“We can pretend that we have nothing to learn, or we can take this opportunity to own the truth and make a better future for ourselves and others.” —Brene Brown

When the Board of Trustees made the difficult decision to shutter the doors of All Souls, our Sunday Celebration Team made a quick transition to Zoom services. I sent a letter to our members and friends, and let them know I was available via Zoom, telephone, texts, email, or outside appointments! In addition, I offered to drop off or mail an All Soul’s Bear Hug to anyone that was missing human contact! I was featured in an article our local paper did about the response of faith leaders to this unprecedented action.

In addition to the aforementioned efforts, I also visited a member of my congregation who was in ICU with a severe case of COVID. Although I wasn’t able to go into her room, I was able to stand outside the window, mask pulled down so she could recognize me, and hold up a sign letting her know I love her and that All Souls members were keeping her in their hearts. I’m happy to say she fully recovered!

All Souls also pivoted to online Zoom Sunday services and weekly programs. I initiated a weekly Tuesdays with Nori Zoom meeting as an informal way for folks to remain connected to me. I had been doing a monthly Tuesdays with Nori at the church pre-COVID; for those I would bring the best boxed wine on sale, cheese and crackers, and veggie trays. There we would chat about current events, our phobias (rodents!! shudder,) etc. I thought that it would be good to have more contact with individuals during the social isolation of the pandemic. It remains a popular weekly event, even though people have to provide their own refreshments!

Initially, we thought we would be Zooming for just a few months, then word came from the UUA to not expect to meet in person until at least May 2021. With that news, I became creative about the Sunday service!

Beginning in late September, I drove around the country in a 2000 Toyota Sienna van, speaking from different locations that I chose based on the theme for that week! I’ve traveled two-three weeks each month since then, with my golden doodle, Rubi, and my cat, Wham!, It’s been an extremely rewarding and energizing experiment; I feel as if I expanded the horizon of All Souls and deepened the impact of my talks. Here are links to a few of the services I’ve done. At the end of each description is a time stamp for when the sermon begins.

In this October 4, 2020 In this October 4, 2020 service on Deep Listening, I spoke from Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, KY. This is the Ground Zero for rallies for justice for Breonna Taylor. While I was speaking, I realized her mom was there and invited her to share a few words at the end of the service. 17:32 marks the start of the sermon, at 39:21 you can see Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mom, share a few words.

Here I was in Washington, DC when the presidential election was called for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. I spoke about the Healing of the Nation Part 2 from Black Lives Matter Plaza just outside the White House. 20:51

The previous week I spoke from Lawrence, KS, connecting our need to heal with our forebears need to do the same. You can find that sermon here. 15:12

Every year at All Souls, we invite a local band, Tribe, in for Fat Sunday—the Sunday before Mardi Gras. They play authentic New Orleans Mardi Gras Jazz and I write a narration in between songs about the history of Mardi Gras, in particular the African American contributions to the festival. This year, Tribe sent in videos and I did the narration from the French Quarter in New Orleans! It’s best to watch the entire video for this, but if you want to skip the welcome and announcements, you can go to 5:53.

On what would have been John Lewis’ 81st birthday, I spoke about the historic march from Selma to Montgomery and the lessons we still need to learn today, while walking from the Brown Chapel AME and across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in this service titled: Walking Each Other Home. The audio was hard to hear due to traffic, so I re-recorded that later, so it sounds a little canned, but still pretty cool, I think! Plus the A/V tech was able to add some powerful images along with the video of me crossing the bridge. 17:14

Covid has changed the landscape of our lives on a personal and community level. I’m a different minister than I was pre-COVID; you’re a different congregation, too. Together we can own the truth of our lives and our world and work together to make this world a better place.