 Unitarian Universalist AssociationNovember 2024 |
Dear friend,
We gather on
the morning after, in a time of great fear and devastation and very real risk
to ourselves and our Beloveds. There is so much that we cannot yet know. Even
if we know the shape and fear the character of our next governmental
administration, we cannot fully know what is yet to come in this country.
What I do
know, beyond any reasonable doubt, is that we are a sanctuary people. We can
make that claim. From the powerful efforts of our elders in the middle of
the twentieth century through to our congregations and communities offering
shelter to migrants today. Whether harbor or pink haven, our homes,
sanctuaries, and even our national headquarters model what it means to offer
solidarity, shelter, and asylum in the face of what many of us cannot begin to
imagine. These are times that will be defined by the continued and increased
need for organizing, and a faithful commitment to mutual aid.
I want to
invite us all back to what we learned in our earliest understandings of what
humanity itself means. We draw our purpose from the call to honor and uphold
the non-negotiable sacredness of each and every person, of Earth, and of all
beings, bound up together in an abiding love that rests in the call to
justice.
So many of us
are afraid today. Fearful for the safety of our loved ones and overwhelmed by
the public plans to deny our basic human rights. I invite us to feel the
reality of that concern, and to hold one another in our grief. I also want us
to remember how very many others in our UU communities and across the nation
share our values and prepared all the way through this election for what might
be asked of us through the remainder of this month and beyond. Look to your
community partners. Draw on all you have learned through UU the Vote and other
opportunities to work for electoral justice. Know that you are never
alone.
Your UUA will
be with you this day and for all the days to come. We have been planning for
this possibility and are here to offer best practices for safety, theology,
spiritual practice, and communal care. We also know that people may come to our
congregations in perhaps larger numbers this weekend and in the coming weeks.
We acknowledge the additional stress and strain this creates for so many of
you, and we are deeply grateful for the ways you can shift to meet the needs of
this moment.
Together, we
will rest in the strength of our covenants and bring that love, generosity,
sacred witness, and values driven interdependence to bear as we continue to
work toward a future where our liberation is collective, and all of our people
can count themselves whole.
Let us keep
working toward all that we hold most holy together.
Amen, Ashe,
and Blessed be.
Rev.
Dr. Sofía Betancourt
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