Summer Minister Eve Stevens

A great joy of my summer sermon series on Unitarian Universalist and UUCF history has been learning so many stories about the lives of UUCFers. When we see each other at committee meetings or at coffee hour or bump into one another at the grocery store, it's easy to forget that each of us carries amazing stories  - stories about all the moments in our lives that led to this moment.

The greatest lesson I've learned in my year at UUCF is that the congregation is rich with human resources. No matter what the journey ahead brings, the coming together of all these precious lives in community makes the journey not only possible but meaningful and enjoyable. In every congregation I am a part of, there will be moments of great excitement and growth, comfort and routine and change and anxiety. I have learned from this congregation that if I trust in the resources that the people of my future communities have to bring, our ministry together will be meaningful and joy-filled.

One of the sad things about leaving is that I realize I won't be able to hear more stories about the lives of UUCFers. Aug. 17 will be my last Sunday here. The first blog I wrote for UUCF was about packing up my New York City apartment to drive south to a place of uncertainty. I said I felt "the deep anxiety of leaving somewhere familiar and beloved for the unknown." After a year with this congregation, I have found another place that is familiar and beloved. Again I am preparing to leave for the unknown, but this time I leave strengthened with all I've learned from you.
 
I am comforted by the words of Winnie the Pooh: "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." I look forward to spending the next two weeks with this beloved community. And after I've had a few years to get my ministry started, I'll look forward to checking in with the congregation where I learned to be a minister, to see what adventures you've been up to lately.

With love and gratitude,
Eve