A Message from Ross Martin

You gave me a place to learn about racism and white supremacy culture at a critical juncture in the world’s reckoning on the meaning of social justice. Alison is deeply involved in this work in her professional life. So I was able to come into our relationship with some modicum of understanding of the complex issues of race in our society and go even deeper into this space with Alison.

You gave me the opportunity to use some of my clinical and life experiences to facilitate OWL classes for our amazing 8th graders, where I learned far more than I contributed.

You gave me so much fun(!) in the form of auction item events, amazing dinners and choir pot lucks, movie nights, social gatherings, bike outings, beer brewing, camping adventures, cornhole competitions, museum tours, hold ’em showdowns, creativity connections… the list goes on.

You literally gave me a home when it was time to become “amicably unmarried.” The Lewman’s cottage—this cozy space in the woods that once served as a cow barn in the 1700s and, much more recently, as Lary Lewman’s recording studio—proved the perfect place for me to weather the pandemic… and transition into singledom… and transition again into this new, wonderful love relationship with Alison. That magical “ski lodge at a summer camp” gave us the inspiration to create a nature-infused space of our own that we could share with others. Nancy and Lori were incredible hosts and neighbors!

You gave me a place to serve in countless little ways—from hanging pictures, to helping people figure out how to get on Zoom for the first time, to working with Sara, Ken, Lindsay, Laurie, and Kim on the Staying-In-Touch Team in the earlier days of the lockdown, to hosting quarantined travelers who were stuck abroad at the beginning of the pandemic, to providing amplification equipment for youth group gatherings and for two youth-led rallies in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. Each one of those small acts of service returned great blessings to me.

Perhaps most importantly (though it’s hard to extract this impact from all the others), you gave me a renewed sense of spirituality and personal growth through years of worship services that were as varied as they were profound. I still keep a large pile of Order of Service printouts from every service I attended (back in the Before Times). Though currently packed away in a box in our new cabin basement (in a space reminiscent of that closing scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark), they serve to me as a reminder of the cumulative effect of your soul-nurturing work on me.

Just typing out this litany of connections with all of you is a profound experience. As I reflect on the countless magical moments we have shared, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude, love, and joy—and just a small measure of sorrow as I step into this next chapter. My sorrow is assuaged with the knowledge that I am not leaving UUCC behind, but will be carrying you all with me in my heart for the rest of my days.

What is the point of this exercise of remembrance and gratitude? I wanted to share both my deeply heartfelt thanks and my intentions for a future relationship with UUCC.

I will stay a lifelong friend of UUCC, but will be shifting my UU attention over time to All Souls in DC, where Alison is a member. I will keep working on the One World Coffeehouse in a limited capacity and hope to build some musical bridges with All Souls and perhaps a Berkeley Springs venue in the future.

Throughout this email, I’ve dropped hints about Alison for those of you who haven’t yet had a chance to meet her. We’ve been in a serious relationship since the day we first met some eight months ago through an online dating app that lasted all of about four days on my phone. The “Parade of Swaggering Narrators in My Head” or (PoSNiMHs as we enjoy calling them) started shouting in unison that this was someone who could be “the One.” Once we met in person, it was pretty much go deep or go home. We’ve hardly spent a day apart and have traveled, communed, prayed, and, yes, bought a home together in the days since. I do hope you’ll find the opportunity to get to know this remarkable soul soon.

This is all to say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” My heart is full with the love you have all shared.

Yours on the journey,
Ross (and Ali)
rossnalioop@gmail.com