Caitlin MacDonald

I’d like to tell you a little bit about why I donate my time, talent, and treasure to FUSF.

I’d rather not talk about me, though—let me tell you about my children. My oldest child, Riley, is 14. We started coming to FUSF when she was 3, a precocious child who was asking some very big questions: what is God? What happens when you die? Where do babies come from? I decided we needed a place to explore answers to these questions.

Riley was a quick sell to FUSF—she happily skipped off to RE with no hesitation. But her favorite part of service was definitely the hymns. She would stand up on her chair and sing those hymns at the top of her lungs! She has had many more opportunities to sing, but also to share her beliefs, questions, and concerns. FUSF has given Riley a place to use her voice.

Lilly, who is 13, is a very different child—much more reserved and quiet. When she was younger, she rarely spoke to other adults, cowering behind me when anyone approached her, and it took a full year to get her to go to RE without me. When Rev. Eric’s installation ceremony came around, Lilly decided that we needed to get Rev. Eric a gift. When I asked what we should get him, she said, “a unicorn.” So, off we went to Learning Express to get him a unicorn. Lilly presented it to him—no words, no eye contact, but proudly, and he graciously accepted it and sat it on the pulpit next to the chalice. FUSF has given Lilly a place to connect with people at her comfort level.

And then, there is Violet. Violet hated coming to service for the first 2-3 years—she used to sit in the chair with her knees to her chest, arms crossed, grimacing. She begrudgingly plodded off to RE when it was time. The Tic Tacs in my purse and coffee hour treats were basically the only thing getting her in the door. But in 2020, when Violet was 7, I started seeing some interesting things pop up in her artwork. Drawings of fists raised with “BLM” written in big letters, and LOTS of Pride flags. In third grade, Violet memorized the multiplication tables to the tune of the unison affirmation, Carry the Flame, and Wheel of the Water. At an Out Metrowest event here in the Fall, Violet shared their preferred pronouns in public for the first time– she/they. FUSF has given Violet a place to engage with the community on their terms.

So, thank you, to all of you who have helped my children grow and be who they are.

Celeste Falcone

My name is Celeste Falcone, and I am currently serving as chair of the Connections Team. I was asked to describe what attracts me to FUSF. My career was divided between being an art teacher and a school librarian; I have always been drawn to the visually inspiring and to the language of stories, both expressing something of the heart and soul. My scientist husband, Deane, and I, as the youngest in our music loving families, grew up surrounded by melodies and lyrics. Our spare time and vacations tend to revolve around museums, exploring nature, taking in live music, and ok, I admit, relishing food.

When I come to FUSF on Sundays, in many ways it is like a little vacation. I am brought into a very special sacred space with Judy Swaim’s beautiful chalice quilt, the wall of art to contemplate, and the view of creation splendidly revealed through our glass wall. I am invited to be still and calm. I am treated to the thoughtful, lovely stories and lessons, presented to our children by Diana Tesni, and to the more challenging stories and lessons presented by our very fine minister. I am carried away, moved, and inspired by the excellent music provided, and yes, literally nourished by delicious treats and coffee.

These aspects draw so many of us here for weekly soul respite and nourishment. We bring our human uniqueness and commonality, our fears and aspirations, coming to be inspired, challenged, consoled and to break bread and create bonds of community.

The work of sustaining this special space is the glue that holds it together and that brings us together. Please, as we gather in this sacred space, consider what of your time, treasure, and talent you can share to help sustain this refuge. Back to music… I remember an old Jerry Jeff Walker lyric, “you don’t miss water til the well runs dry.” Please, don’t take the existence of this special place for granted.

Rand Barthel

My name is Rand Barthel, and I live in Mendon. I started attending FUSF in 1999, so my memory here goes back to the last two years of worship in Marvin Chapel and the Big Move into this Meetinghouse. My wife, Carolyn, was then serving another congregation as Director of Religious Education, so for the first couple of years it was the kids and me at FUSF on Sunday mornings. Later my parents joined us here, and we formed a three-generation family. I participated in our campaign to acquire the piano, which led to the LiveARTS chamber music series, and also in Miracle Sunday which raised the money to build the RE wing. More recently I served on the Ministerial Search Committee that led to the calling of Rev. Eric Cherry. I’ll be completing my time as Moderator at this year’s annual meeting.

When Jay Rafferty invited me to give a testimonial on why I keep bringing my time, talent, and treasure to FUSF after 24 years, I saw it as an opportunity to present a somewhat different perspective – that of a UU “lifer.” I was four years old when the two “U”s got together to create Unitarian Universalism in 1960, and my parents made the discovery that they had been UUs for a long time and didn’t know it. Some of you know what that feels like!

I added it up. I’ve been in five UU congregations in my life. My earliest UU memory was of the fellowship at the Dartmouth College chapel, where I remember scissors, glue, and reading a book about the Egyptian pharoah Akhenaten, who rejected the polytheism of the Egyptian priests in favor of a monotheism of the Sun God Aten. Then there were more years of scissors and glue in the RE program of the Birmingham Unitarian Church in Birmingham, Michigan, where my parents became leading members before disagreeing with the minister over their desire to make UU services even more “UU”. I stepped away from active participation during my college years and for a few years after that when I was getting my career off the ground. I never stopped identifying as a UU, but my attention was elsewhere. Then I met Carolyn. Our conversations about love, commitment, finding purpose in life, composing our wedding ceremony, and finding a minister to marry us led to her discovery that she had been a UU for years without knowing it. After getting married we were briefly members of the UU congregation in Reading, Mass, where the inspirational Rev. Jane Rzepka was minister. Then my career took a new direction which made it necessary for us to move to this area, and we soon joined the Unitarian Congregation of Mendon and Uxbridge. We were in that congregation for ten years but withdrew due to a sad and destructive pattern of internal conflict and our need for a stronger RE program. After that we came here.

What I want you all to know, especially those of you who have never known another UU congregation, is that FUSF is worth it. Every hour and every penny of it. FUSF is the most spiritually healthy and forward-looking UU congregation I have known. As we face another time of transition and challenge, we should draw confidence from this congregation’s long history of overcoming even bigger challenges together. Carolyn and I have significantly increased our pledge for this coming year, and I encourage all of you to do the same.