By Heather Melton, UTO Staff Officer

At my house, we have a rule that each season/holiday is only celebrated during its designated time. In August, it’s back to school and the blessing of the backpacks; September is apple picking and birthday month for our kiddos; once their birthday has passed, we can decorate for Halloween. And Christmas decorations do not come out until after Thanksgiving. My rule is also that you can do what brings you joy in your house, but in my home, we’re going to enjoy each season for the gifts it brings and not rush onto the next. It’s hard to hold this rule with Halloween items hitting the shelves in July, and Christmas items coming in October, and two excited kids who love the fall holidays; but for me, it’s about staying present and not rushing ahead. We have time to enjoy the fall leaves and apple picking, time to get spooky for Halloween, time to practice gratitude and countdown to Thanksgiving, and time to get ready for Christmas. There is plenty of time and no need to rush through things we love to get to another thing we love. It’s hard to do in a world that seems to be rushing to the next thing.

In late spring, the Formation and Development Committee had a long discussion about the rush from one thing to the next that marks our fall season and wondered if there was a way to help people not get so overwhelmed. On the heels of Easter, many shared how much they love the Book of Common Prayer’s “Invitation to a Holy Lent,” which invites us to reflect, slow down, and be present. From that discussion, our fall formation materials were born: “An Invitation to a Holy Autumn.” Created by Caroline Carson and Linda Kennedy, our fall materials are made to be used when it works for you. They have four topics that can be done over four days, four weeks, or four months. Each topic invites us to reflect and learn about the Sabbath, or holy space set aside to rest, recharge, and reconnect with God and our faith. For my part, I thought about the response I get to a quiet day at our house…”Mom, I’m bored,” or the realization that my kiddos have been glued to a screen for way longer than I would like. So, for our families, I’ve created a gratitude boredom buster sheet to use this fall. There are ideas of things to do when one is bored hidden behind a scratch-off sticker. Kids can pick a category (outdoors, minimal supplies) and then scratch off to find an activity to help them bust the boredom and give thanks for the world around them. For congregations, we’ve got lesson plans to go with the sheet to send home for families, a digital kit to help share the adult resources, and more. Find all our fall materials here and find out more about the resources in the “Gratitude” section of the newsletter below. 

As this edition of our end of summer newsletter comes out, I’m feeling hopeful and excited about the work ahead of us at UTO. This summer, we’ve been hard at work responding to feedback we received in our formation survey, and I’m excited to see what you all think. From an updated ordering site to the layout and format of this newsletter, a lot of things are changing—but one thing remains the same: our commitment to changing the world through a practice of gratitude. As always, we love and welcome feedback, so please let us know what you think of the new shop, the newsletter, and our fall materials (we’ll have a survey again next year). As we practice a holy autumn and stay present to where God is and where God is calling us, I hope you’ll find blessings big and small to give thanks for, as we give thanks for being on the journey with you. Happy fall, y’all!