And so we have arrived at June. Perhaps you are one who comes alive with the blooming of flowers, energized by the warming of sun and ready for a summer of activity and adventure. Or perhaps you are simply exhausted and in need of rest.

June brings us longer days and sun and – for students, teachers, and congregational leaders – a time to lay down our work and take a break. June invites us to connect and to celebrate in community – weddings, graduations, Fathers Day, Pride, Juneteenth.

This month our soul matters theme invites us to travel the pathway of Delight. To delight is to discover joy and pleasure in life. We find delight in the sharing of love and freedom at all our celebrations, as well as in the simple pleasures of a moment in the garden, by the ocean, on a hiking trail, or anywhere we can simply be present. At this moment, my cat is teaching me delight as she rolls happily in the dirt, soaking up the sun

Delight is not only private; it is also a public act of rejoicing and sharing our full humanity in the face of oppression. Delight is a spiritual practice that calls us to respond. In Pride Month we declare a saving message that LGBTQ+ people are whole and worthy and beloved. And on Juneteenth we celebrate that moment in U.S. history when Black Americans received the news of their liberation from slavery. We rejoice and delight, even as we continue the work of undoing oppression that we may all truly be free.

Let us celebrate June with rainbows and flowers. With glitter and flags. With marching and rest.

And may we discover deep down in our souls that we are worthy of joy and pleasure, as we seek and find delight.

Rev. Terri