Dear Beacon,

Tell me a story. A story back before the pandemic. 

Tell me a story about a transition in your life. A move. A separation. A rite of passage (think graduation or retirement). A loss.

Tell me a story about whose seemingly simple invitation created a lifeline for you into who you are now. Be it a friend. A neighbor. A stranger.

Now, let me tell you a story.

Our story begins in early March when I (Rev Emilie) met a new couple to Beacon’s congregation at Starting Point. They had a pandemic wedding, meaning it was intimate with a mostly virtual crowd. They had recently moved to Summit for work. Being new is difficult in the best of times; it’s even harder in a pandemic. How do you create your community? 

I inquired how they had discovered Beacon. It was a stranger. 

Walking in a local park, there was a man with a dog. Somehow they started talking. (It was probably the dog that invited the interaction.) He asked a few questions. In listening to their story, he heard their longing for a faith community centered in justice.

“Do you know about Beacon?” he asked. No, they didn’t. They hadn’t even heard of Unitarian Universalism. 

“It’s a great community, and it sounds like you’d find a good home.” 

When they got home, Google came out, and they couldn’t believe that there was such a place. The man had given them a key and unlocked the door to belonging. They didn’t even know his name.

Back when Beacon happened in person and newcomers would physically come through our doors, we often heard about people in transition. A move. A separation. A rite of passage. A loss. 

Someone heard their longing and invited them to Beacon. That made all of the difference. 

What was true before remains so in this time of pandemic, distancing and virtual community. Invitations matter. Even more so. 

Remember your own story. Who gave you an invitation? 

With thanksgiving for the strangers, neighbors and friends who invite us into ever deeper becoming and ever richer living.

With a faith known as Love,

Dr. Tuli and Rev. Emilie 

* Rev Robin is on sabbatical March 15th - May 15th.