Happy New Year!

My first column of 2025 is a bit of a bummer, but a timely topic, so here goes.

As some of you know, my wife Shay got COVID from an exposure at her workplace last Friday, and we found out after I got home Sunday. She tested positive on Monday. She’s doing okay, and I am feeling fine and testing negative so far. I’m hopeful that just like she didn’t catch it from me back in October, our extensive precautions within our home will keep me from getting it now. I am working remotely this week, but hoping to be in person for worship and our midyear congregational meeting and luncheon on Sunday!

There are a lot of nasty viruses going around right now—not just COVID, but also norovirus, pneumonia and flu. I’ve returned to masking when around others, even before Shay got sick, as you saw on Sunday—and I plan to continue that until the levels of these illnesses drops dramatically.

Protecting ourselves and each other from these kinds of illnesses is one of the ways we live our values by practicing community care—making decisions with not only ourselves and those we live with in mind, but also those in our lives who may be more vulnerable than we are. We may not know who in our congregation is immune compromised, or diabetic, or has another underlying condition that makes it more dangerous for them to get sick. The more we do to keep UUFM’s air clean (from masking to air filtration), the more fully everyone can participate.

Please do stay home if you are even a little bit under the weather—Shay thought she only had a cold, until she found out she was exposed and tested positive for COVID, and that is all too often the case. Take advantage of the option of Zoom participation—it’s there for exactly this kind of situation.

Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year,
Rev. Diana