Who I am is enough. Who you are is enough. It is also true that you are not enough, that I am not enough. For we all fall short at times, and none of us can do all that must be done. This is the strange and profound truth-both/and.

When we join our voices, our hearts, our wallets, our minds together, when we have trust and/or faith in something larger than ourselves alone, we can be part of creating enough justice, enough equity, enough compassion on the planet through worship, faith development, generosity of spirit and of financial resources. We can more fully and more boldly live into our second principle, as we not only imagine a better future together but do the personal, congregational, and institutional work to create a better future.

This month as we explored presence and resilience, we have offered a variety of practices and experiences and tools. We hope you will utilize these tools as we continue to navigate this global pandemic. Mati has offered gentle multigenerational yoga, Tamara has offered multi-generational meditation. We’ve offered various types of prayers, body meditations, an Earth meditation, a vespers service, a somatic exercise of naming out loud what we are doing (I am sitting in this chair), and a mantra meditation of Who I am is enough.

We’ve encouraged reaching out to one another to offer your presence to each other via phone, letter, or screen. We’ve shared ways to contribute or volunteer in the community, for those who are able to do so. We’ve noted the spiritual practice of generosity-of giving til it feels good in the stewardship campaign-Shaping Our Future Together and for our special collections for local non-profits.

And over and over we have emphasized the importance of being present to your feelings. All of us are making our way through a shared experience, which some would call collective trauma. Being able to name our feelings and to be present to ourselves and one another in feeling them are the first stages of coming to a deeper awareness of our internal worlds, and a better understanding of what is going on for us underneath the feelings.

When we grow in self-awareness, we can also grow in compassion. When we grow in compassion, we are often compelled to bring about more justice for others. And as more justice is created, more of us experience joy-and thus our UUSS mission is fulfilled.

Let us continue to journey on this strange new road together on behalf of the whole human race and the Earth.

In faith,
Rev. Wendy and Rev. Lynn