Sitting in the dining hall of a small college in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, I find myself thinking of you at WES, wondering what you are doing during these long, hot summer days. What are you doing to rest? Are you able even to take time to do so? And what are you doing to go deeper, to find meaning, to snatch joy from life like a child grabbing at bubbles or a bird flitting from branch to branch?

As is true every summer, I am reflecting on the past year at WES and preparing for the upcoming one. Our platform on June 30, led so beautifully by our own Vincent Tyler, reminded me how much we have learned and grown together this year. Sometimes that learning has been hard and surely much of it is ongoing. And I know you… we… can continue to listen, challenge our own internal voices, question our desire to have things be “easy,” push through our worries or fears and connect to each other and find more truth together.

I am diving deep right now at UU Mid-Atlantic Community, and will do so again at the annual Association for Unitarian Universalist Music Ministries (AUUMM) conference later this month. I will also read, try to meditate, try to meditate again…, walk, sing, nap, and swim as often as I can. What will you do? I hope it brings you joy.

In community,

Bailey