From Elizabeth Harding – Sabbatical Minister for Pastoral Care
When I came to UCE for the kickoff of Rev. Eileen’s sabbatical, for the service on Sunday morning, I talked for a few minutes about the strands that weave our lives together, the connections that we make and could make during this sabbatical ministry. It’s been a pleasure to get to know more of you, and in some cases, find out some connections that I didn’t know about—-for example, Linda LaPlante and I met, and I found out that she was a part of a small fellowship whose members eventually became a part of Second Unitarian Church of Chicago. It’s been lovely to attend the pastoral care team meetings and learn about how you take care of each other here at UCE. You have a lot of avenues for communication with each other, with the pastoral care team, which means that people know that if they have a need, this caring community will do their best to help out with that need. This give and take, this mutual care, is an important part of a healthy spiritual community. These are strong blessings you are, and that you share with each other.
One of the ways that we also bless each other is by finding and using our self-care/spiritual practices and sticking to them, which can be hard with the ebb and flow of life’s challenges. One of the strands in my life that helps me both physically and spiritually is the practice of swimming. Each spring, my family obtains pool passes for the Skokie park district and we try and take the kids every few days. (Secretly, it’s also to tire them out!) It is such a joy to watch my youngest, Simon, in his exuberance. Whether or not he has his floatie on, he jumps right in! And then realizes that he isn’t afloat anymore! We have to be there, to catch him, as he is fearless and exuberant. Lucas is more in the place where he loves to explore and play with friends—bringing water toys like rings and little torpedoes. He loves his goggles.
My own swimming practice is different—with earplugs, I can have some time for laps early in the morning, which center me for the day, and help me be a focused and calm minister and mom. I can only count my laps; I can’t think about my family or my worries; I can only count my laps, back and forth, and be in the moment. Life is like all those experiences in the pool—sometimes it is full of exuberance, like for Simon, and other times, it’s full of exploration and play, like the water is for Lucas. And other times, it is a time of focus, feeling that calm take over your body in the water. There will be times when our community catches us, like we need to catch Simon, and truly, that is one of the blessings of UCE. That we have the opportunity to have the full range of our lives— sometimes play, sometimes exuberance, sometimes we need to be supported by each other, and sometimes, we find that being in the moment is exactly what we need. May you feel connected to UCE and your/our community in the coming spring days and months. Thank you again for this opportunity to get connected with you all!
Rev. Elizabeth A. Harding, AM, MDiv, LCSW