Perspectives for March 2026

This month we explore what it means to be a Community of Hope. This theme is timely because it is during difficult times that our hope is both tested and most needed.

Hope is not the same as sunny optimism that promises everything will be all right. At its best, hope grows from the ability to both be honest and clear-eyed about the tragedies and injustices that we experience AND to know that how we respond to and in these moments still matters – and does make a difference.

Unitarian Universalist minister Bruce Marshall writes, “Optimism is an attitude of expectation that a particular result will occur--that a person will recover from an illness, that we will achieve a specific goal....Hope is less specific. It’s an attitude that looks for possibility in whatever life deals us. …Hope is more resilient, more enduring, more helpful. Hope advises us to look squarely at the realities that confront us while remaining aware of the possibilities.”

This understanding reminds us that hope arises from being able to hold the reality of things as they are, not knowing how they might turn out, while still remembering that we have agency in how we will meet the challenges before us. If we are not able to confront the reality of our lives in our toughest moments, if we cannot sit with our grief, or our wish that something was not the case, then we diminish our ability to develop the kind of hope that helps us see beauty and love even in the midst of mortality, the kind of hope that provides courage and persistence even in the face of overwhelming odds, the kind of hope that comes to us as light and joy, even if only in moments, in the midst of pain and struggle.

This is a time to both develop our resources of hope and to share them with others. May we nurture more hope in our lives and spirits during this month.

Rev. Susan Frederick Gray, Lead Minister

revsfg@uubloomington.org

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington is a community of caring people working together to provide emotional support and friendship as we promote social justice in Bloomington, our state, our nation, and the world.

Our Meeting Room is a place where one can find a spiritual presence - with sermons and readings led by a caring minister, music from an amazing choir, and stories that spark reflection on critical social issues.

I attend services and events on a regular basis and appreciate that I come into a clean, well-maintained space. Each Sunday I am welcomed by greeters, meet friends, old and new, and listen to thoughtfully prepared programs. The coffee’s on. I feel at home.

We cannot solve all the world’s injustices such as poverty, the immigration tragedies and homelessness, but knowing that we have a community of caring people makes the journey toward justice a little bit easier.

When I first came to UU services, I supported the church by putting a few dollars into the collection basket when I could. But after a few years I learned that our congregation needs people to pledge a regular amount each year so we can establish a stable budget, pay a fair wage to the staff, maintain the building and grounds, and reach for higher congregational goals. So that’s why I pledge.

My pledge is a promise that I intend to fulfill, but I know it can be adjusted if my financial situation changes.

How You Can Support UU Bloomington – Pledge Drive

Our 2026 Pledge Drive will kick off Sunday, March 22nd culminating with Celebration Sunday on April 19th.

Please plan to make a pledge during this time and set an amount you can afford.

Let’s keep our wonderful community of hope and courage thriving!

Sincerely in Service,

Pat Slabach &

UUCB Pledge Drive Committee - Corrin Clarkson (Chair), JaneAnn Gifford, Charlie Pickle, Don Richards & Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray

March 15: Family Choir - all are invited to show up 45 minutes before either service to rehearse a song for the service! The song for Family Choir on March 15 is “Rainbow Connection” by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher.

All-Ages Band - if you are interested in connecting with the All-Ages Band, please contact Steve Mascari using this contact form.

All-Ages Orchestra - we have a newly-commissioned three-level arrangement of the Hallelujah Chorus for our all-ages orchestra! It will premiere on April 19, conducted by Maestro Jeff Meyer. If you are interested in participating, contact Susan Swaney, music@uubloomington.org.

Susan Swaney, Director of Music

music@uubloomington.org

A quick update on email scam tactics: Recently, I've been hearing a lot of reports about fake party invitations which are actually phishing scams. These come in the form of an email purporting to be from someone you know, which says some version of "You're invited to a party at my house", but doesn't say when or exactly why. The email asks you to download something (either a PDF or sometimes a whole application to install) which will supposedly show you a virtual greeting card.

Do not download these things. In fact, do not download anything at all from emails unless you know the sender and you were expecting them to send you something to download, but especially not party invitations. Any legitimate party organization website will provide all the necessary details as text within the body of the email. A PDF or image of the invitation is plausible, but you shouldn't need to actually open it to get the information, and you definitely shouldn't install an application to view an invitation!

I think these scam tactics are just absolutely disgusting. For ages now, we've seen scams targeting our desire to help folks in need. That's a pretty obvious one. To send scams playing on our desire for community, fellowship, and connection, though? That's just awful. I hope this brief article stops at least one person from falling for this nonsense.

In summary: DON'T download applications and other attachments from "party invitations" which are otherwise devoid of any details. But DO throw spontaneous, occasion-free parties if that's your thing! Let's stick together, remain in community, and beat this system that's trying to keep us all afraid and isolated.

If you have any questions, please reach out. My email is hkelson@uubloomington.org.

Hans Kelson, Technology Coordinator

hkelson@uubloomington.org

I find strength in the themes Rev. Susan has set for us this year. Community of Welcome, Community of Gratitude and Service, Community of Courage (to name three). At a recent zoom gathering of Board leaders in the UUA’s MidAmerica region, I shared how these themes have provided a backbone for my congregation’s year and given us focus and sustenance, despite an unsteady world around us. Stories for children advance the theme and coordinate with music and sermons during our services. Conversations continue in RE. The themes connect us through communal exploration, and I’ve been learning a lot! Adding to that, my Chalice Circle bores deeper into the themes—our engagement with February’s Community of Truth was much more nuanced and elusive than we expected.

In March, UUCB will form a Community of Hope. As I write this column, the Olympics are in full swing; athletes with highly hyped hopes are finding triumph and disappointment. But I don’t think hope is about winning and losing. During a time of great difficulty for me, a former minister said, “Hope is the sure conviction that all will be well, no matter how things turn out.” I’m eager to explore our Community of Hope in March and to keep the rigorous conversation going.

Mary Craig, At Large

Board of Directors

Perhaps you’ve noticed changes in the church kitchen! Over the course of the last month and continuing into March, we are making several much needed facility improvements in the kitchen and Meeting Room.

The following kitchen improvements have recently been completed:

• Added a combination washing machine/dryer
• Replaced cabinets with stainless steel shelves and rolling carts
• Replaced deep freezer with standing freezer
• Replaced old oven with a larger dual convection oven
• Renovated "trash room"
• Added purse/bag/coat hangers
• Replaced coffee makers with carafe filler model
• Repaired sinks
• Painted entire room
• Replaced worn or missing tiles

In the remodeling process it became clear that some cabinets were no longer large enough to service our growing congregation. Rest assured, however, that all of the beautiful oak cabinets made by Walt Owens have been repurposed elsewhere in the church.

Also, the Meeting Room’s aging exterior sliding doors are being replaced with hinged doors fitted with panic bars. All of these improvements address critical safety issues as well increasing the functionality of our space, especially as our congregation grows.

Other work to occur this year will include replacing windows sashes in rooms 205, 207B and the library to address operability and obsolescence issues, and rehabbing the parking lot pavement.

This work is being funded from several sources.

This funding is made possible through the generosity of the church community. The largest contribution from the Special Purpose Fund comes from members of our community, no longer with us, who left a legacy gift in their estate planning to support the long term strength of our ministry, outreach and campus. We are grateful for their enduring contributions to our community and what that has made possible. Additional support comes from proceeds from the Holiday Winter Bazaar and donations from the fall Auction, the Women’s Alliance, as well as our annual operating budget for maintenance needs.
Many individuals have generously volunteered their time in planning, coordinating, and constructing these improvements. The team includes Hans Kelson, Jo Bowman, Devin McGuire, Michael Fields, Steve Krahnke, Steve Pollitt, Ruellen Fessenbecker, Doris Wittenburg, Charlotte Appel, Ann Kamman, Jane McLeod, and Dick Stumpner. Thank you!
Bill Lonnberg, Treasurer
treasurer@uubloomington.org

The Democracy Task Force is planning our voter engagement activities for the 2026 election year, and we'd love to hear your ideas and experiences. We’re especially excited because we’re seeing a real chance to transform the picture in Indiana.

Currently, GOP supermajorities hold the state House and Senate. Supermajorities mean one party can make decisions without any input or negotiation with the minority. Independents and members of other parties have had no voice. Many seats have been abandoned to the GOP without a contest.

But in our state, groups like Indiana Rural Summit and MADVoters are recruiting and supporting new candidates to run in historic numbers. One result? In Indiana, every eligible state Senate seat, and 91 of 100 House seats, are contested this year for the first time in three decades.

That’s why we plan to devote much of our “UU the Vote” resources for 2026 to reaching out to Hoosier voters. We may still want to help outside Indiana (like last time), but we’re awaiting more data—and your input.

At our February 15 UU the Vote kickoff, we heard many people’s ideas about democracy’s needs and how we could meet them. Thank you!! Several of you took our short UU the Vote survey too—if you haven’t, please take and return it by March 5. (The survey will remain open through March.)

All survey questions are optional: share what you like. And please feel welcome to send the survey link to others who might be interested. Once the surveys are in, you’ll hear more from us about UU the Vote plans.

Finally, if you haven't already, please consider joining the Showing Up Together email list, which gives members a chance to respond to new developments—via phoning, writing, protesting, etc.—as occasions arise. It's a great way to take action together for our democracy!

Peg Hausman, Democracy Task Force

democracy@uubloomington.org

Dear UU Family,

At this half way mark of our year of support from you, I wanted to write to share some of the impact you’ve had.

We’ve been able to provide postpartum doula support to a family with a mother suffering from severe trauma and postpartum depression whose baby has required multiple hospital admissions for medical challenges. We’ve given her over 50 hours of essential support.

Another family we’ve supported with your help lives quite rurally and is very isolated. When we first started going, our doulas noted mom was completely overwhelmed and struggling on arrival. Now, we see that mom is adjusting better, and we see reduced signs of PMAD (Perinatal mood & anxiety disorder).

These are just 2 of many stories of clients in our doula equity and mental health programs that continue thanks to your support.

Thank you for making this possible.

Julie Duhon, Executive Director

Lately I have been thinking often about the role that poetry plays in my life. This is partly because the poetry appreciation group I belong to is trying a new meeting time. We decided on the third Sunday of the month at 3:00 pm, but two of our members now cannot meet at that time, so we will try the third Sunday of the month an hour later, at 4:00 pm, for March and April. Perhaps one or two of you reading this piece will join us. It’s a simple but relaxing (or stimulating!) thing, to meet with friends on Zoom, bring a poem to read, and listen to the poems others offer. Because each of us is different and because each day is different, every meeting offers new ideas and pleasures to share. Please join us by signing up here. You will receive a reminder with a Zoom link one day in advance. You don’t even have to bring a poem, just come and listen in.

Poetry is important in my life. It strikes me as an act of courage. Maybe you feel this way as well. Choosing the right words and the right format in which to express your ideas and feelings and then sharing those words with others – that takes hutzpah! UUCB will explore the Community of Hope in March, one of the deepest, most central expressions of shared courage possible for most of us. Here is a poem by Tracy K. Smith, the 2017 Poet Laureate, that I find especially courageous and encouraging in these challenging times. I hope that you do, too.

“An Old Story”

We were made to understand it would be

Terrible. Every small want, every niggling urge,

Every hate swollen to a kind of epic wind.

Livid, the land, and ravaged, like a rageful

Dream. The worst in us having taken over

And broken the rest utterly down.

A long age

Passed. When at last we knew how little

Would survive us—how little we had mended

Or built that was not now lost—something

Large and old awoke. And then our singing

Brought on a different manner of weather.

Then animals long believed gone crept down

From trees. We took new stock of one another.

We wept to be reminded of such color.

In case you’d like to add a link to Smith, here is background information (excerpted from Poetry magazine, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/tracy-k-smith):

Tracy K. Smith was born in Massachusetts and raised in northern California. She earned a BA from Harvard University and an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. From 1997 to 1999 she held a Stegner fellowship at Stanford University. Smith is the author of four books of poetry: The Body's Question (2003), which won the Cave Canem prize for the best first book by an African-American poet; Duende (2007), winner of the James Laughlin Award and the Essense Literary Award; Life on Mars (2011), winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry; and Wade in the Water (2018). In 2014 she was awarded the Academy of American Poets fellowship. She has also written a memoir, Ordinary Light (2015), which was a finalist for the National Book Award in nonfiction. In June 2017, Smith was named U.S. poet laureate. She teaches at Harvard University, where she is a professor of English and of African and African American Studies.

Linda Pickle, Poetry Appreciation Group Leader

As we transition from Winter to Spring, it is time once again to think about weather safety. Springtime in Indiana is already a season of unpredictable weather and climate change has created an environment where the conditions can change rapidly, and the intensity of storms can be unexpected. The State of Indiana has designated the week of March 8th as Severe Weather Preparedness Week. There will be a Statewide Tornado Drill on Tuesday, March 10th at 10:15 AM. This is an excellent time to determine whether you can hear a local tower-mounted tornado siren, receive an automated message announcing an alert, and practice your own preparedness plan, whether at home or at work. Follow the link at the end of this message for more information.

I would like to call attention to the adverse weather procedures that are in place for the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington. In the event that the tornado sirens activate during a church service on Sunday mornings, the minister will lead from the pulpit and direct congregants from the Meeting Room using both the single North door and the Main doors into the foyer. The Safety Team Member will assist with evacuation efforts from the Main Entrance Foyer. The shelter locations are the Main North Hallway, RE hallway, and bathrooms on the first floor. All children and RE staff, and any church staff on the second floor will also shelter in the main hallway. We will then monitor the situation and return to regular activities when an all-clear signal is received, or the situation allows us to do so.

On Sundays, when the weather is variable and unpredictable, the safety team member will closely monitor conditions and report to the minister and the board member as necessary. We intend to be prepared to activate the tornado shelter plan should the sirens activate. We are prepared to contact local emergency services as needed.

If there are any questions regarding the UUCB Emergency Shelter plans or locations, please email me by using this contact form or see me at church.

State of Indiana Severe Weather Preparedness: https://www.in.gov/dhs/get-prepared/nature-safety/severe-weather-preparedness/

Matt Stonecipher, Safety Team Leader

Sunday, March 15, 2026
All Ages Service: What’s Next for Us?
Jeff LaBonde

This service will invite all generations into a shared practice of grounded hope and spiritual resistance, finding purpose not in guaranteed outcomes but in the sacred work of showing up for one another and for justice, step by faithful step. This service will feature the Family Choir.

Jeff LaBonde is a Philadelphia native who began working as a Music Minister while in music school. His path has included seminary studies at several institutions, shaped by his significant health challenges with epilepsy, leading to his current full-time Ministerial Internship at the UU Church of Lexington, KY.