Dear Ones, 

What do you think of when you hear the word freedom?  Independence Day?  Juneteenth?  Pride?  Bodily autonomy?  Summer vacation?  Getting to do whatever you want?  Getting to escape something that held you back?  This month’s theme is “living love through the practice of freedom,” and I see this as an invitation to reflect on how we create freedom for ourselves and for others – an invitation to think beyond simple definitions.  Whatever comes up for you, I want to invite you to think about how you access that particular freedom.  Is it given to you, or do you have to work to get it?  If it’s work, how easy or hard is it?  Is it something you do by yourself?  Who else is involved, and how?  Do others have the same chances to feel it as you do?  

I know that there are ways I feel free with little to no effort on my part, like knowing I can run through my neighborhood without arousing suspicion, and that I’ll most likely live through a traffic stop.  There are ways I feel free because of the actions of those who came before me, like getting to pursue an education and a career, or getting to own property, or getting to vote, or getting to choose when and how to create a family.  As I think about all those freedoms, I can’t help but think about how tenuous they are, how they’re in danger of being eroded.  And I can’t help but think about the many women and queer folx who have never had access to these and other freedoms I have gotten to take for granted.  I think about how I might, if/when needed, advocate for my own or someone else’s freedom.  All this is to say, I’m thinking that I might need to become more aware that freedom is indeed a practice, not a given, and that I might consider becoming more intentional about that practice.  What do your musings on living love through the practice of freedom reveal to you? 

In faith and love, Karen

[June 4, 2025]