This month, our shared theme has been embodying resilience. Resilience is often misunderstood as stoic endurance or quiet survival. However, within our tradition as Unitarian Universalists, resilience is far more alive. It is relational. It is creative. It is grounded in love. It is what allows us not only to withstand adversity, but to continue to imagine and co-create positive, alternative futures even when the world feels fractured by violence, injustice, and fear. 

Resilience is not the absence of grief or outrage. It is the decision to remain connected in our humanity, to ourselves, to one another, and to our deepest values. This month, I have witnessed resilience in the ways we have shown up for one another, in the small acts of care, in courageous action. Our congregation continues to choose community over isolation, hope over despair. This is no small thing. 

Within the work of the Board, practicing resilience has included planning for the future. We are actively recruiting four members to join the Board for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, and we hope that our beloved community will be receptive to invitations to contribute to the governance of the congregation. The contributions of time, talents, and treasures that each of us make to UUFM undergird our congregational capacity to practice resilience in the face of everchanging realities of the world. 

As we turn toward our new monthly theme, paying attention, I want to extend an invitation. Let us pay attention not only to the forces that threaten human dignity, but also to the quiet, persistent power of the human spirit. Let us pay attention to the richness of human stories unfolding around us. Let us pay attention to the beauty of human connection that we experience every day.

In times of systemic adversity and rising authoritarianism, joy can feel naïve or indulgent. But joy that is rooted in justice and community is neither of these. Joy is a form of active resistance. Oppressive systems depend on our exhaustion, our cynicism, and our fragmentation. Joy interrupts that cycle, reminding us that we are more than what we fight against. We are also what we are fighting for.

To pay attention to joy is to notice where life finds a way. It is to notice laughter in the midst of a shitty day. It is to savor music, shared meals, children’s questions, and elders’ wisdom. It is to honor the sacredness of the mundane. When we cultivate joy together, we strengthen our capacity for sustained, faithful peace building. We remember that the work of co-creating positive alternative futures is not only a duty but also an act of love.

The Board is paying attention to joy in this moment as we explore the future of the building and grounds oversight in preparation for a crucial transition. At the end of this fiscal year, Dan Swenson will be stepping down as Building Lead, and we are eternally thankful to him for the incredible work he has done overseeing the wellbeing of our place and space. The passing of the baton can feel overwhelming, but Dan has consistently reminded our congregation that the work of land stewardship is the work of hope, innovation, and sacred attention. We extend an open invitation to join the Building & Grounds Team. Please reach out to Dan or members of the Board if you are interested. 

In the month ahead, I encourage you to pay attention to joy. Notice what energizes you. Notice whose stories you have not yet heard. Notice where beauty and possibility are right in front of you. And when you find joy, share it. Let it be contagious. Let it strengthen our collective imagination.

The futures we seek to build cannot be grounded in fear and despair. Let love, hope, and joy, woven together through attention and care, be the foundation of the world we co-create.

In community,

Mac Benavides

Board Chair