Thank you to everyone who wished me well on my 3-month sabbatical and welcomed me home with open arms this last week. My time away was renewing and I’m returning with refreshed focus and determination for our work together in these very challenging times. It was a joy to come back for the fabulous turnout for the No Kings protest last Saturday and Sunday’s beautiful Shower Project volunteer recognition and celebration of our Shower Coordinator Kelly’s completion of graduate school! Thanks to every congregant and staff person who not only covered my ongoing work tasks, but also took our community efforts into new territories. What a gift it is to work and adapt with you all.

I’ll fill you in about my sabbatical below, but first I want to share some news. Before I left on break, I negotiated both an increase in my salary commensurate with my professional experience, as well as a decrease in my work hours. Beginning in July, I will work 3 days a week continuing as Director of Social Justice. This change is simultaneously a cost-saving measure for the church and affords me more time to explore other passions and commitments in the community. My work days will be Monday-Wednesday, flexing some Sundays for Wednesdays. I want to thank Rev. Alison, the Executive Team, the Board, and the congregation for supporting this professional transition. 

A truism that has accompanied me these last few years is, “The only constant is change.” I embrace that truth while also choosing to stay connected to community and movements that remind me of daily joys and deeply grounded values. Not only my place of work, First Unitarian has been a spiritual and community home for me, and I am so glad to stay alongside this congregation as we continue to put love, yearning for justice, and care for our community into practice. 

Now, if you’d like to learn a bit more about my sabbatical, read on… 

The main event was exploring the country in a 2002 Eurovan camper I co-purchased with Susan D. That journey was bookended by meaningful family visits. In March I traveled with my spouse and brother back to Cleveland, Ohio, for the 50th anniversary celebration of Preterm, the abortion clinic our Mom co-founded and directed for 25 years. I also had the opportunity to spread some of my mother’s ashes at our family’s former farm and at the dogwood tree dedication Preterm did in front of the clinic. Just before my sabbatical ended, I flew back to Maryland with my brother to be with my Dad who has Alzheimer’s and is now on hospice. That I was still on break gave more spaciousness to the visit so we could all settle in together with music and stories and presence. 

For 62 days from March 29 – May 26, I drove to the East Coast and back with my dog, approximately 11,000 miles. I did not listen to the news. I took all of my work notifications off of my phone. I listened to books and music and had wonderful conversations. I camped, hiked, spent time with my spouse, daughter, family, and friends. I revisited old haunts and places new to me. Though driving 6-8 hours in a day is not restful (I picked up some caffeine habits again), overall, the journey was renewing in ways I’m still discovering.

The first leg was with my spouse, Bill, exploring the Pacific Northwest rainforests and heading on down to the Southwest deserts, mountains, parks, and monuments. We even got to participate in the April 5 Hands-Off protest with 20,000 other indignant Americans in Tucson, AZ. A couple other highlights were watching the full moon rise in White Sands National Park – breathtaking! – and learning about the history and legacy of the Chief Cochise and the Chiracahua Apache in Southeast Arizona. 

I was on my own for 2 weeks after dropping Bill off in Albuquerque. I hightailed it across northern Texas, Oklahoma (with a quick stop at Black Wall Street in Tulsa), Missouri, West Virginia and Ohio (including a night at my Grandmother’s farm near Tippecanoe, Ohio) to Philadelphia for another protest with dear friends. Then journeyed up the East Coast to visit friends and family in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. 

Another highlight was picking up my daughter and her boyfriend in NYC on their return from 7 months of gap year travel – an amazing journey of their own! For three weeks, the three of us (and the dog, of course) visited national parks, museums, friends, and family in New York, Washington, DC, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky, before dropping my daughter’s companion off in Nashville. It took another eight days for my daughter and me to cross back through Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon with wonderful stops with friends and to visit my in-laws in Kansas. I’ll cherish that special month with my now-adult child as our mother/daughter relationship matures.

The trip was an epic and memorable adventure. I’d love to compare stories and observations with other travelers, so feel free to chat with me when we see each other at church. Thank you all for your support and messages of love these months. I am grateful to return to such a welcoming home!

Blessings,

Dana Buhl