A friend recently said to me that these are crazy times.  Not only do we need to worry about masks, the economy, social distancing, lining up for vaccinations and rising death tolls – we also find ourselves concerned about people who think the pandemic is a hoax and a forerunner of the apocalypse.  Wow!  How did we get to this point where we have two incredibly different views of the world competing in the same society?  And yet we must learn to hear each other and live with each other – since it is highly unlikely that this is actually the “end times.”   We will explore how we might begin hear each other and create a new and hopeful way of interacting for this Spring.

Rev. Joan VanBecelaere is the Executive Director of UU Justice Ohio.  This past election season, she also directed Ohio UU the Vote and was Chair of the Registration Team of the Nonpartisan Ohio Voter Outreach Committee (NOVOC). Before working for UUJO, she worked as UUA staff and was vice president for student services at Iliff School of Theology, Denver CO.  She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her spouse, Jerry, and 4 felines all named after Hebrew Bible prophets and royalty.