A Note from Kit - Autumn 2019

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I can’t believe we’re celebrating our nineteenth Churchmouse anniversary this September. I was nineteen (and sooo grown up!) when I met my husband John forty-three years ago. As he would say, “It feels like we’ve stepped through a rift in the space-time continuum.” And yet so much still feels new, so much remains to do together.

If you’re present on social media (or any media for that matter), you will be aware of the important conversations taking place around inclusivity and racism in our yarn community. It has been a profound wake-up call for me, a challenge to my comfortable ways of seeing myself in the world. And long, long overdue.

I have struggled with how best to make (and post) a “company statement.” A company, after all, is not a person. A statement can only reflect, and often poorly, the values of the people in it. As owners of Churchmouse Yarns & Teas, it’s up to me and John to clarify our deepest beliefs, knowing that our values will reflect on everyone in our company. And we will be asking everyone in our company to live out these values every day they are at work. So it is important that we are clear.

And while this initially seemed like it should be simple, the more we listen and read and watch and learn, the less certain we become that our answers to the hard questions are “right” or “good” or “true.” Our frailties, our short sightedness, and our lack of deep understanding seem to grow. And so we continue to listen humbly. And to try to see more clearly what we hadn’t seen.

As I grapple with the pressure—valid pressure to be sure—to take a stand, I meet face to face with my own fears and failings. I have work to do. I will continue to learn from those around me who are steps or leaps ahead in their own work. Until we can clearly take our own stand, I’m grateful for their brave examples.

It can be easier to shut down or get distracted when confronted with overwhelming questions. A wise friend recently suggested that I begin to journal (another thing that scares me!). She said, “You know, with pen and paper. So your heart is actually connected to your hand.” A helpful place to practice discernment, and to ask myself the questions that won’t be solved by logic alone.

Meanwhile, one thing I know for certain is that we’re all in this together.