 and good morning. Welcome to the first Unitarian Society of Madison. This is a community where curious seekers gather to explore spiritual, ethical, and social issues in an accepting and nurturing environment. Unitarian universalism supports the freedom of conscience of each individual as together we seek to be a force for good in the world. My name is Henry Hill Gorman and on behalf of the congregation, I would like to extend a special welcome to visitors. We are a welcoming congregation. So whoever you are and wherever you are on life's journey, we celebrate your presence among us. We trust that today's service will stimulate your mind, touch your heart, and stir your spirit. I invite you now into a few moments of contemplation, meditation, prayer as we settle in and come fully into this time and place together. I now invite you to rise in body or in spirit to our hymn number 1074 in the Teal hymnal. Here we have come into this sacred space, quieter now for our readiness, hushed voices, hoping, trusting for so many things, for connection, for communion, for inspiration, for information, for healing, for wholeness, for words, for music, for celebration and consolation. Here we have come into this space bringing all of who we are. Let us be willing however we are changed. Here today in this place and with these people, may we listen so that we can hear, may we hear so that we can feel, may we feel so that we can know and may we know so that we can change ourselves and this world, may this chalice we light, light our way. Say hi. Listen to our message for all ages. Please come up. We have plenty of space. Anybody else? No? Come on, come on. Come on. Last takers. Yeah, sit right there. Okay, awesome, well good morning. We are, Davis and I are going to this, Davis. Yeah, Davis. And we're gonna be reading a story to you. It's called Owen. Has anyone heard this story before? That's your name? That's an awesome name. Anyone else? I've never heard this story before. And if you guys look, we also have pictures up there and Davis is going to show you on the book as well. Okay. Owen had a fuzzy yellow blanket. He'd had it since he was a baby. He loved it with all his heart. Fuzzy goes where I go, said Owen, and fuzzy did. Upstairs, downstairs, in between, inside, outside, upside down. Fuzzy likes what I like, said Owen, and fuzzy did. Orange juice, crepe juice, chocolate milk, ice cream, peanut butter, applesauce, and cake. Isn't he getting a little too old to be carrying that thing around, asked Miss Tweezers. Haven't you heard of the blanket fairy? Owen's parents hadn't. Miss Tweezers filled them in. That night, Owen's parents told Owen to put fuzzy under his pillow. In the morning, fuzzy would be gone, but the blanket fairy would leave in an absolutely wonderful, positively perfect, especially terrific, big boy gift in its place. Owen stuffed fuzzy inside his pajama pants and went to sleep. No blanket fairy, said Owen in the morning. No kidding, said Owen's mother. No wonder, said Owen's father. Fuzzy's dirty, said Owen's mother. Fuzzy's torn and ratty, said Owen's father. No, said Owen. Fuzzy is perfect, and fuzzy was. Fuzzy played Captain Plunger with Owen. Fuzzy helped Owen become invisible, and fuzzy was essential when it came to nail clippings and haircuts and trips to the dentist. Can't be a baby forever, said Miss Tweezers. Haven't you heard of the vinegar trick? Owen's parents hadn't. Miss Tweezers filled them in. When Owen wasn't looking, his father dipped Owen's favorite corner of fuzzy into a jar of vinegar. Yeah. Owen sniffed and smelled it and sniffed it. He picked a new favorite corner instead. Then he rubbed the smelly corner all around his sandbox, buried it in the garden, and dug it up again. Good as new, said Owen. Fuzzy wasn't very fuzzy anymore, but Owen didn't mind. He carried it and wore it and dragged it. He sucked it and hugged it and twisted it. What are we going to do? Asked Owen's mother. School is starting soon, said Owen's father. Can't bring a blanket to school, said Miss Tweezers. Haven't you heard of saying no? Owen's parents hadn't. Miss Tweezers filled them in. I have to bring Fuzzy to school, said Owen. No, said Owen's mother. No, said Owen's father. Owen buried his face in the fuzzy. He started to cry and would not stop. Don't worry, said Owen's mother. It'll be all right, said Owen's father. And then suddenly Owen's mother said, I have an idea. It was an absolutely wonderful, positively perfect, absolutely terrific idea. First, she snipped, and then she sewed. Then she snipped again and sewed some more. Snip, snip, snip, sew, sew, sew, dry your eyes. Wipe your nose, hooray, hooray, hooray. Now, Owen carries one of his not-so-fuzzy handkerchiefs with him wherever he goes. And Miss Tweezers doesn't say a thing. All right, all right. If you guys want, you can get going. I think some of you have classes. Thank you very much for hearing our story. I just wanna preface by saying public speaking is not my strong suit, so I apologize in advance. But it's all good. Okay, I'm gonna start now. Hello there, again. I am here today to talk to you about transitions. Obviously, those of us standing up here today have a big transition coming up from high school to college, from this community to a new, unknown one. But I want to talk to you about a combination of bigger transitions and my own personal growth this past year. In September, I never would have imagined being who I am today. It seems silly to me to even say that, since in September, I didn't think people were capable of this much growth in such a short amount of time. In the past nine months, I became captain of my cross-country team, applied to 12 different colleges, and got two tattoos. You may be thinking to yourself, how very ordinary of me? And yes, I agree. From all that you know about me thus far, you would describe me as an average teenager, maybe one who spends too much money on college applications. What you don't know about me is in these past nine months, I have experienced some of the hardest moments of my life that are completely unrelated to my college decision. Now, as I try to make this as lighthearted as possible for this story is a sad one, and today is a happy day for my peers and I. But I need to talk about this because it is important to understanding me and my transition to adulthood. My story starts in January of this year, although so many things occurred before this time, it would take too long to explain them all, so I start here at the end of someone else's story. It was a Sunday, at the end of January, much like this one, seemingly normal. I was at work when I received a Snapchat, yes, Snapchat, from an acquaintance telling me that something terrible had happened. A close friend of mine had taken his own life the night before. This came as a shock to me, even though I knew the pain he was facing from the days I spent at the hospital with him last November. Never thought it would come to this. I thought it was getting better, and obviously I was wrong. I think it's safe to say it was the worst kickoff of the second semester La Follette High School has ever experienced. The days and weeks after are hard to remember now, just a blur of grief circles, crying friends, and many nights spent driving around in the dark without a purpose or destination. There is no remedy for grief or the complications that come along with a loss by suicide. I felt many things I never had before, hopelessness, confusion, guilt, pure rage, the only emotion that was absent seemed to be happiness. I started keeping a journal sometime around the middle of February, trying to find some kind of healthy way to work through the pain. It helped me, I made a list of the things I loved, like walking in rivers with my Chakos on, or singing Fall Out Boy in the car with my brother, or coming to youth group on Sundays to see my best friends. Those were the moments that got me through the hardest days. Seeing the people I love most and sharing time with them was always better than being alone, even if they had no idea what was going on in my life. And of course I have to get extra credit to my best friend Ruby, for she was the first one I went to on that terrible day, and she walked with me for miles in the snow and mud, while I blasted the new Fall Out Boy album on repeat, which must have been torturous, so for that I apologize, but thank you endlessly. Because in that day, and the days that followed, I learned a new type of strength, and not only a self-reliance, but the importance of leaning on the people around you when things aren't so easy. Now my pain hasn't gone away, but it is involved in more ways than I thought it would. There are still days where I'm back in that dark place I resided in a few months back, but it's no longer constant, and I know I'm strong enough to see the day where this pain no longer hurts me, but reminds me of the good times and the strength I have gained to make it this far. And although the thought of moving away and meeting new people who don't know me or my story is absolutely terrifying, I know I'll figure it out and I'll be okay again, because as I was thrown into adulthood in the midst of tragedy, the most important thing I learned was that I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was. And together with the people you love, you can get through anything, and I know I'll always have this community to fall back on. Thank you. Okay, so I don't know why Allison said she was bad at public speaking, because now I'm terrified to follow that, but I'll give it a go. So for those of you who don't know me, my name's Eve Levy, and I've been a part of this community and considered myself a Unitarian for about as long as I can remember. So I promised myself I wasn't gonna spend my whole talk just being like, oh, thank you guys, I love you so much, but I have to start by doing that because I do. So something that this congregation has provided me with that I value the most is a community. The other youth that I've gotten to spend my Sundays with and being in classes with are some of the most open-minded, kind, and just loving individuals I've ever met. They're what I'm gonna miss most about this place. And the teachers that I've had here have given me the freedom to decide what I believe as opposed to what they want me to believe, which I've learned is pretty different for as far as religious education goes. And it's just really grateful. I'm really grateful for that, it's unique. And I think most importantly, this building has always been a place that has been welcoming to me and has in turn made me welcoming to others. And so if you're somebody who's helped make this community what it is, I just thank you from the bottom of my heart because it's really special. So now that I've said what I need you to say, I'll actually talk about what they asked me to talk about, which is transitions, so. So something that I've learned in my life is that transitions are actually awful, like most of the time they're not fun. As humans, it's really, as creatures of habit, it's really easy to stay in a routine even if we think there's something we could be doing that could be making us happier. So at the age of four, I learned that kindergarten was in my future. And much to my surprise, my parents would not be allowed to sit with me in school all day. They wouldn't even come in at the start and end of the day like they did in preschool. And naturally, my four-year-old self was infuriated by this discovery. And I was saddened by the thought that I would not see my parents as much and as excited as I was to be in big girl school because I didn't like being a little kid. I was equally nervous about the separation from my life I had always known. And sure enough, on the first day of school, all my fears were realized. It was a new environment, new people, and I was terrified. I was just like not having it. And while I don't vividly remember all the details of my first year, or my first week in kindergarten, I do remember that it didn't take very long for that fear that I was feeling to turn into excitement. And I learned that I enjoyed being at school and meeting new people and I enjoyed the opportunities that being in that environment provided me with. So I guess what I'm trying to say with this little story is that in my life, transitions have not always been welcome or particularly fun, but they're always rewarding. When you're forced into a new place or job or even a new brand of toothpaste because I hate changing toothpaste, it challenges you, but it's that challenge that makes you a stronger and wiser person. And while transitions can be hard without them who we are would never evolve. Next year, I'll be moving to Arizona to attend college, probably the largest transition of my life or second only to attending kindergarten, of course. And I'm not denying that this transition might be hard. While I won't miss the snow, I know I'll miss the incredible people I've met here and the place I've come to know as my home. That being said, I'm really excited. Arizona is like so different from Wisconsin and I can't wait to see what being there teaches me and how it helps me grow. And I'm ecstatic to meet new people, whether they be like myself or not, and learn how one spends the holidays when there's no snow on the ground because right now that's kind of a mystery to me. So to sum up, transitions are the worst, but there are means to an end. An end that more often than not is well worth a difficult adjustment. And whether you're going to kindergarten or moving across the country, you're discovering more about yourself and the world, which when you think about it is one of the most exciting things you can do with your life. Thank you. My name is Ruby Wilson. FUS has been a part of my life since the beginning. Michael performed my child dedication where I was, when I was a baby and I was given a thornless rose. I had early RE classes with even Allison where we became fast friends. I remember meeting Davis, Henry and Jenna in middle school where we shared the mortification of mind, body and soul. And then we took on the adventure of coming of age where Kelly gave us roses with thorns, which meant I had become a fully fledged Unitarian. I look back very fondly on the memories FUS has granted me and I have grown so much as a person since I was last up here giving my belief statement, which is ironic because my statement was about time. I can't imagine who I will be after the next four years of my life, a life I feel I'm walking into blindly. That's all of us. FUS in the community here is my home away from home. Another family, a place where I could laugh and smile when my parents got divorced or even a place with great loving friends when my friends at school were the polar opposite. For that, I think everyone's from the bottom of my sappy heart, especially Allison Cotter, which I could write a whole speech on just how amazing she is, but the topic is transitions, not Allison Cotter. When I first thought about the topic transitions, I immediately went to divorce. I transitioned every week and I could tell you what I've learned. I could get all sad and mushy, but then I think about how this is the end of my youth journey at FUS, the end of an era. I feel like it wouldn't be right if I didn't talk about the amazing people I see every Sunday and how I'm about to transition to life without them. Davis, he hates when I change the radio station too much, but you gotta understand that's how my brain works, changing channels every gosh darn second. Additionally, Davis always knows how to make you smile and even if you don't, he still tried. Jenna is a very wise old soul. She always has the best advice or just an ear to listen. I wish her the best next year and I can't wait to see her grow into a beautiful young adult. I feel like a mom saying that, but that's okay. I'm transitioning from not seeing Deb and Linda every weekend, which I have for the past three years. Linda, you hold everything together and I thank you with all that I have in me. Deb, I love you and I'm gonna miss you so much. You both have helped me grow into the person I am today. Tim and Jenna, thank you. I will always smile fondly on our sarcastic times and thank you for putting up with me. Henry, if you ever lose Henry, just look for a group of adults. You'll most likely be talking about all the colleges applied to and how he decided to go to Stanford, which congrats, that is amazing. Eve, Eve's laugh, I'm transitioning from not hearing this laugh, which is something I will dearly miss. Alison Cotter, the yin to my yang, the peanut butter to my jelly, the crisp to my prat, the best friend I could ever ask for. I was going to end this with saying a quote that came up when I searched transition quotes, but all I could find were quotes about transitioning to renewable energy, which I think still would have been a hit with all the Unitarians. But I will say this, transitions are hard, but I've learned that I can't control what life throws at me and to just roll with the punches, that there will always be bright spots along the way and I will get through the dark parts a little stronger than I was before. Hi, my name is Henry, the Reverend Kelly Crocker Hill Gorman. You might laugh, but that's actually on my name tag. Seven years ago, I reluctantly attended my first middle school choir practice right across the hall. Several months after that, I apprehensively started attending my first RE class, Babylonian. Three years after that, I was squirming through mind, body, and soul, and just a year after that, I delivered my nine minute long belief statement to this congregation. I'm sorry. Since then, I have been an enthusiastic youth member of this congregation. This past year, I joined the FUS Board as a youth observer, and last year, I had the pleasure of meeting and working with a dedicated group of FUS members. I was able to, my experience helping FUS prepare to adopt sanctuary status for immigrants facing the imminent threat of deportation was personally transformational. And through these and many other experiences, this congregation has consistently encouraged me to figure out what I believe in, to act in what I believe in, and to live my life in a way that consistently upholds unitarian, universalist principles. I've also been fortunate to have this congregation send me to Youth Midwest Leadership School in Iowa and Illinois, chaplaincy training in Ohio, and summer seminary at Harvard Divinity School. And I'll be attending my first GA in June, which I am very, very excited about. Yes, woo, GA in the Midwest, finally. These experiences have meant a lot to me. They've shaped who I am in so many important ways, giving me the opportunity to explore my faith more deeply and learn from and connect with active UU youth and adults from all around the country. And while I have a lot of really cool opportunities and experiences with and from this congregation, it has been the everyday experience of walking through that FUS door up there that has been the most transformational of all. Within this special space, I'm always greeted with genuine warmth. By people I know who care about me and my well-being, who have been and will be there for me, and who know me so well, you are all my FUS family. To each and every single person who's smiled at me, greeted me by name, and not sometimes, and given me a hug, thank you, is meant the world to me. I can now wholeheartedly say that I am a unitarian, universalist through and through, and that all that in it implies, Prius and all, embracing many of the... Well, huh? Embracing many of the values of spiritual growth, inclusion, and activism. But maybe even more importantly to me, I consider myself a member of First Unitarian Society of Madison. Being a part of this community has encouraged me to carefully consider all that I believe in and to learn from and accept what others believe in. It has also taught me how to question and how to stand up for my values. Being a part of this community has taught me how to embrace faith and spirituality without cynicism or angst. A gift that has already served me often and well. Over the years I've learned that what truly bonds this community is a deep, unwavering, and unconditional love. I've been fortunate to experience this love firsthand while growing up within this community. And as a young adult, I know that my experience within this community will serve as a strong spiritual foundation for many relationships and communities in the future. I also know that even though I'm moving far away next year, I will always have a home here at FUS. And for that heartfelt knowledge, I am deeply grateful. As I transition from a youth to an adult and move away from Madison for the first time, which is a little scary, I realize how important the love and mentorship here at FUS has been for me. And I'd be remiss not to thank a few people right now. Leslie Ross, you have created an incredible environment for learning and exploration for every child and young adult in this congregation. And I cannot thank you enough. Oh, yep. To every RE teacher and facilitator I have had, thank you, thank you, thank you for working tirelessly to provide the most enriching experience I have had ever, period. Before I go on, I should just say that to anyone in the audience today, if providing the most enriching experience ever, period for youth, sounds fun to you. You should see Leslie Ross after the service. And she'll get you all set up. To all of the incredibly hardworking facilitators of our youth group, and especially Deb and Linda, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. You've created an amazing community for the teens and young adults in our congregation to deepen our UU faith in a supportive and engaging way. Thank you so very much. We'll clap for that as well. And to anyone in the audience who thinks that fostering an incredible community for young adults in this congregation is important, please see Linda or Deb after the service and they'll get you set up right away. It's gonna make you cry. To our beloved ministers, Kelly and Michael, your optimism and compassion is amazing. Michael, your sermons are enlightening and thought-provoking. Your insights have helped guide me to my own philosophical, ethical and spiritual development. Thank you. Kelly, I nicknamed myself after you, the Reverend Kelly Crocker, because one day I hope to be as caring, compassionate, and inspiring as you. Your genuine love for this congregation and everyone in it, it's like a big metaphorical hug. To anyone in the audience that finds embodying optimism and compassion compelling, please see Kelly or Michael after the service about applying to be our next minister. And they'll get you set up right away. Because as Michael prepares to retire, we're going to need someone to step up and try and fill those extremely large shoes. And to my friends, I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn and grow and share with you over the years. You've touched me in profound ways and I'm grateful to be able to bring these friendships with me into whatever comes next and know that I will always be there for you as well. When I delivered my belief statement to this congregation three years ago, and again, I'm sorry about that, I ended my statement with a quote from Chinua Cheve's novel, Things Fall Apart. I'd like to bring this whole bus full circle and end with that quote today. A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather in the moonlit village ground is not because of the moon. Every man can see the moon from his own compound. We gather because it is good for kinsmen to do so. We come to FUS because it is good for us to do so. This I know, thank you. I would now invite you into the kiving and receiving of this service today and 100% of the proceeds will go to our youth group. Thank you. Those who are helping our service this morning. Our ushers were Sam Lawrence and Smiley Karen Jager Roz Woodward. Our greeter greeting you when you arrived was Elizabeth Barrett. On sound is Maureen Friend and making coffee is Jeannie Hills. There will be a tour after the service. Nancy Wermuth will be up front here. So if you would like a tour of this building in our historic meeting house, please join Nancy up front. One opportunity is that we ask to stay for the budget forum that's immediately following our service today. Food is being provided by the food haulers. So it's sure to be delicious and childcare is available if that will help. So please stick around to learn about the financial state of our community. And I now invite our speakers and our bridging youth to come forward. For our bridging ceremony, there are a few, as our youth have already done, thank yous to give today. Linda McAfee, our youth program coordinator and our youth advisors, Tim and Jenna Hansen, Caitlin Carroll and Deb Lawrence, if you'll please stand. My name is Leslie and I speak as the voice of Unitarian Universalist Religious Education. We have served you through our religious education classes and our youth programs. We have tried to give to you the gifts of freedom of thought, love and community, a sense of justice and a deep love of this bountiful world. We hope that we have nurtured in you a sense of identity as a Unitarian Universalist and as an engaged citizen in our world community. We hope that you will remember what you have learned and use it to believe in the strength of your spirit and to build a strong and just life. Our names are John McFarland and Ronan Everett and we speak as the voice of Unitarian Universalist Youth. We have spent many Sunday evenings together in fellowship and joy, creating memories and great food, news stories and chalice ornaments. $5, by the way, if you want one. As you leave this community of youth, we hope you remember the gift of listening and the stillness of heart. We hope you keep with you the gift of our laughter and the joy of our songs. May you continue to grow in mind, spirit and body, forever our friends, forever in our heart. Our names are Sammy and Reed and as you use raised in this face, we speak on the behalf of Unitarian Universalist Young Adults. We welcome the individual gifts of your soul, the hopes you bring and the anxieties we share. We welcome you to the blessings of our fresh vision and inspiring energy. We represent the promise that our community is on the other side of the bridge. We welcome you into that community in conferences, congregations and campus ministry programs wherever you might go. And as the voices of the youth ensure our religion remains ever aware and ever evolving, we remind you that your voice is necessary to our faith. And as you join the young adult community, we give you our blessing that you may find among us our friendship, support, yearning and joy. And my name is Kelly and I speak as the voice of the Unitarian Universalist Ministry. We served you as we served this congregation that nurtured you and embraced you. We have tried to give you the gifts of roots and wings. We hope that you will treasure what you have gained here and do your part to nurture what we have together. We bless you now with history and leadership. And if you all will join together in the congregational blessing that is printed in your order of service. We speak as the voice of the congregations. We provided for your religious education and youth program and we cherish your voices in our halls of fellowship. We have tried to give you the gift of a place to belong, a place of friendship and growth. We hope that you will know that we are here for you as you travel on your many adventures and that as you deepen and grow, so too will the tradition that cherishes you. We bless you now with honor for this rite of passage into our wider Unitarian Universalist community. And if you will join me now in congratulating our Bridgers. I send you out now to share yourself with the world. May its promise and complexity set your mind ablaze. May you hold fast to what your life has taught you. May you question everything. And when you have changed the world and the world has changed you, may you return to this place and share what you've learned with us.