I am grateful to share that I am feeling relatively restored after a week off from church work. While I have still been busy with my other job and parenting over the past week, the time off did allow me some additional time and space to get away and outdoors with family, setting much of my ongoing mental to-do list aside for a while.
Before giving a reminder of the upcoming plans I have in store at UUFM, I want to mention another book I am enjoying this summer. While summer reading is also tricky to carve out time for while parenting a busy toddler, I have been listening to Playground by Richard Powers on audio while I walk or drive with him. I have read one other book from the same author, titled The Overstory, and have really appreciated the way his fiction novels move a reader through the narration of multiple characters’ intimate perspectives while exploring themes of environmental justice.
A character in the book I am currently reading named Rafi Young wrote the following as part of an entrance essay for a prestigious high school his family asked him to apply to, and I found it to be a poignant reminder that emotional range, when mindfully explored and tended to, may empower us and keep us connected:
“Without the ability to feel sad, a person could not be kind or thoughtful, because you wouldn’t care or know how anybody else feels. Without sadness, you would never learn anything from history. Sadness is the key to loving what you love and to becoming better than you were. A person who never felt sad would be a monster.”
― Richard Powers, Playground
May we allow ourselves to truly feel and embody our emotions in ways that heal, unite, and grow us. Let us grieve and let that grief be a reminder of what we value most, trusting that deep sadness is a sign of our humanity, knowing that it is valid and it belongs alongside each lighter emotion. May it not only point us toward justice, but also carve a deeper space inside of us for the experience of authentic, restorative joy to arrive again and again.
This Sunday! June 29th at 12pm, Treats and Tie Dye
This event will occur outside, weather-permitting, following our Pride Worship Service with Rev. Seth Anderson-Matz. Please consider arriving at 10:30am to enjoy this and coffee hour beforehand, too.
We invite you to bring your own natural fiber textile items to dye.
If you have questions, concerns, or extra textile items to donate for others to use, please contact Macey at lffdirector.uumankato@gmail.com
RSVP here: https://uufm.breezechms.com/form/d5ade9
More upcoming happenings:
- Sunday, July 6th, 12-1:30pm, Young Adult Lunch
- Sunday, July 13th, 12-1:30pm, Red Jacket Park Meetup with option to swim
- Saturday, July 19th, 4pm, Food Not Bombs Prep