This week we learn from our Governor that the PAUSE order has been extended until May 15th and that masks or face coverings must be worn in public when we are unable to maintain physical distancing. And yet, life, with its many human needs, does not exactly pause, does it?
Your leaders and I are doing what we can to adapt to a changing landscape for which none of us have been fully prepared. We had no transition exercise pandemic scenario to prepare us, nor, I suspect, have you. Yet, we are committed to keeping in close touch, adjusting plans as forecasts change, and focusing on keeping the Fourth UU community safe and connected.
KEEP SAFE: If you have not already done so, please secure a mask or face covering. This important act of community care reduces the chances of transmitting the coronavirus in the event you have been exposed, knowingly or unknowingly, and may be asymptomatic. Reach out to me if you need help; see the notice about Jen Larrabee’s generous offer for fabric masks in different sizes.
KEEP OUR NEIGHBORS SAFE: As part of living our commitments to social justice through action in our local community, I ask you to reflect on the many ways the pandemic and PAUSE measures disproportionately impact the most vulnerable in our communities, physically, economically, and emotionally. Given the rapid spike in those experiencing food insecurity, your efforts to financially support Fred’s Food Pantry or other local grass-roots organizations or to volunteer on a call-line make a real difference.
KEEP CONNECTED: As part of supporting each other in our spiritual journeys, we continue to experiment with gathering for the warmth of community and mutual support, online and by telephone for now. Here are some opportunities in this next week:
Sunday, April 20th from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Virtual Coffee Hour. If you haven’t already dropped in, please do! It is a welcome chance to hear from and see one another, share a check-in and a brief “congregational response” to a reading.
This week, I invite you to reflect upon these words by Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast, speaking on "How to Be Grateful in Every Moment (But not for Everything)" in a recent NPR episode of On Being with Krista Tippett:
“I always say, not for everything that’s given to you can you really be grateful. You can’t be grateful for war in a given situation, or violence or domestic violence or sickness, things like that. There are many things for which you cannot be grateful. But in every moment, you can be grateful.
For instance, the opportunity to learn something from a very difficult experience — what to grow by it, or even to protest, to stand up and take a stand — that is a wonderful gift in a situation in which things are not the way they ought to be.”
CLICK HERE to listen the full 50-minute audio podcast.
CLICK HERE to read or skim the transcript of this podcast.
Thursday, April 23th from 7:00 – 8:30 pm: Online Journey Group meet-up. The first experimental video and teleconferencing meet-up of the small group ministry program was well attended and received. We realize that remote meet-ups are never quite the same as those that happen in person, and are reaching out to make this as inclusive as possible. New participants are always welcome! Join in next time for fellowship and discussion of the material and questions posed in the “On the Journey” packet on the topic of GRACE.
With blessings for the journey,
Rev. Cindy
Your leaders and I are doing what we can to adapt to a changing landscape for which none of us have been fully prepared. We had no transition exercise pandemic scenario to prepare us, nor, I suspect, have you. Yet, we are committed to keeping in close touch, adjusting plans as forecasts change, and focusing on keeping the Fourth UU community safe and connected.
KEEP SAFE: If you have not already done so, please secure a mask or face covering. This important act of community care reduces the chances of transmitting the coronavirus in the event you have been exposed, knowingly or unknowingly, and may be asymptomatic. Reach out to me if you need help; see the notice about Jen Larrabee’s generous offer for fabric masks in different sizes.
KEEP OUR NEIGHBORS SAFE: As part of living our commitments to social justice through action in our local community, I ask you to reflect on the many ways the pandemic and PAUSE measures disproportionately impact the most vulnerable in our communities, physically, economically, and emotionally. Given the rapid spike in those experiencing food insecurity, your efforts to financially support Fred’s Food Pantry or other local grass-roots organizations or to volunteer on a call-line make a real difference.
KEEP CONNECTED: As part of supporting each other in our spiritual journeys, we continue to experiment with gathering for the warmth of community and mutual support, online and by telephone for now. Here are some opportunities in this next week:
Sunday, April 20th from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm: Virtual Coffee Hour. If you haven’t already dropped in, please do! It is a welcome chance to hear from and see one another, share a check-in and a brief “congregational response” to a reading.
This week, I invite you to reflect upon these words by Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast, speaking on "How to Be Grateful in Every Moment (But not for Everything)" in a recent NPR episode of On Being with Krista Tippett:
“I always say, not for everything that’s given to you can you really be grateful. You can’t be grateful for war in a given situation, or violence or domestic violence or sickness, things like that. There are many things for which you cannot be grateful. But in every moment, you can be grateful.
For instance, the opportunity to learn something from a very difficult experience — what to grow by it, or even to protest, to stand up and take a stand — that is a wonderful gift in a situation in which things are not the way they ought to be.”
CLICK HERE to listen the full 50-minute audio podcast.
CLICK HERE to read or skim the transcript of this podcast.
Thursday, April 23th from 7:00 – 8:30 pm: Online Journey Group meet-up. The first experimental video and teleconferencing meet-up of the small group ministry program was well attended and received. We realize that remote meet-ups are never quite the same as those that happen in person, and are reaching out to make this as inclusive as possible. New participants are always welcome! Join in next time for fellowship and discussion of the material and questions posed in the “On the Journey” packet on the topic of GRACE.
With blessings for the journey,
Rev. Cindy
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