I, and he followed me in interim ministry at the UU Congregation of the South Jersey Shore in 2016. He’d had a stroke a year ago, but was recovering. He had been planning to preach in CT just 2 weeks ago.

He was a kind, generous, thoughtful, and effective minister, a true professional. When the NAACP of Atlantic City awarded our congregation for our antiracism work during my ministry, he welcomed me back even though I’d already left NJ. Here’s a photo of him and me offering a prayer at the banquet:

Rev. John Marsh, UU minister, died suddenly 6/6/21

I also read this week that a colleague who has served the Unity Temple Unitarian in Oak Park, IL (Chicago) for 18 years is leaving this month. This news has particular significance to me since I knew the Rev. Alan Taylor before he even considered UU ministry. I was in seminary in Berkeley (Pacific School of Religion) and he was a part of the weekly Young Adult group that Eric and I led at the seminary. I recall suggesting that he’d be a good minister, and if I count all the people that I have tried to talk OUT of ministry for any number of reasons since then, the score would be about 50 to one. I may have just been lucky with Alan, but he did go to seminary and he has been an exemplary minister. Interestingly (but not shocking, since UUism is a rather small denomination) he was the mentor/supervisor for the young minister who now serves the Lexington congregation I left seven years ago!

I recall think Alan was SO young. Eric and I were newlyweds, and Marjorie was born while we were in Berkeley. The first photo is of our young adult group in 1993 (I hope you can still recognize me; Eric is in red to the right. I’m in KY blue, not holding Marjorie) at a baby shower they held for us. Alan is the long haired guy whose shoulder I have my hand on. The second is a recent one of Alan. He’s married with two daughters. He’s 54.

Berkeley CA UU Young Adult Group 4/93

Rev. Alan Taylor with UU President Susan Frederick-Gray and Rev. Marlin Lavanhar of Tulsa.

Time passes. Sometimes slowly, and sometimes unbelievably fast. I want to tell young people this and to especially warn younger ministers how soon it will be over and how much they will regret. I will surely miss most of all the amazing people I have met in the congregations I have served. I am grateful to have known each one of you.

I’m here to acknowledge that I haven’t been a great minister to you over the past many months.

I can say more about that, but I will be explaining to the Board how I became ill this past year, and how it kept me from performing and scheduling certain tasks I should have done. I thank you for your patience and understanding, and I ask your forgiveness. I deeply hope that you will find a caring minister who can be present for you going forward!

So, as I contemplate “retirement,” I do not think ministry will end. I don’t know exactly what form it will take; that remains to be seen. It depends upon my health, the opportunities available, and other choices I have yet to make.

When I was ordained, almost exactly 26 years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the trajectory my ministry would take.

And I can’t think of a better place for it to wind down than at GNUUC. My experience with you has been rewarding beyond anything I could have imagined. Indeed, it was you who taught me. I will say more about that in my sermon on June 20th. I hope you will join me!

With Love,

Cynthia

Mariana Garzon, of El Carmen Ecuador, died 19 April 2021 of COVID.

At times, the deaths of the past year seem overwhelming. Even as COVID deaths begin to decrease, we are left to contemplate the losses the pandemic has wrought. Not only has the virus taken the lives of tens of thousands, (almost 600,000, nearly 3.5 million worldwide) but so many have been unable to travel to be with family or loved ones who died by other causes, or to attend or even hold services.

My dear GNUUC family, this is trauma. Those of us who’ve experienced trauma in our lives know the feeling: beyond grief, it’s a kind of despair and shock combined that takes a lifetime to manage. The good news is that it can be held in a safe and trusted community. The good news is that you are part of such a community.

Although no one in my family even contracted COVID, I had friends and acquaintances who did, and some who died. One that struck me was a friend from my many trips to Ecuador, the mother of a doctor here with whom we’d planned our medical mission trips. She was perhaps seventy. But two of her children were physicians, one nearby, the other here in the US. Her American family couldn’t get to her. She died without seeing them. It is so hard for me to fathom her family’s distress and grief.

Sunday after this one (Memorial Day weekend) we will take a slightly different approach to Memorial Day, and I am asking you to help with the service by telling a brief story about someone you know (or don’t know, but whose death affected you) who died this past year. Please let me know by next Wednesday the 26th if you’d like to share. When we see how many speakers there are, I will give you a time limit. You may record your part or share it live during the service.

Eric, Marjorie, and I with Mariana and her son William about 2005. Santo Domingo, Ecuador.

I will tell you a short, funny story about one of my visits with Mariana and her family, that has to do with horrifying Ecuadorian drivers, my terrible Spanglish, and horseback “lessons.” Let us keep those who have passed on alive in our hearts by sharing stories.

With Love,

Cynthia

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

This week, we will honor our graduating Seniors, Xander and Zoe. Each of them will have time to say a few words about their plans and you will have the opportunity to donate to the traditional Cash Jar Fund for our senior grads. I hope you will make time to attend and show these two amazing young people how much we love them and support their next steps.

We will continue with the theme of story. What’s your story about the time you graduated high school? Did your plans change? Looking back, how do you feel about your story? Are there things that you’d change? Regrets? Things you’d still like to accomplish, or experience?

I will be sharing some stories and ideas with you from a teacher and author who was a member of my UU congregation in KY at one time. She was raised in the Netherlands, but is Afro-Surinamese by heritage, and has lived and studied in the US. Her new book, Holding Space, is about how we tell and how we hear one another’s stories.

I think you will enjoy “meeting” her! She has been a true light on my journey. Here’s a story.

Aminata, a single mother of three sons, had been attending the Lexington church for a while with her two younger sons, Essien and Nasim, when Seth came to live with us. We weren’t prepared for the first Christmas when he suddenly joined us a few days before, but she dropped off a big trash bag of wrapped toys that had been given to Nasim through community donations. “He doesn’t need all that,” she said. There was a bounty of toys. Such generosity from someone who had so little.

Her sons have grown up to be very successful. Nasim was just offered a full scholarship to the Air Force Academy. She is a Professor and lives in the Hague, visiting the US regularly. As soon as her book is in print, I plan to buy several copies.

Another story: several times, she took part in or led a service at our UU Congregation. She is also a dancer, and shared some of her knowledge of indigenous dance with us. While she was at our congregation, we also had an exchange student from Germany living at our home; her name was Anke. Aminata offered some African dance classes at the YMCA, and Marjorie, Anke, and I all attended. We had so much fun, and it was a small miracle to see Anke, who had known few people of color, learn from a woman of the African diaspora. I cherish the opportunities I have had to make friends and share stories across time and space.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Love, Cynthia

This is some artwork by a young lady in the UK with chronic illness. Migraines are so hard to describe, but sometimes a visual like this does it.

Dear Friends,

I have been on leave this month of April, and one of my goals was to work on getting to the bottom of why my chronic illness (migraines) have become so much worse in the past few years. Although I am otherwise healthy, and even though I hate complaining, because it doesn’t help, I want to let you know where things stand.

The persistence of the headaches along with family demands are a big part of the reason I am retiring now. My hope is to finally discover not just the triggers but some of the root causes of the migraines so I can move from taking medication to a more prevention-based approach. In April, I had a major revelation when I went for allergy testing and discovered that I am allergic to almost everything around me. It’s going to require a regimen of injections and months to years to see if indeed this is a big contributor to my ongoing illness. Meanwhile, I have been even more sick than I usually am at this time of year. I sincerely apologize for any lapses this has caused or cause in the next few months of my service to you.

I am back “on duty” now and will be with you on May 9, 16, and 31st. I will also be leading the service on June 20th. I had hoped to make a few trips to Nashville in May, but I can’t travel just yet. However, if you’d like to have a farewell chat or meeting with me via Zoom or just get on a list for when I do visit, please send an e-mail and we will set something up!

In the meantime, I will continue to work with the leadership to do what I can to help ensure a smooth and successful transition to your next ministry! You are a fantastic congregation and you deserve the best!

This Sunday is “Mother’s Day,” and many folks struggle with that day for lots of reasons. I usually try to approach the topic in a novel and unsentimental way. The title this Sunday is “A Mother of a Year” and I hope to share some thoughts about how the womb-like time of the pandemic has been nurturing as well as isolating. Let me know if you have stories along those lines! As ever, I am deeply grateful to the Worship team and all the GNUUC leadership who have kept the congregation going without me, showing once again how resourceful and resilient you are.

Here’s an article about the ambivalence of Mother’s Day: CLICK HERE

With Love,

Cynthia