RE-INHABITING THE CHURCH Dear Members and Friends, A few weeks ago, Rev. Dana and Yukio Okano shared the first in a series of Between Sundays posts about...
Between Sundays
Good, Good People,
Our country and the world are in a continuing chaotic swirl, and we all want to Do Something! about it. The frustration and sense of urgency is high. And, as I have said a few times now, the chaos is a strategy, the point of which is to scatter the energy for resistance.
We cannot do everything. And we must do what we can.
Folks in our church are already responding, expanding our sense of Sanctuary. Several I spoke about Sunday: Immigrant Love, the Environmental Action Team’s upcoming Climate Justice Revival (which still needs organizing help), designating a gender-neutral bathroom – useful to more than the LGBTQ+ community – and supporting women who get their health care at Planned Parenthood. (Please email me directly if you want to help, even if you told me Sunday.)
Together as a faith community, we have agency. There are things that we Can Do. Each of us can also respond individually, though not alone. There is no dearth of things we can do, groups we can join, protests, and resistance. Relationship is key here – within our church, with other congregations in the Unitarian Universalist Association, and among our community partners.
Here are a few:
- Tomorrow, Feb. 28, there is a call for an Economic Blackout of retailers who are already dismantling DEI programs. More than an economic strategy to significantly harm them, it is a demonstration of our potential power going forward and solidarity, particularly with the African American community.
- Here is a link to info about this: Economic Blackout from a group called UU Class Conversations.
- You can also find out about local organizing efforts with Indivisible Ventura Indivisible Ventura, Justice for All Ventura, or Showing Up for Racial Justice, SURG Ventura County .
- You can volunteer with and/or donate to CAUSE, MICOP, and the 805UndocuFund.
Finally, I implore you to take care of your tender, fierce, and sometimes overwhelmed selves.
The chaos is a strategy to drain your energy and make the resistance less effective.
With so much love,
Rev. Dana
Re-inhabiting the Church
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