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Our editorial team knew for months that we wanted the spring cover of UU World magazine to feature Meet the Moment, the movement-wide effort calling Unitarian Universalists to pay close attention to the world around us, make meaning of what we’re seeing, and take grounded, courageous action shaped by our deepest values.
We also knew for months that we wanted the cover image to be a wave: not a looming tidal wave, but a wave of powerful possibility, one built by our own courageous, creative momentum that moves us toward what’s next with intention.
So imagine my shock of recognition one evening as I turned the pages of the beautiful new Skinner House children’s book adaptation of Peter Mayer’s beloved hymn, “Blue Boat Home,” and there it was: Illustrator Sue Todd had rendered an adult and child sailing in a blue paper boat atop a cresting wave, the galaxy above and the deep sea below, leaning together at the bow of their ship as though taking in all the endless potential that lies before them.
It was more than just a wave. It was a story.
Peter Mayer’s beloved hymn “Blue Boat Home” has been adapted into a children’s book illustrated Sue Todd.
In this issue of UU World, we share what we’ve learned about Meet the Moment through the lens of storytelling. By exploring each of the framework’s three guiding questions, we see how our most urgent needs are being assessed with truth and care, and how congregations are living out the goals of Meet the Moment in their communities and with each other.
Like those figures in the paper boat, we are navigating uncertainty with imagination. Making vessels from what we have. Traveling together through a world that can feel wondrous, volatile, and in need of our fiercest care.
We live in a time that calls for courage, again and again. Across the country, UUs are meeting a moment defined by political, cultural, and spiritual challenges. We are showing up—grounding our work, defending democracy, expanding welcome, and nurturing one another. Our magazine tells some of those stories.
It also lifts up some of the joyful ways we persist. I am thrilled to showcase the extraordinary Sing Out Love, our new virtual hymnal, and the people who brought it to life through their work and their music. And of course, we sat down with Peter Mayer and Sue Todd to talk about their remarkable new adaptation of “Blue Boat Home.”
My hope is that this issue helps you feel the wave of change beneath you, steady and surging as we greet the infinite sea before us, carrying us together into the future.