I am still waiting for a normal week of 2026, just one week that doesn’t feel like something is falling apart. It’s April, 14 weeks into the new year, and whether it is bombings and wars, family medical crises, or just a week of snow days when we have a five-year-old at home, it’s always just enough (or often way too much) to feel settled and normal.

(To be clear, I am doing just fine and have all the support and care I need. It’s just important to be vulnerable and honest when it comes to how this community helps even us staff members.)

And… I know I’m not alone in this. These are times that are difficult to live in, even on the best of days. How do we take care of each other in times such as these? It’s a question that is on my mind a lot right now, and I’m reminded that this is the point of community. It’s the caring for one another as we struggle, grieve, worry, and/or feel the weight of all that is happening in the world. It’s holding space for deep listening. It’s meeting immediate physical needs. It’s sending notes of encouragement and care. It’s joining together in collective action for collective liberation. That is the work of community that I see every day in our congregation.

And… I know I’m not alone in that either, because we have more people coming to us for that community every week. One question that I often ask newcomers is “What brought you to us?” The most common answer is “I am just feeling the need for some more community with everything going on right now.” Those folks stay because we do have a great community that works hard to take care of one another, even if it’s not perfect. That’s why we had, yet again, a long line of new members introducing themselves to the congregation at the end of March. There were 16 people welcomed with flowers and applause, recognizing their commitment to do this work and hearing our commitment to them. Part of the commitment that the congregation declares to new members is a promise to “walk beside you, lend you comfort on your journey, and to work together in love and for justice.”

So if you’d like to join our community, our beloved congregation, in a more formal way, let me know! We have a membership class coming up at the end of the month (April 26th) after the 11:15 service. If you are new, or if you’ve been involved for years and just forgot to join, we invite you to be part of guiding the important work of our congregation as a member. If you don’t want to join, that’s okay too. You are still a vital part of our congregation. You’re not alone in this. We will walk beside you.

– Trevor

Trevor Johnson is the UU AVL Connections Coordinator.