Today it happened. The issue of Alive Now arrived. I read the Managing Editor's introduction inside the front cover and the "Last Page" -- fittingly a poem by frequent-contributor Jan Richardson -- as I always do. Then I set it aside. I will savor it in its own time, during March and April. Recently I received a refund check from Upper Room Ministries for the balance of my subscription. I send the check back with a note that I would MUCH PREFER having Alive Now than any refund. I asked them to look for a way to restore Alive Now as a living devotional guide. I have walked with this publication for more than two decades. The cover has a Celtic look. Beautiful. Thank you, Beth and other editors, writers, supporters.
-Deborah, Shared on Facebook It was a year ago in January when we learned that the Weavings journal would be brought to a close. The subscriptions had dwindled down to just a few and income from subscriptions didn't begin to cover the costs of production. In June, we made the same determination for Alive Now. The last Weavings -- November/December/January -- arrived in people's homes in October. The last Alive Now -- March/April -- is in the mail right now. Since the first of this year, I've slogged through days like I was trying to walk through an ocean. I was weighed down by my grief and the grief of readers, world-wide. I have nearly completed all the tasks of "stopping." I realize, now, that it has been like journeying with two best friends in the process of their dying. Alive Now and Weavings, in hospice care, are nearing the ends of their journeys. I am so grateful that I had these two friends for so long. And I'm so sad to see them go. But I'm weary from the process of watching them end, from responding to the grief of myself and others. From taking care of the last collection of articles, the last editing, the last contracts and check requests, the last printing, the last delivery of the copy to the office. I am nearly finished with the last of everything ... and I'll be able to turn over the future of these fine publications to the movement of the Spirit and the creativity of The Upper Room staff. I'm so grateful to all of you for walking with me, for your incredible loyalty through the years, for your writing and your photography. For your purchasing and your gifting. For your support and enthusiasm. And for your feelings of loss, your solidarity, during this season of grieving. We will be conducting a ritual of honoring and releasing Weavings on February 21 at 2:00 p.m. (CST). I hope you will think of us during that time. Thank you all for your support. We at The Upper Room welcome your prayers as we discern our next steps. And I'll be moving on to a new role at the office. And, like Julian of Norwich reminded us, "All shall be well. And all shall be well. And all manner of things shall be well." Thanks be to God for these two friends, Weavings and Alive Now.
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