Beloved friends of LaSalle -

This week our family returned from a wonderful adventure visiting six cities in Europe that we have an ancestral heritage connection with. We spent lots of time moving around on planes, trains, metros, walking, and boating soaking in the feel of new spaces that reminded us of our family's past, and planted seeds for our future. The kids already decided which cities are the top of the list to visit again (Oslo and Vienna), and Peter and I both noticed how much different countries felt tethered to our growing up, to our family stories, and to values we want to engender more of in our home.

Norway was our last visit, and we spent one of our nights there watching the World Cup FIFA match featuring Norway vs the Ivory Coast. It was an incredible thing to hear shouts and cheers echo up and down the street outside our window every time Norway scored or a good call was made; and when Norway won, the singing, yelling, and loud cheers went on for awhile! Even though it wasn't our neighborhood, we felt connected to that win; even though I had never heard of Erling Braut Haaland until that week, we then learned about this young football star who was gaining respect and followers around the globe with his goofy and humble personality and incredible soccer skills. Something about these international FIFA games drew a lot of people together as they highlighted our shared humanity. Something about traveling outside the US and finding connections in the wider world highlighted our distinct and shared values within our family back home. There are so many surprising ways that we are gifted glimpses of the stories that shape us, and we are reminded that we are connected to different types of people all around us.

I am so grateful for this recent time our family had to travel and share stories, matches, and memories together; I'll be sharing more stories from our adventures in the months to come I am sure! And I am also so grateful for the ways that trips, vacations, museums and matches, and so much more can remind us of both our uniqueness, and our connectedness. I am praying that you and yours find spaces for both this summer season - feeling your connectedness to others, and sensing reminders of your own story and its roots. What a gift to be able to explore those and share them with each other!

With deep thanks

- Rev Doc Liz

Connected Across Continents

We Don't Celebrate Alone