Welcome back, for those returning!
Welcome in, for those seeking!
Welcome to all!

I started getting emails in the last couple of weeks about celebrating Lent this year. I'm probably the only one in our congregation who is excited about celebrating Lent, but I don't mind. This year, Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine's Day. This happened once when I was at the VA doing my chaplaincy training, and we had the pleasure of managing both blessings of ashes and vow renewals in our chapel. It was a great day.

The spiritual theme for February is Justice and Equity, followed by the other themes this year taken from the proposed Article 2 Values under consideration. Justice: We work to be diverse multicultural Beloved Communities where all thrive. We covenant to dismantle racism and all forms of systemic oppression. We support the use of inclusive democratic processes to make decisions within our congregations, our Association, and society at large. And Equity: We declare that every person has the right to flourish with inherent dignity and worthiness. We covenant to use our time, wisdom, attention, and money to build and sustain fully accessible and inclusive communities. (https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/article-ii-study-commission/final-proposed-revision-article-ii)

We've begun exploring how to be Unitarian Universalists, as people of faith, in this time of fascism rising. We will continue on this quest this month as we struggle with how to faithfully and effectively live our values.

My reading list keeps growing -- recent mentions have been Dr. Pamela Cooper-White's The Psychology of Christian Nationalism, Jason Stanley's How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, Rabbi Sharon Brous' The Amen Effect, and Timothy D. Snyder's On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century.

Two special events to have on your radar for this month: the Interfaith Story Circle on Feb 23 and our Banned Books Movie on Feb 24. More information in our weekly newsletter, Connections, or on our calendar. We hope to see you soon!

In faith and service, Rev. Kristina Spaude (She/her)

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