Do you know the names of the moons? At this month’s Full Moon Gathering, we learned that March’s full moon is sometimes called the “Worm Moon” or the “Storm Moon.” This time of year, sap is rising, worms are wiggling, beetles are emerging from their wintery tree-bark beds, and Earth is defrosting from her winter slumber. Can you feel it?

As we move towards the Spring Equinox, often called Ostara, may we cherish these final weeks of winter and the energy of balance that it inspires. Depending on where you live, there might be a few more cold days ahead before Spring is fully here. While sunnier days summon us outdoors, running towards Spring, let us also appreciate the lingering cold as Winter waves her final goodbye.

Rituals honoring the Spring Equinox often include celebrations of fertility and rebirth, seed planting, spring cleaning, and setting intentions for growth. Whether you’re drawn to decorating eggs, refreshing your altar, digging in the garden, or opening your windows to let the fresh air cleanse your space, may you find a meaningful way to welcome this new season, with the possibility that it brings.

At UU Ministry for Earth, we’re also waking up and readying ourselves for Spring. We’ve planted seeds that are ready for tending:

• revival of our monthly Full Moon Gatherings (Sundays),
• new weekly drop-in Climate Grief Support Groups (Fridays),
• 1-on-1 spiritual care sessions with a Climate Justice Movement Chaplain (ongoing),
• concluding our first annual Community Read (Tuesdays),
• and readying ourselves for some exciting Earth Month offerings (coming in April), including our much-loved Earth Day Worship Service (April 22nd, 5pm PT/8pm ET).

Amidst our honoring of Earth’s natural cycles, we are also drawn to acknowledge that our nation is once again at war. The horror and grief of late have been magnificent. Amidst this, may we remember that it is a powerful thing to remember what is beautiful during a time of war. While we grieve and rage over conflict in the Middle East, unjustly happening in our name, and while we find ways to resist this injustice, may we lean into beauty as a form of resistance. I often call upon the words of Joy Harjo to strengthen me during times like these:

Oh sun, moon, stars, our other relatives peering at us from the inside of god’s house… Keep us from giving up in this land of nightmares which is also the land of miracles.
We sing our song which we’ve been promised has no beginning or end.
All acts of kindness are lights in the war for justice.

from “Reconciliation, A Prayer,” by Joy Harjo

Earlier this week, during our Full Moon Gathering, a participant shared that the moon’s changing phases reminds her that for every thing, there is a season. A new moon is coming, a new season is coming, and all that exists today will eventually pass away and become something new. In this, may we find hope that the season of war, too, will pass—that if we persistently plant seeds of hope and water them with love, they will someday bloom into a garden beyond our wildest dreams.

With love, and holding on for that future that we dream of,
Rev. Lauren