Jennifer Skarda McCann

Some of you know that I was raised as a Unitarian Universalist in Texas and didn't attend church for many years. In fact, it wasn't until my husband and I had settled here in New Jersey and were looking for a church for religious education for our son that I found Beacon. I knew within just a few visits that we found a place that could really be a home for us. 

I started out volunteering in the RE program and eventually moved on to working with our junior youth and our youth groups. When I first started teaching, I remember feeling very nervous about standing up in front of a group of unfamiliar kids and teaching a curriculum that I had only read the night before. At that time, one of the staff members said that it was OK if the kids did not seem all that engaged in the discussion or particularly interested in each individual lesson. What was most important was to keep showing up and listening and that eventually that would mean everything. It’s advice that I passed on to other parents when they begin teaching RE. In fact, I passed it on just this fall when we transitioned to virtual learning and were teaching a Twilight Zone based class to our junior youth. 

I know that logically showing up for each other and being present is how we build relationships, but this past year has made that ever more clear to me. In the past year, my family has moved and uprooted our kid from the only school system and friends that he had ever known. We’ve also taken on caring for elderly relatives who moved in with us. We’re worried about our aging parents who live on other coasts of the country with uncertain medical prognosis and no way for us to get to them. And all the while we’ve been running two small businesses and have been very uncertain of what kind of income, if any, we would have for the year. 

I know these problems are not unique and in fact they pale in comparison to what some of our friends and neighbors have been going through in this difficult year. But every step of the way for us, our Beacon friends have been checking in on us and reaching out and just reminding us that we have a community of support and that has made all the difference letting us cope with this year. It’s helped us transition to virtual school. It’s helped my son find strength in new technologies and new ways of connecting with people and it’s allowed my parents to see their grandchild in a virtual Christmas pageant, which is the only time they’ll get to see him this year. 

In fact, last month, it was my son’s 15th birthday and we had found a way for him to sort of celebrate with his friends and make it feel like it was a special birthday for him. At the last minute, Dr. Tuli Patel and our own Jamaine Cripe and a few of his Beacon friends showed up in our front yard just for a short outside visit to wish him a happy birthday. Late that night, he told me that it wasn't until his Beacon friends showed up that it really felt like his birthday and like it was a special time. 

I know that seems like a really little thing but over and over again this year, our community has made our problems their problems and our celebrations their celebrations. It’s why even in a year when we can't give what we normally would and we know that our Beacon community is carrying us more than they normally do, my family is still happy to support Beacon in whatever way we can.