Candidating “fortnight”
Continues this week
Rev. Lissa Gundlach is our candidate
Preaching May 3
Numerous meetings on the church calendar
One more Town Hall
Saturday, May 2nd 10:30am-12pm 
This is not the Town Hall Council – that’s May 28, I believe.
moderated by the MSC.
Open to all
ask questions of the candidate.
Join by computer or telephone
Links are on the church calendar

Voting
Next Sunday, May 3rd,
Congregational meeting at 11:30 on Zoom 
Join by computer or telephone
Info is posted on the church calendar (uuclb.org)

Budget
Met with Finance Committee last night
One more budget development meeting
Budget hearing on May 9
Information on church calendar
Congregational Meeting to approve budget
May 31
Significant deficit
Lots of unknowns
Looking for congregation to approve using existing sources of money
And possible loans (from CARES Act and F&M Line of Credit)

Personal
Most of the week I will attend a series of Zoom meetings for Interim Ministers
Talking about churches looking for interims next year.
So I’m looking for my next job
And I will be happy to share my plans with you
Once I know more myself.

2)  Message

Quarantine fatigue

Are you tired of staying at home?
I am

Are you ready to get back to normal?
Go to the beach
Go the theater, or a baseball game?
Go out to a restaurant?
Come back to an in-person worship service at the church?
I am

But if the Governor and Mayor allowed businesses to open up tomorrow
Would you go out as before?
I wouldn’t

I’m not waiting for a political decision
I’m waiting for a public health decision
I’m not willing to put my health at risk
Or the health of my loved ones at risk
Because the economy is suffering
Or even worse
Because some people are simply tired of quarantining
Or bored
Or because they imagine the lockdown is some kind of liberal plot about American freedom
Or they believe the virus is a hoax.

Now to be clear
The economy is a concern
And people are suffering because of loss of jobs
And living in quarantine conditions does have its own negative effects
On physical and mental, and spiritual health.
So it’s wrong to dismiss economic and mental health issues

But it’s important to prioritize our values
And life is the most important value
Above any temporary loss or hardship
We can address negative effects of isolation
We can repair a damaged economy
We cannot bring back the dead.

Friedrich Nietsche wrote
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

I first learned that quote from Victor Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search for Meaning”
Describing his experience in German concentration camps
The prisoners who had a strong “why”
Did much better than those who seemed to have nothing to live for
A child to care for
A book to write
A dream of any kind
Frankl’s advice was that identifying a strong why in our life – meaning
Was the foundation of any psychological
Or spiritual
health

So we bear up with the hardships of quarantine much better
If we are clear about the why
Why are we doing this?

We are doing this
Because living in quarantine conditions
Temporarily
Is as an act of caring for our loved ones
And love for all people

We are doing this because
when we do back 
To the beach
To the theater
To the baseball stadium
To our favorite restaurant
To Wylder Hall
We want to be well
And we want all of our loved ones to be with us.

I’ll see you tomorrow 1pm