Dear Hearth Community,

We have missed you all so much.  These are strange times of increased isolation and and feelings of disconnection.  This has been a unique time of stress for many of us — physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually, and socially.  But it has also at times brought surprising and unexpected blessings.

At the beginning of the pandemic Elder Holland pointed out: "The COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for soul- searching and self-examination, the kind of personal reflection that refines faith, strengthens character and increases our humility before the Lord...a time when we step away from our normal routine, from life as usual, and consider our dependence on God and the blessings from Him we so often take for granted.”   

We hope you’ve experienced some of those blessings from this otherwise difficult time.  Although things are starting to open up in limited ways, it looks like it will be quite a while before we can resume literally meeting around the Hearth.  Recognizing that, we have decided to take Hearth virtual.

Our first Zoom Hearth will be August 23rd at 6:30 Pacific Time.  We hope you will be able to join us for this special evening of re-connecting and hearing from Charlie Bird. Charlie was Cosmo the Cougar at Brigham Young University from 2016-2018. He received national acclaim for his multiple dance performances with the BYU Cougarettes. As Cosmo, he performed on stages across the country, including the ESPN College Football Awards and America’s Got Talent. The year 2017 was dubbed “Year of the Mascot” by NBC Sports in honor of Cosmo’s character and performance.

Charlie was born and raised in Southwest Missouri, and served a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Redlands, California. He graduated from BYU in 2018 with degrees in Global Supply Chain Management and Spanish Studies. Charlie is an active LBGTQ advocate and is involved with multiple nonprofit LGBTQ organizations across Utah and nationwide. Most recently, he became an author when his memoir book titled "Without the Mask" was published by Deseret Book.

Here is the Zoom Link to connect you to the meeting: 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84619156702?pwd=alRNUUxadVE2aWVkb3JZaTNBbFBsQT09

We are looking forward to being together with all of you once again, even if it is only on the screen.

Loves,
Jeff Wise and the Hearth Committee