Dear Friends,

Can you feel it? The energy of returning spring? Despite Monday’s snow, I saw a bright blue sky this morning, and heard sandhill cranes and red-winged blackbirds during my morning walk. The humans at the dog park were less bundled up, so we could interact more than I’ve been used to lately, and the dogs were so energized! It feels like the clenching of bodies and hearts might be loosening just a little bit. I often notice this in the early spring, but this year, after two years of global pandemic and uncertainty, and a winter of isolation for many of us, I can feel it so much more than usual.

At the same time, this has been a traumatic experience, and continues to be for many of us. We’re not all able to return to the kinds of interactions we need because numbers are down, because in-person activities are still too risky. And those of us who can return might find ourselves hesitant, not out of concern for Covid, but because we’re no longer used to being around people. The “new normal,” whatever it looks like, will be slow in coming. I invite you to watch this video by my colleague, the Rev. Sunshine Wolfe, talking about some human responses we might experience or witness as we move into our multiplatform future at Reeb.

In faith and love,

Karen