Shanah tovah (שָׁנָה טוֹבָה)! Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday night, after FUUSN’s annual ingathering and water service. “Rosh Hashanah is about relationships. Whether between individuals and the God in whom they believe, communities and the traditions which define them, or simply between individuals, whether any God or tradition is part of their lives, it’s all about sustaining relationships which sustain us and help us do the same for others.”(Rabbi Brad Hirschfield) What a good way to begin our new year – working to renew and sustain our relationships with each other, in the community that is so important to us. All of your musical friends are looking forward to seeing you at our Ingathering Service this Sunday. If you’d like to sing with the choir, come at 9:00 am for rehearsal. We’ll be singing some wonderful music, including the now-traditional “Let the River Run”, which is super fun to sing.

And, beyond this Sunday, the FUUSN musicians are planning for a very cool year, one grounded in relationships with other UU congregations, with refugee organizations, and with the UU Urban Ministry and Communities Without Borders. The choir will be singing the Fauré Requiem, and reprising (twice) the Immigrant Experience cantata that was presented at FUUSN last April, both times as benefits for refugee aid organizations. The FUUSN Band will present its annual concert in February – this year it will be a fundraiser for the UU Urban Ministry. Plans are afoot for a concert featuring Lois Shapiro, the Triple Helix Trio, and your Sanctuary Choir, to benefit CWB.

The musicians of our congregation are excited about these efforts to connect with the wider UU community, but we are sustained primarily by our FUUSN relationships – by helping to lead worship and to be in community with all of you. As always, our worship services will be enlivened by the music of FIGCO, the Flute Choir, our Band, our congregation; soloists and songwriters, and by CreationDance. Please know that you are welcome to join us – for a few weeks or for the year – as a singer, an instrumentalist, a dancer, or maybe just a tech geek . Questions? Email me at music@fusn.org.                                                                                                     -Anne Watson Born