In my younger middle school years, my English teacher asked us if we wanted to have a pen pal from another country. I did. I was paired with a girl my age, 13, from Australia. We wrote back and forth for several years. I learned about her life and she learned about mine. As high school approached both our lives got busy and we stopped writing. Since that time, I have wanted to have an international circle of friends. Like-minded women whom I might get to know. With whom I might exchange ideas and learn how we are alike and how we are different.
During the pandemic then ICUUW Executive Director Zsófi Sztranyiczki suggested a zoom group twice a month with ICUUW sisters from around the globe, and since then my yearning for an international circle of friends has been satisfied. I now have women I know from Romania, Hungary, India, Australia, France, Kenya, Canada and all over the United States.
When our election in the USA resulted in a disappointment which I feared would limit my freedom, I shared this in a Tuesday meeting in a group where Melinda talked about what it was like to live in a country where freedom was limited and where neighbors reported on neighbors. She said, “I have learned that no one can limit or control what I think.” I learned from her about the freedom of the mind and spirit, which will always be mine. This thought was a priceless gift and when I am despairing of American politics I return to Melinda’s words for reassurance, comfort and faith.
On a recent visit to France, Beth and I met in Paris for lunch. I marveled! I have a friend, a Unitarian Universalist friend who lives in Paris!!! (Of course, now she is back in the US, but she still has Paris energy!)
I love hearing about life in Kenya. In a recent Tuesday morning meeting, I met Alice. She is the woman I have begun to call the Mother of Unitarian Universalism in Kenya. She says she brought our faith to Kenya and shares our Principles and Purposes with both passion and commitment. When our topic was what we want our legacy to be, she said, “Sharing our faith with others and being a great preacher of our liberal religion” is what she wants to be remembered for.
Every session has a topic. Every session is divided into smaller groups where intimate sharing of our lives is possible. I learn something every session. I love hearing the voices, the accents, the ideas and the faith of my ICUUW sisters. I build my life around the two Tuesday morning sessions each month. I am thankful for the possibility of an International Sisterhood to nurture and expand my faith.