Those who know me well know that I’m a huge fan of science fiction.  I love imaginative explorations of how the world might look with major technological and societal changes.  Science fiction – like most good writing – is a gift created to open our minds to new possibilities.  I find that a lot of ministers enjoy science fiction, and it’s little wonder why.  Religion (at is best) also opens us to new possibilities – new ways of thinking about the universe and our place within it, new ways of relating to one another, new ways of connecting with the sacred. 

Our Soul Matters theme for the month of September is “possibility.”  As we continue living with big questions about the future – about the pandemic, about climate change, about political structures in the United States and around the world – the possibilities can look grim.  Can we be curious and hopeful about what is to come?  I believe so.  As humans, we are storytellers, and we have many stories that encourage us to remain open to the possibility of a different and better world.  From secular classics like Star Wars and a Wrinkle in Time to sacred tales like the Exodus from Egypt, stories remind us that, regardless of how things look right now, the future still holds great promises, often ones we can’t picture as we struggle through the present.

As we reflect on our theme this month together, I pray each of us will find something that keeps us open to many possibilities of what the future will bring for us as individuals and families, for our Tree of Life congregation, for our nation and for our world.  In my life, that something is science fiction stories.  What is it for you?

In Faith, 

Rev. Jenn Gracen
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Rev. Jennifer Gracen
Interim MinisterTree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Cell: 219-850-3821
Note: Saturday is my sabbath. I will not check email on that day.