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    A Community Safe & Connected

    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

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    Reaching Out & Noticing the Good

    As we move into the weekend and the week ahead, I want to lift up two of the mental health wellness tips from the Mental Health Wellness Tips During Quarantine blogpost I referenced last week written by New York City-based psychologist and mother of young children, Dr. Eileen Feliciano. Today, I commend to you Tips #5 and #15:

    #5: Reach out to others, you guessed it, at least once daily for thirty minutes. Try to do FaceTime, Skype, phone calls, texting—connect with other people to seek and provide support. Don’t forget to do this for your children as well. Set up virtual playdates with friends daily via FaceTime, Facebook Messenger Kids, Zoom, etc—your kids miss their friends, too!

    #15: Notice the good in the world, the helpers. There is a lot of scary, negative, and overwhelming information to take in regarding this pandemic. There are also a ton of stories of people sacrificing, donating, and supporting one another in miraculous ways. It is important to counterbalance the heavy information with the hopeful information.

    This week, a difficult one for our communities, be among the ones to pick up the phone or log onto the computer as one way of staying safe and connected. And, as Mr. Rogers always said … look for the helpers.

    What stories can you tell about where you’ve seen generosity and lovingkindness showing up in the world?   What is giving you hope? 

    I invite you to join me (and others!) this coming week at one or more of the times I’m setting aside on ZOOM to help keep our connections strong even while we are physically distant from one another. Check your emails for this week's newsletter with complete details.

    With blessings for the journey,
    Rev. Cindy

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    Mental Health during the Pandemic

    How is it going with you? With your mind, body and soul?

    I have no doubt you’re adopting the “new normal” habits of daily life -- frequent handwashing, extra-careful trips to the grocery store, necessary changes in routines and living situations, and staying connected to others in new ways. It’s stressful!

    Having to practice physically distancing with our usual social circles reminds us how important those social contacts are for maintaining our own mental health and resilience. We need people in our lives to help us re-center when we’re caught off guard by the latest breaking news or help us re-frame the disappointment we feel when a long-awaited event in the not too distant future is cancelled. They’re part of the “safety net” that help sustains us when we wonder, when will things “get back to normal?”

    The Unitarian Universalist Mental Health Network is sharing these Mental Health Resources during the Pandemic which you might find helpful in the weeks, if not months, ahead. This Network is a relatively new UU non-profit, which supports and advocates on behalf of people affected by mental health issues in our congregations and in the larger world. They provide a repository of mental health information and resources for UUs and UU congregations.

    Mental Health Wellness Tips During Quarantine, written by New York City-based psychologist and mother of young children, Dr. Eileen Feliciano, has some valuable suggestions and insights. Today, I commend to you Tips #24 and #25:

    “#24: Remind yourself daily that this is temporary. It seems in the midst of this quarantine that it will never end. It is terrifying to think of the road stretching ahead of us. Take time to remind yourself that although this is very scary and difficult, and will go on for an undetermined amount of time, it is a season of life and it will pass. We will return to feeling free, safe, busy, and connected in the days ahead. 

     #25: Find the lesson. This whole crisis can seem sad, senseless, and at times, avoidable. When psychologists work with trauma, a key feature to helping someone work through said trauma is to help them find their agency, the potential positive outcomes they can effect, the meaning and construction that can come out of destruction.” 

    This author poses questions many of us are pondering, and I encourage you to take time to reflect upon them: 
    • “What can each of us learn here, in big and small ways, from this crisis? 
    • What needs to change in ourselves, our homes, our communities, our nation, and our world?”

    Turn to your journals, your poetry writing, your art, your photography, your music, or whatever your creative and expressive outlet may be to capture your thoughts, insights, and concerns.
     
    And then, “reach out and touch someone” – pick up the phone or log onto your computer and connect to someone in your social circles with whom you can share your thoughts in a heart-to-heart conversation. 

    Your mind, body and soul will thank you!

    With blessings for the journey,
    Rev. Cindy

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    Comfort in the Familiar

    We have been in this new altered reality of the coronavirus pandemic for the past two to three weeks. We’re adjusting to a “new normal” none of us would every wish would for -- social distancing, precautions, altered routines, and mounting stress in our homes and relationships.
     
    It’s a time when the relationships we’ve cultivated in our covenanted community become a welcome lifeline. We see a familiar face, hear a familiar voice, and are able to share fears, worries, coping strategies, and, yes, a simple joy, through the computer screen or phone line.  We trust that the crack in our voice will be graciously accepted and we will be held in love and kindness, just as if we had gathered in person. That’s who we are and how we live.

    Each day is a balancing act of strong thoughts and emotions: In one moment, there’s the sadness for people and families most impacted by this virus. Sadness and fear that come with the reality that many are and will be dying alone, and that our traditional ways of grieving are not possible in these times. And in another, moments of joy and wonder at the many ways people are acting with kindness, love, and creativity … connecting remotely through the arts, service opportunities, and long over-due extended conversations.

    A colleague of mine, Rev. Karen Madrone, shared recently a teaching she remembered from her former minister: “When people are most vulnerable they are beyond the logic and reason places of the religion they have converted to as an adult and they find comfort in the teachings of the faith they grew up in. Folks can be confused about this because one part of their brain can be thinking, “But I don't believe that anymore!”
     
    “If a text, or song, or mantra from a religion you left is on your heart right now, go with it. It's okay. Be open to love, joy, and connection from many different sources.”

    I notice this happening often with me these days. Memories of familiar hymns and songs from my earlier years have been flooding my senses, worming their way into my ears. Though I might otherwise resist the temptation to sing them because I can’t get behind the theology or word choice, I give in. After all, I’m home alone…. who’s going to complain? And so, I revel in the comfort of the associated memories they still carry for me.  The comfort of a simpler, easier, more predictable time and place with family gathered around.
     
    How and where are you finding comfort and solace? Do make time, without judgment, to affirm what soothes and lifts your heart these days! 

    Together, we’ll get through this.

    With blessings for the journey,
    Rev. Cindy

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    For Such a Time as This

    “For such a time as this” That’s one of the most popular sermon titles ministers use when the sermon titles are due NOW for the newsletter listing but they have no clue, really, what they intend to say several weeks in the future. It’s suitably vague and ambiguous, open to interpretation by the receiver. 

    Somehow, it seems so appropriate and fitting for such a time as this time of the coronavirus pandemic. I trust you, like me, are heeding the “Safer at Home” orders and limiting nonessential movement in the communities where you live. We know how critical this is to be able to “flatten the curve” and to practice community care, so we have a fighting chance to the scope of suffering and demands on our health systems. 

    This is a time when we are having to adjust our thinking and expectations about what life should be, what is normal, and what life in the future may look like. Some are playing with our use of language, replacing “social distancing” with “physical distancing and social closening.” We are learning new ways of still being a community of love, hope and memory … remotely. And, we are building the road even as we travel it. 

    It’s a time to practice patience and generosity of spirit. Show patience and generosity towards others, those in close quarters, underfoot or at a distance. Show patience and generosity towards yourselves. And, like every disciplined practice, come back to it and practice it again, repeatedly.

    To keep with our customary practice of gathering for Sunday Services and times of fellowship, I encourage you to attend one of the many UU services offered online. Look for my suggested options each week which I will post to the website and in the newsletter. Then, please do drop-in to our own virtual social hour each Sunday at 11:30am by Zoom video conference or telephone. Reach out to me beforehand if you need help using Zoom and want some coaching in real time!  

    This coming week, I am reserving time and virtual space to connect via Zoom: (contact me for the log-in details)

    • Tuesday, from 3-5pm, for drop-in office hours. Come for a few minutes or more, whatever fits your schedule!
    • Thursday evening, from 6-7:30pm, the usual meeting time of the Journey Group. Come, let’s discuss the possibility of moving group gatherings online.

    Even though our on-site services and activities at Fourth UU are suspended temporarily, so many aspects of congregational life continue by necessity. I encourage you to be mindful of your usual and ongoing commitments and not let “out of sight, out of mind” become your mantra! I am happy to make my Zoom pro room available to any committee or team at Fourth UU that wants to hold a meeting remotely. Reach out to me so we can coordinate the scheduling.

    And, thank you for staying in touch with me … it is helpful to receive your emails, texts, and phones calls. As always, please reach out and let me know if you or someone in your household is or becomes sick and could use practical assistance in any way.

    We will get through this together.
    Practice “social closening.”
    For a time such as this.

    With blessings for the journey,
    Rev. Cindy

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    Keep SAFE and CONNECTED

    What a week it has been with rapid changes and dramatic escalations in the spread of COVID-19, the coronavirus, now classified by the World Health Organization as a pandemic. Our moral and ethical responsibility calls us to prioritize the health of the greater community over our individual preferences. To commit to slowing the rate of contagion so as to not overwhelm our health systems. To protect the most vulnerable in our midst, the health workers, those without safety nets. It’s not just a personal issue, it’s a public health and justice issue.

    Protecting our own emotional and spiritual health and that of our community is also a real concern. 

    As we move through this crisis, you may be experiencing a range of intense emotions. Our 24/7 news cycle and on-demand flow of facts, opinions and anecdotes may have your head spinning or your heart skipping a beat now and then. Distilling truth from falsehoods or wishful thinking can be challenging. With so many unknowns, it’s easy for anxiety and unease to build. Panic and fear, or dismissal and denial. All of these feelings are normal and understandable. 

    What can you do? Keep yourself and others SAFE and CONNECTED.

    Keep SAFE physically, following the advice and precautions noted in last week's column. 
    If you need financial assistance for food or medicine or to see a doctor, let me know!
    Email me at minister.cindy@fourthuu.org  OR call or text me at 978-431-0605.
    Emergency funds from our Ministerial Discretionary Fund are there to help you. 

    Keep CONNECTED socially: In last Sunday’s service, I preached on cultivating resilience and the importance of PEOPLE in “Weathering the Storm.” We know strong social connections are beneficial to our health and well-being and help reduce anxiety, stress and fear.  

    Keep CONNECTED:  To your Fourth UU community.
    • Let us know how others can help you if need assistance with errands or other things.
    • Share your ideas about ways we can keep connected from a distance.

    Keep CONNECTED: Let me know, please, if you get sick, are diagnosed with COVID-10, or are under self-quarantine because of a suspected case. I will confidentially ensure you receive pastoral care and practical support and help keep the Fourth UU community safe and healthy.

    Keep CONNECTED to other PEOPLE in your life.  We need one another, especially when we are not able to be in each other’s immediate physical company.
    • Worried or anxious?  Reach out to me or to a trusted friend for phone calls.
    • Feeling isolated or bored? Find creative ways that “float your boat” to connect while keeping social distance.  
    • Play Words with Friends or another online game
    • Chat with someone online
    • Chat with a neighbor from one another’s doors or porches.
    • Chat with someone about a columnist, TV show or movie you are both following. 

    This is a time of challenge, but together we can help make it manageable.
    Be kind and patient with yourself and others as we keep each other SAFE and CONNECTED.

    With blessings for the journey,
    Rev. Cindy