Concluding the month of Healing…

Reflecting on the past month, the intensity we have faced as a nation between the election and the pandemic has likely influenced each of our nervous systems in big and small ways. My hope is that you feel held and supported among our congregation, our community, and your family. While this holiday week may bring loneliness for some, know that you are loved and that there are connections here for you virtually. I encourage you to visit our UUFM Connect! Facebook page to reach out and to join in conversation.

No one ever said this life would be easy, but I hope that the pain we witness in the world and in ourselves urges us to hold one another more closely. We heal more together. Parker J. Palmer states,

“When the heart is supple, it can be “broken open” into a greater capacity to hold our own and the world’s pain: it happens every day. When we hold our suffering in a way that opens us to greater compassion, heartbreak becomes a source of healing, deepening our empathy for others who suffer and extending our ability to reach out to them.”

Ironically, the places in which you are soft are where your empathy lies, and the empathy that holds us all up is courageous and strong. I thank you all for the moments in which you allow others to lean on you and pray you’ll lean on others when it is needed too.

Please know that I am just an email or a phone call away. While I am no longer holding virtual “office hours”, you can reach me on my personal phone at 507-995-7929 or by email at cfddirector@uumankato.org . If I do not answer, I encourage you to send a text or leave a voicemail. Currently, I am available for daytime meetings on Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. I also do have availability most other weekday evenings. I will continue to do my best to serve as a resource to our community, through connecting you to one another and of course, directly. Being a light in the lives of others is as important as ever, and I hope you will stay connected.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Macey Forsyth

 

Please consider joining our private Facebook group:

UUFM Children’s Faith Development
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/1404655806251029/). This group is intended for families and congregants who are involved in Children’s Faith Development. My approval of new members’ access to the information there is what makes the group a safe space for sharing. I will be sharing our weekly stories as Facebook videos on my personal page publicly and sharing them in the group, as well as short prayers and meditations.

Link to the stories:

Our virtual Stories for All Ages are now available on the UUFM YouTube Channel. At least one new story will be available by Sunday, each week.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNwWkbABO6HpDlw5Po2TdQA?view_as=subscriber

Virtual Children’s Chapel

This past Sunday, when Danielle and I were hosting Children’s Chapel via Zoom, one of the kids requested that we meet again this Friday. Danielle and I agreed! We will host an additional hour to check-in together this Friday at 1pm. I am planning on lighting our chalice, sharing this weekend’s story, and inviting conversation about Thanksgiving in addition to our joys, blessings, concerns, and sorrows.