What do you need to feel trust?

Dear LFUU Members and Friends,

I felt joyous as I looked around our full A-frame during last Sunday’s program! There have been times since the pandemic when I was afraid that we wouldn’t fully recover, but now I trust we will. And the numbers support this: besides weekly attendance increasing, we’ve been adding members and regular visitors. And I’m noticing more engagement: more people are sticking around after the program to visit and for longer (even when there’s no food!), more are participating in our social actions, and more are volunteering to help with our activities and committees.

I want you to know and trust that the LFUU Board is not complacent about our growth and engagement and will continue to implement the actions of our Strategic Plan to increase and retain members. We will be sharing what we’ve done and will continue to do at our Annual Meeting on Sunday, May 4, at 10:30 a.m., in lieu of our regular program. All members, friends, and visitors are welcome to attend, but only members may vote. If you aren’t a member and want to know more about becoming one, please talk to Peggy, Marilyn, or Vicki, our Membership Committee, or send an email to info@lakefellowship.org and they will contact you. To vote, you must be a member at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting.

I mentioned Trust a couple times above. What do we need to feel Trust? I think Trust is based on a synthesis of what we know and feel. Of mind and heart, data and intuition. Some people rely mostly on data and others on intuition. And most of us fall somewhere in between. In my Calm app meditation this morning, I learned that in some cultures and languages they don’t separate mind and heart. You may be familiar with this quote Calm used and I love:

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

As always, I’m looking forward to hearing Marnie’s perspective on Trust during her monthly program on our theme this Sunday. However, I will be Zooming in: I just tested positive for Covid-19 for the first time ever! My symptoms started two days ago, on Tuesday, so I may have been contagious last Sunday. Sorry! My symptoms are mild – some congestion, coughing, scratchy throat, and fatigue -- but because of my history of cancer, I am at higher risk for severe complications, so I am going on Paxlovid. (Speaking of Trust: I went to the CDC website for current recommendations for isolation and, sadly, because of recent changes to the CDC, I wasn’t sure I could trust it, but it seemed reasonable and credible.)

What do you need to feel trust? What and who don’t you trust? Why?

In Fellowship,

Laurie Gauer