Dear WUU Community,
Has anyone else been feeling a bit testy lately? The other day I caught myself snapping at my spouse over some small incident I can’t even remember any more. Then last week I hit a couple of days where my energy level just plummeted, and I had to force myself to slog through tasks that I usually find easy and fun.
From listening to many of you, I don’t think it’s just me. The dual pandemic of Covid-19 and deadly racism—as we saw manifested just last week in Kenosha, Wisconsin with the tragic shooting of Jacob Blake—is taking its toll on all of us. Not to mention our worries for friends in California, where fires burn and smoke fills the air, and others on the Gulf coast with a hurricane just gone through.
And then there’s the election, now just two months away and so critically important to the future of this country.
It’s a lot to hold in our minds, hearts, and bodies.
I hope you are being as kind to yourself and each other as you can. This will help. On rough days, I’ve taken to asking myself:
What can I do right now to help myself feel better?
It might be just a small thing. For example, usually I write at my desk, but today I’m writing outside on the deck, under the shade of the big oak tree I’ve come to consider a friend. It feels good, thinking of you all as I let the songs of the birds and the hum of insects wash over me. I hope you too will find ways to be good to yourself, today and every day.
Another mantra that helps me when I’m feeling overwhelmed is this one from the Al-Anon tradition:
Do the next right thing.
To me that means, when you have a big challenge before you, you don’t need to complete it all right now. In a crisis, you don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to do the next right thing. And trust that if you keep doing that next right thing, and the next, you will build a path through even the most difficult challenge, little by little by little.
In fact, this is pretty much my mantra for ministry in these uncertain days. And when I think of the many “next right things” happening right here at WUU, I am encouraged and sustained. Here are just a few that you can get involved with too:
- Our UU the Vote campaign is amping up, with many of you already writing postcards and making phone calls to get out the vote in November. To get involved, email Jodi Fisler at jfisler@gmail.com.
- In response to police shootings of Black people nationwide, Jessica Sapalio and other WUUs are participating in the new WJCC Coalition for Community Justice, which aims to establish civilian review boards for the Williamsburg and James City County police departments. To get involved, email sjchair@wuu.org.
- The fall religious education program for children & youth launches on Sept. 13, with weekly age-based Zoom classes and family activity kits for learning at home. To get involved, email Director of Religious Education Austen Petersen at austen@wuu.org. We’re also launching new classes and small groups for adults this fall, mostly online plus occasional Covid-safe outdoor small-group opportunities. All the signup details will be in your weekly Spiral emails.
- Our WUU Choir invites everyone to join in as they make a series of virtual choir videos this fall, even if you can’t make the rehearsals! To get involved, email Director of Music Dr. Jamie Bartlett at jamie.bartlett@wuu.org. And have you seen Assistant Director of Music Dave Robbins’ music videos on Sundays? They’re outstanding.
You might just find the very thing that can lift your spirits is getting involved in service, learning, and community right here. Take care, everyone, and hope to see you online soon!
In faith,
Rev. Laura