March 25, 2020
Dear Friends,

Most of us are physically-distancing, staying at home and venturing out only if we really need to. The inter-webs told me earlier today that Minnesotans get an “A” for this behavior! Big stretches of land, farmer-thinking, and Scandinavian heritage may all play a role in keeping us ahead of COVID-19’s curve. Let’s keep it that way.

Even as we are separated physically, the virus reminds us that we are intricately bound with one another in a web of mutuality. That interdependence is not all sweetness and light, for sure. But if we are bound together in frightening and sorrowful ways, we know also that joy and grace, that new learning and new self-awareness permeates, our interconnections as well.

Seek the voice of a neighbor through your phone. Seek the face of a beloved through a videochat. Send a letter to someone you care about to let them know how you are in these strangely changed times. And reach some more, reach one more, so that we all remember that no one of us is alone. We are always already connected, and our voices and faces, our penmanship such as it is, make material those connections in ways that revitalize our relationships, that assuage our spirits and minds, that heal the world.

We are always home together, as a compassionate and justice-seeking people. Here is a link to a favorite hymn. May it give you comfort and a sense of peace. May you remember each other in your hearts and minds as often as you can. May you know that I hold each of you in my heart and mind. May it give you comfort, today and every day, to know and to that you are loved, you are worthy, you are welcome, and you are needed. May you feel it so, and may it be so. Amen and Amen.

Blessings, Rev. Rita