March 21, 2021

One Year Together-Apart Video

One Year Together-Apart Video

One Year Apart-Together By Deborah Ann Tripoldi

Gather here!
Gather where?
Closed doors,
Shut in,
Open windows,
Logged in.
Sunday mornings now on screen
With two revs, a cat and an intern too.
Still Markus plays, the choir sings,
All together individually.
A chalice lit in every home
The virtual life it has become

One year ago,
March 8th it was,
That one last hug.
Now it’s PJs, laptop with a mug.
Our new Sunday best
No formal dress.
A living room space,
Now a sacred place.
Who knew how long?
No human touch,
Nor seats, nor pews.
Parked in bedrooms, basements too.

Squared into connection,
Tiny faces
Stacked and cubed.
Zoom and Breakout,
Groups and teams.
Social justice not at rest.

One year apart
Together from the start,
As were those
100 years ago.
Tragedy struck our sacred ground.
Fierce flu nor fire brought them down.
Like a phoenix emerging from the flames.

Although COVID may try,
Stronger we rise,
Resilient we are,
Reimagine; redesign.
Our sanctuary transformed.
Wires, cables, cameras too,
Wrapped around every room.
A pandemic is no match for us UUs.
Live from UU Montclair
Soon we will say,
In person and streaming,
Spiritually connected in every way.