Desert Notes April 24, 2025

I hope that you all had as much fun as we did on Easter!  Our Spontaneous Pageant was funny, moving, and theologically very UU!  Our volunteers had fun with costumes and signs and our musicians shared a wide range of music.  Coming of Age kids served us a wonderful brunch and many of us stayed for good conversations and a large egg hunt that we all got to see!  Later in May you’ll hear these students share what they’ve been learning in COA and their first expressions of a credo, or set of beliefs.  This year’s group is quite large–13 kids!  And we have five adults including me joining this group in Boston.  It costs a lot more to send this many people to Boston, and while we plan to save some money by cooking some meals at the hostel and doing as many free activities as we can, we still need some help paying for this trip.  This trip is about learning about the history of Unitarian Universalism, connecting with contemporary UU’s, and seeing how the history and values of the US are connected to our tradition.  At a time when democracy is under attack, this is an important opportunity to make our next generation understand what is at stake and what is beautiful about being UU!

This weekend I am off, and looking forward to some time in the mountains with my spouse.  It’s been a complex year three with you, VUU.  We’ve been through some big changes, and we’ve learned some new skills as a community.  I look forward to planning our fourth year together and figuring out how to match resources to our visions!

—Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan