News: July 12, 2024
You’ve probably heard me say that I believe one of the most important things about being part of a church is the sense of community. You can’t help but notice the value of community right after terrible weather.
Sunday afternoon, Conrad drove back to Dallas after being in Houston for several days. Many others were also headed north to get away from the oncoming storm, because it took him far longer than usual to get there. Sure enough, on Monday, Beryl rolled into town. That day, most of us hunkered down in our homes. I watched the fierce wind and rain through my upstairs window, glad I didn’t have to get out in it.
As I sit and begin this letter, it’s Tuesday and I’m sitting in Channing with a group of folks who took us up on our offer to come to church to ‘cool down and charge up.’ For those without power or A/C, our community was here to help out. Sadly, as of this writing, the church doesn’t yet have internet, but hope springs eternal.
Sheryl Abrahams, your new Board President, came and opened the church. In between welcoming folks, she made some calls to a few people she wanted to check in on. She had even brought some lunch for a few of us lucky folks.
Community – people checking in on others after a bad storm. We even had several of you offer to take in those without power and AC so they’d have a cool place to sleep.
Not only did many of us here check in on one another, the community is far larger than even Harris County. Rev. Colin texted to check on people from England, where he is studying and sight-seeing. The area UU ministers were texting one another on Tuesday to find out which churches had damage, or power, or air conditioning.
I feel the loss of family when these bad storms happen. My grandmother would call to check on me if there was severe weather anywhere in Texas. My parents were more familiar with how large a state this is, so they would reserve their concern for when the bad weather was actually close to where I was.
Now that they’re gone, my sister has taken up the mantle of long-distance worrier. She feared she was channeling Virginia and Joyce, my grandmother and mother, but I appreciated her concern, and would like to believe they appreciate her calling on their behalf.
Concern to and from our community no matter how far away.
Part of our community is the man whose footsteps I followed in Houston five years ago, Rev. Dr. Dan King. I’m excited he will be joining me Sunday on the chancel to preach. Please join us and gather with us in community.
With much love and appreciation,
Rev. D. Scott Cooper
Associate Minister
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston
scott@firstuu.org
