A few weeks ago, I had a few days of happiness, instead of my usual feelings of despair about the state of the world, following Bad Bunny halftime show at the 2026 Super Bowl. For those of you not familiar with Bad Bunny, he is a Puerto Rican singer/artist with worldwide recognition. His music, all recorded in Spanish, speaks directly and poignantly about the history, culture, and colonial status of Puerto Rico. At the Super Bowl, Bad Bunny presented a Spanish-language show that celebrated Puerto Rico, the vibrant Latinx communities in the US, and all of the Americas. This was a show that uplifted our souls with pure joy.
Fast forward two weeks, I found myself distraught by the news that the US has launched war against Iran. I fear the political instability, the loss of innocent lives, destruction of places, and the dread and alarm facing Iranians. War is not the answer and yet here we are again witnessing massive violence.
What can we do at UUSM? We embrace the joyous moments, fend of the despair, and continue the work of nourishing our beloved community. And we have a lot ahead of us in the next few months. We are just finishing our Dining for Dollars auction—our largest annual fundraiser where we offer many fun events. We will soon carry out our annual stewardship campaign where we commit to how much we will contribute financially to our community. Please respond to the stewardship request by promptly submitting a pledge and being as generous as you can.
We continue the search process for a settled minister. The search committee is currently interviewing candidates. Following the interviews, the search committee will deliberate and select one candidate. This candidate is then presented to the congregation. The congregation will meet this candidate during a one-week visit around the end of April. At the end of the visit, there will be a special congregational meeting where the congregation votes to call this candidate as our settled minister. (Note the congregation, and this includes the board, meets and considers only the one final candidate; only the search committee considers all the candidates). This is an exciting time for our congregation as we move into settled ministry. I look forward to working with you as we proceed.
