A year since we have gathered in person, a year of masks and distancing, a year of losses and worry. A year of front-line workers, on-line classes, Zoom/Google everything, lost jobs, and isolation for far too many. A year of missing friends and family, hugs, coffee shops, haircuts, gyms, live music and theatre, sports, and so much else. Another year of racial injustice and a year of courage to call for police reform. This is all true.

And two things can be true at once-for it has also been a year of creativity to adjust and imagine new possibilities for how to be in the world. It has been a year of compassion and care as folks reached out to one another. A year in…we are still learning how to embolden Love more fully, for it is a lifelong journey.