Beloved friends,

I’m waiting for a time to arrive that doesn’t feel like it’s in between or not yet. I don’t have a lot of confidence that we’ll be there any time, soon, but I do find that I’m craving something that resembles certainty or at least probability. Watching the numbers on COVIDActNow.com has been cheering over the last few weeks as the number of cases in Pierce County continues to drop and our risk level has dipped into “medium.” Reporting about the next variant wave rising in Europe and on the east coast suggests that our numbers will rise, too, but for the moment, our risk level is as low as it’s been since mid-summer last year. And that’s good news.

I hope to see some of you this Sunday, April 10, in-person or to get to wave at you online for our service. The following Sunday, April 17, we’ll be welcoming the Reverend Matt Aspin back to our pulpit, albeit online. Rev Matt, as you may know, is serving as the Contract Minister for the Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society in Madison, WI, and he’ll be bringing us an Easter message. I hope you all will be there to hear the good word that he’ll offer.

By the time the service ends, I’ll be nearly through my first weekend of training to teach yoga. The owner of the yoga studio where I’ve been practicing for the last year offered me a full scholarship to take the training, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to go through this process. I trust that the training – which is about the physical postures and the philosophy and spiritual practices – will enhance my ability to minister, and perhaps we’ll have a chance to meet together on mats.

I’ll be spending one weekend a month in training for the next seven months. Most months, it’ll coincide with my regular Sunday off, but occasionally, I’ll need an extra Sunday. In May, for example, I’ll be in Spokane for the first weekend celebrating my daughter’s graduation from Gonzaga University and bidding her farewell as she moves to Salt Lake City with her boyfriend. (I expect to be a bit of a mess, honestly.)

Our #UULent word for today is “love,” and my picture is the sticker that I got the last time I donated blood. It’s been a spiritual practice for me for decades, and I have been a regular every-six-weeks donor for much of that time. It’s a way to offer life and health to those who are in need, and in this time of pandemic, there’s an extra need for blood donations. If you’re able to safely donate, I encourage you to head to https://www.crbs.net/ or https://www.bloodworksnw.org/ and make an appointment. This is a gift of love and life and it’ll do you good.

Love,

Linda

Rev. Dr. Linda A. Hart