I recently rediscovered a book of piano arrangements on my shelf. A choir director gave me the book about the time I was starting high school. The pieces were way beyond my skill level. I thought they would be impossible to master.

But I valued this gift from someone who believed in my potential, and I committed to work on the pieces one by one until I could play them to my satisfaction. Now, the pieces are a delight. They don’t seem beyond me at all. That’s only true because I was willing to work on them.

I could have just kept telling the story that the pieces were too difficult. Or that I wasn’t talented enough to play them. I might have avoided ever opening that book if I had kept telling that kind of story.

Instead, I told a story that the pieces were challenging, but that they would be worth the effort. That I was capable of enjoying the pieces if I put in the practice. And that performing the pieces for other people might bring them joy as well.

So much depends on the stories we’re willing to tell. And the stories we’re willing to stop telling.

Earlier this month, we had our first congregational meal together with our new Sunday morning schedule. Our intention is to keep having this time together on the second Sunday of every month. In addition to sharing a meal, we can also do some important work that benefits from all of our voices.

In October, we took the first steps toward a congregational covenant by sharing the stories we tell about what it means to be a part of UUCC. We also shared some stories we would like to be able to tell in the future.

Basically, we answered the prompts: Being part of UUCC means ­­____________________.

I hope UUCC becomes ­­­_________. Or I would love for UUCC to be ­­__________.

If you weren’t able to be present for that time of sharing, you can still participate through the People of UUCC FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2213875467 (Since this is a private group, you’ll only be sharing with other community members, not the whole world.)

Or you can email me at randy.partain@uucleveland.org and put Stories in the subject line.

How does this relate to a congregational covenant? Well, our covenant will define how we will show up with one another. It will express the mutual commitments we make as members of this faith community.

Knowing the stories we want to be able to tell helps guide us toward a meaningful future. And knowing the stories we tell right now gives us some sense of the journey we need to make between current reality and the future we envision. When we can define that journey, we can more easily recognize the behaviors and practices that help us move in that direction.

We might have to let go of some of the stories we told about our congregation in the past in order to create space for the stories we want to tell in the future. That isn’t easy, and it will take some time. But when we can be confident that we are all moving together toward the same vision for what we’re co-creating, that letting go can be a little easier.

And maybe thinking in this way will help us be more aware of the stories we’re telling in other areas of our lives. Are the stories you tell the ones you really want to be telling? Or are you telling stories that keep you from being who you most want to be? What other stories could you tell instead?