As I compose this greeting at the beginning of summer 2008 it seems the word of the year is change. This word seems to be everywhere and contained within it are feelings of great hope for the future and the resolution to overcome the struggles of past and present, to shrug off doubt and move boldly in a new direction. SWIM has known a lot of change in recent years, has had its share of struggles and known much joy. We’ve been tried and, have overcome our challenges and, I think, we have gained a sense of our own strength because of them. As this year’s Director I find myself filled with an eager, anxious hope for the future and the desire to seek out the best in those around me. I feel an irrepressible anticipation like the charge in the air before a storm. I feel a great love for the community that is SWIM and the need to share that feeling with all who will listen. I love that we are a volunteer organization which yearly meets the challenge of creating itself anew. I love that we are an intentional, intergenerational community of interesting, eclectic individuals. We are parents and children, singles and couples and families formed of love and friendship. We are babies and teens and adults of all ages, retires who will never stop learning and those who’ve yet to learn their first word. We are artists and healers, cooks, and construction workers, musical physics teachers and crafty computer scientists. We are nature-lovers and book-lovers, dog-people, cat-people, guinea pig-people and everything between. We come together each year for the love of community and of the Unitarian Universalist values we share. We come from many backgrounds and many lifestyles. We have different religious/sexual/political orientations but we come together to learn and to grow and to celebrate our diversity and our unity (and to appreciate the beauty of Florida of course).

I had a hard time choosing a theme for this year’s SWIM – a word or a phrase that would sum up my anticipation and my joy, and the sense of renewal that comes of spending time among the community I’ve described. I’ve come to the word Renaissance. Apart from being a historical period of great growth and achievement Renaissance means: rebirth, renewal, or revival. I think this is as close as any word I know to the feeling I get in my best memories of SWIM and is exactly what I hope for in this year’s SWIM. I hope you’ll join me as we create this SWIM together.

-Susan Enwright Director, SWIM ’08-‘09