Today is September the First.  When I was a kid, my mother used to tell me that if you said "RABBIT" on the first day of the month it would bring you good luck.  While I had no idea where in the world she got this, a quick Google search pulled up that it's a tradition from Great Britain and that it's still found in parts of Massachusetts, Nantuckett, and Vermont.  That would make sense since I spent the first five years of my life in Massachusetts.  (You learn something new every day...)  Apparently the tradition is to say "rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit" or "rabbit, rabbit, rabbit" but we never felt a need to say it more than once.

Growing up, September was always a big time of transition.  It was, of course, the time we went back to school...usually right after Labor day.  And for a kid there's almost no transition with a greater impact on your year.  It meant seeing old friends.  It meant new friends.  It meant new teachers.  It meant a return to the whole "school schedule."  For me it also meant that I could get back into the swing of choir (and, later, "swing choir") and plays which were always fun for me.  And, it also meant a return to scouting after a summer off.

In New York our "Fall" didn't really start until October sometime, so we still had well over a month of Summer to enjoy the days.  Yes it was getting dark a little earlier, but the days were still long and we got to go outside and have a game of "catch" after dinner was over.

It was a time of transition at church as well.  It's at this point that our youth group would start meeting again.  The youth leaders would call us all together for a planning meeting and we'd map out the schedule for the next 8 months or so.  Sunday School would start up again a -- never quite the selling point with my friends that youth group was, but I enjoyed it.

At this season of my life, September is still a time of transition.

Our kids have already started back at school.  They've been there for two weeks already.  But now they are getting into the groove.  Our little ones are at Daycare again.  We'll get to kick off the month of September on Labor Day by going to the State Fair--something the little ones are all excited about.

All of our church programing begins anew this month.  We have a Tween group beginning tomorrow.  We have Youth Group beginning on Sunday.  We have Sunday School and a Discipleship Class beginning in a week.  We have a Food Pantry that's going to start regular hours for a month.  It's a big month.

And it's an important month for our congregation as we look at our finances and what we're going to be able to afford (or not afford) for the coming year.  A lot of decisions will be made in October so our September will be important for this congregation as well.  I just came back from a meeting with a layperson as we explore how to have this conversation in our congregation.

I'm not a believer in luck and I'm certainly not a believer that saying "RABBIT" will bring you good luck.  But is it any wonder that I started off my day by saying "RABBIT" today?

Have you said, "RABBIT" yet?

I'll close with "Try to Remember" from The Fantasticks.