January 2021 marks the half-way point in my developmental ministry. We have been hampered a great deal by the coronavirus, and while it continues at a ravishing pace, we all welcome the good news that vaccines are becoming available and that the new Administration in Washington is committed to a scientific approach in attending with its effects.
Meanwhile, at East Shore we have an Action Plan and though our campus remains closed, we are gearing up and going forward with virtual celebrations, programs, and outreach in the weeks ahead. As immunizations become prevalent, we hope to begin resuming operations on campus—but not before Governor Inslee and UUA President Susan Frederick Gray say it is safe to do so.
Throughout January and February, our Executive Director, Jason Puracal, will be training his successor, Rebecca Chatfield. The first two months of the year did not feature in early Raman calendars, which divided the year into ten months and left sixty-one days unaccounted for. The missing months of January and February were added about 700 BCE. For many Unitarian Universalists, the last four years have felt, if not out of phase completely, definitely out in the cold. But things are on the upswing now. We will all have reason to be optimistic if we can wait it out. The coronavirus is still with us and it is extremely virulent.
So, let me wish for all of you the following New Year’s Resolutions:
- To practice good COVID hygiene;
- To keep your spirits buoyant, and;
- To jump into a couple of new activities this coming year here at church.
The pandemic has added all kinds of extra stress in all our lives. Finding ways to break through its isolation and sedentariness is important for mental and physical health. Let us make 2021 a refreshing antidote to 2020 by, first, imagining it so, and second, giving our best effort to make it so.
In abiding liberal faith, Steve
by Rev. Dr. Stephen H. Furrer