Author: Pastor Doug
It is mid-October so I suppose we are in Fall season. Being from Connecticut, serving churches in Massachusetts, spending October weekends ‘leaf peeping’ in Vermont , I’m a guy who loves Fall. I much prefer the word Autumn however! Fall, of course, comes from ‘fall of the leaf’ fiaell-to fall from a height. Autumn however is derived from ‘autumnus’ (Latin) meaning’ season of the year’ and auctus meaning ‘increase’ referring to the harvest. It is surprising how harvest is the basis for Holy Days in all world religions including ours. Right now I am remembering how my daughter Catherine and I would leave for school and each Fall she would find the very first leaf of color and keep it. 
Relation to life and faith – the years fall behind us the known colors of our lives change. Faith provides an understanding of Reality ; each time or season we have no choice but to ’let go’ like leaves. 
But letting go is always ‘letting go into something, into something that has new offerings, gifts for us. Ever letting go’? Yes even that final one. Even in ‘letting into’ that one there is increase. There is harvest.
