This was my last Sunday preaching at First Unitarian in New Bedford. What is one supposed to say in one’s last sermon as the settled minister of a congregation? And when one’s last Sunday is also the annual Flower Celebration, then what is one supposed to say? Well, I don’t know what one is supposed to say, but the Flower Celebration gave me the opportunity to reiterate the four basic theological points I usually preach on: Change and transformation will lead us to growth. In light of the fragility of the ecosystem, we have a moral responsibility to create an ecologically sustainable world. In light of the unique value of each individual, we have a moral responsibility to end all forms of discrimination and racism. Each individual in a religious community is connected to every other individual; we are not alone and we cannot exist without community.

The best part of the service, however, was the postlude. In honor of the Flower Celebration, Randy Fayan, our music director, played Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee on the organ: serious music with a sense of humor.

It turned out to be a pleasant last Sunday. Attendance was down to summer levels (i.e., normal for mid-June), and that meant I got to talk to more people than usual at social hour. The only odd thing about social hour was talking with the one newcomer who showed up this week (but I made sure that person met lots of regular churchgoers, so there will be someone to chat with next week). So I chatted with people, drank some tea, and soon it was time to head home. The end of the last Sunday at the New Bedford church. On to new adventures.