Alvin M. Keeling 
November 4 — Julian of Norwich, a medieval mystic who was the first known woman to write in English, frequently responded to the tumult of her time with “All will be well.”
This reminder especially resonates in a time of polarization and uncertainty, says Santa Fe actress Linda Loving. She will perform the solo piece Julian on Sunday November 6th. The play is presented as highlighting Julian’s radical hope, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Next year will mark the 650th anniversary of Julian’s receipt of the visions she would write about in Revelations of Divine Love, which has all-too-familiar themes of plague, economic hardship and political upheaval.
The Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble, under the direction of Linda Raney, will sing Daniel J. Hall’s Illuminations of Julian of Norwich at the start of the show. Aimer estimates she’s performed the play more than 100 times and did it once before in Santa Fe, in 2015. She was so taken with northern New Mexico that she moved here.
“Part of what drew me to Santa Fe was a quest for satisfaction,” says Loving. “You know, because happiness isn’t always contentment. And so there’s just this wonderful shift in deep contentment – which I learned in part from Julian.”
Why this fascination for Julian?
“She’s very humble, never points to herself,” Loving says. “She knew she was a conduit for it [message of] love and wisdom, and that was in the Middle Ages, when it was all about fear, guilt and punishment. Here she says, “You can pray directly to God yourself. God does not see your sin.'”
Although she is the only actress on stage, Loving portrays several characters during her 75-minute runtime.
3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe, 208 Grant Ave.; free but an offering is encouraged; the reception follows the performance, fpcsantafe.org
