Dear Ones,

My Between Sundays note arrives late this week, as it wasn’t until Thursday evening that I had a chance to sit down at the keyboard. Join me in taking a breath in… and a breath out. Welcome back to the here and now. 

There is a lot going on for us as individuals, as a church, as a wider community. More than most of us can keep up with. Definitely more than I can keep up with! Thank you in advance for your patience as emails are arriving into my inbox much faster than I can get responses out. 

We have lots of programming unfolding (check out the Breeze calendar and ENews!), even more collaborative programming in the works, and of course our annual stewardship campaign is underway. 

I spent today at a day-long fundraising workshop hosted by the Maine People’s Alliance, which was a rich experience and affirmed the importance of our stewardship and fundraising work. I have made my pledge to A2U2 for FY 2026, with an increase from last year. It might seem funny to pledge to the organization that employs me. Aren’t I just contributing to my own salary? But I see it as a reflection and affirmation of how deeply I believe in the work we are doing together. If you haven’t pledged yet, now is the time!  

All I have to do when I get overwhelmed or start feeling down is think of what we are doing together… fighting loneliness and individualism, nurturing our spirits, making friends, learning to have hard conversations and navigate differences, cherishing children, developing leaders, organizing for justice, and so much more. I hope you know you bring the same depth and meaning to my life as I hope I help bring to yours. 

I hope to see you on Sunday for the launch of our next worship series, The Ancient Wisdom of the Psalms. You won’t want to miss it. 

Until then, much love. 

Rev. Tara