“All real living is in meeting."  - Martin Buber, I and Thou

Dear CAN Leaders,

This week I’ve had the privilege of watching many of you — often in real time— make thoughtful, critical decisions impacting the social lives of your respective institutions.  After taking time this week to confer with a subset of the Strategy Team, (Rev. Herbert Davis, Rev. Timothy Conder and Ms. Ketty Thelemaque) and national IAF Co-Director, Mr. Martin Trimble, I wanted to send a brief note about how this moment will impact the rhythm of our organization. 

Many of us are living in the tension of responding wisely and faithfully to a public health crisis, while not fueling hysteria and despair.  And because of our organizing work, many of us are sensitive to how moments like these reinforce the “tragic gap” of who we think we are as a society and who we really are.  While none of us are immune from the impacts of a pandemic, some in our community will feel its’ compounding effects more severely than others.

As it relates to CAN’s office operations, we are a staff of 1 (me) and I am grateful to be able to work remotely from home as necessary.  I will continue to follow the directives of public health officials, government leaders, and my momma (a talented respiratory therapist).

I’ve provided the Strategy Team, Clergy Caucus Co-Chairs, and Action Team leads with access to our Zoom account to make Durham CAN meetings accessible to those of us with internet, computer or phone access. We’ve begun reimagining how our Durham CAN University sessions scheduled for April 2nd and April 4th could be delivered online. We’ll be in touch with meeting updates, changes, or access instructions in the coming days and weeks. If you have questions, just give a shout.

Peace to you all,

T