After a couple of weeks of reflection and time to recover from the final hearing in Napa, I’m beginning to feel a new sense of freedom. I know it’s February, but it feels to me like the beginning of the New Year. With the judicial process behind me, I can begin the real work of honoring Leslie’s life and legacy. I have to resist the urge to plunge headlong into a slew of new projects, recognizing the need for rest and renewal. I’ll be focusing on my new Weight Watchers diet plan and renewing my commitment to exercise and meditative time each day.

February 6-8, I’ll be attending the second in a series of five retreats at the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo. The Courage to Lead” retreats are for clergy and congregational leaders. This will be a time for me to reflect, rest, and renew.

Instead of traveling to Nicaragua this year, I’ve decided to use my study leave time to attend a “Love, Loss, Forgiveness” workshop in Ireland on April 23. The workshop, recommended to me by Dr. John Schneider, is held at a Buddhist monastery located on the coast of Southwest Ireland. My dedication to my Nicaraguan friends continues, and will look forward to a trip next year hopefully with some of you joining me.

The Heartland District Spring Conference will be in Grand Rapids this year, March 30-31. I hope that you will consider joining me for this exciting opportunity to share ideas, worship, attend educational workshops, meet UU’s from the Heartland District, and have fun. Brochures and registration forms are available in the church office or online at www.heartlanduu.org.

General Assembly will be in Portland, Oregon, June 20-24, but it’s not too soon to begin to make some plans. The UUA offers some financial grants to assist with expense so I urge you to consider joining me in Portland. The Ware Lecturer last year was Mary Oliver and this year’s speaker will be Dr. Rashid Khalidi, author of two highly acclaimed Beacon Press books on the Middle East, The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood, named an outstanding title of 2006 by Publishers Weekly, and Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America's Perilous Path in the Middle East. Other outstanding speakers this year will be Amy Goodman from NPR, Kathleen Norris, Ben Cohen, cofounder of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, who will demonstrate that a small shift in defense spending could impact positively America's top domestic priorities in education, health care, and energy independence. Cohen's program presents this shift strikingly with Oreo Cookies and then presents his 50 steps for peace.

I am so grateful for our free faith! In this difficult time, when social witness and peacemaking are so critical, UU’s are encouraged to speak out. We can support our troops 100%, while refusing to support the proposed strategy of escalating this war. As our UUA president, Rev. William Sinkford wrote in a letter to President Bush, “I cannot lend my support as more brave and loyal Americans are sent down a failed path with failed tactics.” Rev. Sinkford’s letter can be found on www.uua.org.

Now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been. —Rainer Maria Rilke

In faith, Cathy