This is my next to last Beacon column as your UUFH minister. I never really thought through what this would be like. Not that I really could—having not been here before. I need a word that better describes the moment than next to last. Penultimate is a good big word, but it feels too linear and matter of fact. It doesn’t convey any of the evolving layered sense of all that is happening or share the notion of seeing things in new light and the changing nature of that light. I like another big word better: crepuscular. I learned it years ago in biology; crepuscular animals are active in the transitional light between sundown and nighttime. Crepuscular comes from the Latin for twilight—that time when it’s not fully daylight anymore but not dark yet either. As the rays of the setting sun paint the sky, I take a moment and notice the shifting colors and the changing light.
Now that I am only a little more than a month from retirement, my time is becoming crepuscular; I see my work at UUFH less in the bright glare of full sun and more in the changing hues of the sunset at the end of the day. Some things are more important, many seem less critical. The work and colors of congregational life keep shifting.Interactions are differently layered, people are moving on with the energy that continues moving forward. It seems like each new day brings more opportunities for letting go of another expectation or a responsibility I thought was still mine to do. It’s another moment to grieve what I will miss and to think about what might have been and then many more moments to be present with you and to appreciate the health of all that is this strong congregation of you together here in Hendersonville, NC. And like every sunset I’ve never seen before, there are new combinations and colors yet to be revealed. From where I sit in this moment and in this light it feels like it is another good day.
Transition does not mean there is less happening; there is almost too much crepuscular activity to take in. Be sure to notice in the rest of the Beacon all that is happening in the changing light between now and then. Just a few of the things to put on your calendar include the Congregational Picnic on May 5th, Pam and Charlie’s Drawdown workshop on June 9th showing how we might each do our part to reverse climate change, and the reception during coffee hour on Sunday, May 19th for Sandy McGlashan as she retires too. Sandy is the glue who has helped keep all the pieces together efficiently, effectively, and with a smile.
And there, out of all of these I bring two events to your attention.
June 15 is Hendersonville’s first ever Pride Day. (June 6, Mayor Volk will officially declare it as such.) Participate in the events on the 15th. The day will conclude with a concert by the Atlanta Gay Men’s chorus at Trinity Presbyterian. The event is free but seating is limited and you have to have a ticket. Tickets will be available on First Congregational’s website so watch for them.
And for Memorial Day weekend, May 26, Rev. Chris Buice will be our Sunday service speaker. Chris is one of our most outstanding UU ministers, and I have been blessed to know him as a dear friend for all my years in
Hendersonville. This is a Sunday you will not want to miss. Besides it will be my penultimate service in the crepuscular light before Appreciation Sunday and my closing reflection on June 2.
Crepuscular light is not only the light after the sun goes down, it’s also the increasing light in the sunrise of each new day. And for UUFH, the light feels warm and the colors bright. It feels like a good beginning to another good day and another and another.
Thank you all.
— Rev. Jim McKinley, Minister