Guest Blog by Sarah Walker
We are travelers. We meet for a moment in this sacred place to love, to share, to serve.
Let us use compassion, curiosity, reverence and respect while seeking our truths.
In this way, we will support a just and joyful community, and this moment shall endure.
Our covenant statement carries deep meaning for me. It was crafted as the distillation of a group effort in 1997 to express an agreed understanding of our intentions and ideals as we settled into our first building and strengthened our identity as a liberal religious community. QUUF’s subsequent growth and outreach within our community and the broader world have been a heartening tribute to those stated ideals – to love, to share and to serve in myriad ways.
Despite the wrench the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into our world, I am grateful we can continue our journeys of spiritual exploration, intimate community, and meaningful service. As co-chair of the Pastoral Care Team along with Deb Carroll, I am honored to work closely with Kate and Beau and a dedicated lay ministry team to respond to the needs of Fellowship members. In recent months we actively helped people solve problems and cope with logistical difficulties which included obtaining groceries and masks and helping provide access to technology. We have also initiated more community outreach through personal cards, friendly phone calls, and weekly “Love Rallies.” The latter are pre-arranged outdoor visits to households by small groups (with masks and social distancing) holding cheery signs, singing, and engaging in brief conversations.
Pastoral care in the face of elevated levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness and isolation needs to involve activation of our whole community. We especially need to attend to those among us who are elderly, coping with illness, living alone, or functioning as caregivers. Each of you can make a difference whenever you become aware of another person’s distress. This may be disclosed in the context of your caring circle, covenant group, coffee hour, or just a casual interaction. When someone reveals their discouragement, depression, loneliness or frustration, your response of careful listening, reassurance or empathy is a meaningful way to practice our Covenant – to love, to share and to serve.
By offering support to each other we can extend the reach of pastoral care beyond the efforts of just a few team members and reach into all facets of our QUUF community.
It’s so comforting to know that you, Sarah, and Deborah are there as a shoulder for so many of us during this turbulent and unsettling time. Thank you and the rest of the team!
I love you, Sarah, and all you do.
Thank you, Sarah and Deborah, for leading your wonderful, caring team in helping our fellowship survive during this troubling time. Your collective support means so much,
Thank you Sarah for your heartfelt commitment to our QUUF covenant. And thank you and the whole Pastoral Care Team for all you are doing to express that covenant in service to us as we go through this strange and turbulent time!