 Beloveds,
How is it with your spirit? I hope that during this time you are doing things that nurture you. Taking time outside, talking to loved ones, creating art, oh! and minding your altar and focusing your intent for this time. Last week I mentioned our fellowship inspiration word for the year was “Light.” I decided to pull a word for us for the coming week and I picked “Openness.” To be honest, I didn’t appreciate it. What are we supposed to open to? What if things are not going well? But...but… I was thinking we needed a word like “grace” or “power” or “freedom.” So, well...I put it back. And I got “acceptance.” As you who have been picking words know, you can reject the word, but the next word you pick will simply reinforce the first one. So - OPENNESS it is. As I thought about openness in the context of where we are right now. What can openness teach us? The first thing that came to mind is being open to where you are at at this moment. What feelings are you experiencing? What might happen if you are open to experiencing everything? This is what it means to be embodied. It doesn’t mean if there are difficult feelings that we push them down, nor does it mean that we hang on to them. We can just be open. Openness also brought up for me being open to life’s gifts - Where do you find beauty? Where do you experience grace and goodness and love? Openness to what is happening in this political moment may mean seeing what is before us with clarity, insight and eyes wide open hope. What about being open to the Moreness?To Love? To God? Openness to the love and mystery holding us all? Beloveds, Let us be open to the realities and possibilities before us Together… Here are some times for connection in the coming days: See you this Sunday for worship at 10am! Breathe - Push Join me along with the Poor People’s Campaign for these events https://www.facebook.com/anewppc
Election Day Live from National City Christian Church: Morning Session Beginning Tuesday, November 3rd at 5:00amPT/8:00am ET we will be broadcasting our prayerful action live from National City Christian Church in Washington, DC until 5:00pmPT/8:00pm ET. Join this witness insisting that voting is free of harassment and intimidation, and that every vote is counted. Live From National City Christian Church: Evening Session Starting at 6:00pmPT/9:00pm ET on election day, our prayerful action will continue as Washington, DC faith leaders and voices from around the country lead us in a program of prayer, prophecy, and witness for a just democracy now. The broadcast will last until 8:30pmPT/11:30pm ET.
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 For those who may be new to our fellowship, let me explain. Each year at the Winter Solstice we have a ritual in the service of each person picking an inspiration word to guide them through the year. The president of the congregation picks a word for the fellowship. This past Winter Solstice Leona Wolf chose “Light.”
Now, we couldn’t have known that in a few short months we would in a pandemic. We couldn’t have known the hardest of times that were coming. So we rejoiced to see “light” because we were so aware that we were living in the difficult time of a heartless and cruel administration and its enablers, and we want to be a light in the world. We want to let our lights shine. And so we shall. The pandemic hit and so many have been struggling. It feels for some that the light has dimmed or even gone out. In the midst of pandemic and the fascistic threats to our democracy we see that the light has been shown on the deep disparities in our economic system, the pervasiveness of white supremacy and the threats to the most vulnerable. The light has shown what is and has been. But know this - in each of us there is a spark of light - in these times, hold fast to the truth of love and power of resistance. Hold fast to the light of truth, the fire of commitment, and the warmth of community that sustains us in the work of building the Beloved Community. We will let our lights shine, shine, shine! Earlier this week, in my capacity as a leader in the CA Poor People’s Campaign, I was asked by my friend, Clovis Honore, the social justice editor of Indian Times, to write a short paragraph on why we should fight for our democracy.
This is what I wrote: “The so-called United States was founded in the genocide, built by enslaved people, and drenched in blood. The nascent democracy was not meant for everyone - this we know. But in the beginning there was a promise - a promise as yet unfulfilled. In the beginning, and throughout history, those denied the promise nevertheless could imagine its fulfillment in a more just, a more perfect, union. This promise is at the heart and soul of our democracy. Our imperfect democracy is worth fighting for because in so doing we are fighting for the soul of this nation. While there have always been those who would thwart that promise, there have always been those who have fought for it - who have struggled and died for this promise. We are called to be faithful to their memories, faithful to the struggle and faithful to our deepest moral values - uplifting the worth and dignity of all people and justice, equity, and compassion. In fighting for our democracy, we call for an end to systemic racism; poverty; the war economy and the militarization of our communities and borders; ecological devastation and the distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism. In fighting for our democracy we are fulfilling the promise.” I could have said more but I had a 200 word limit - only went over by two. But here it is - we are, indeed, fighting for the soul of our nation. It is the call of our time. It’s not surprising to me that we are in the place we are at this time - there have been forces moving us to this place for decades. We have only to look at the way the religious right, right wing ideologues, and moneyed interests have merged into a symbiotic relationship to advance an agenda that concentrates power into the hands of a few. Religious nationalism is a tool of those interests. I fight for our democracy because Love calls me into the struggle. Love sustains me in the struggle. My Universalist faith says no one is left behind. Everybody’s got a right to live. Everybody’s got a right to thrive. I fight for our democracy because I am indebted to those who have gone before who have fought and died for it. I fight for our democracy because in my cis-gendered white woman privilege I have benefitted from its rewards in ways that my black, indigenous, people of color, and lgbtqia+ siblings have not. I fight for our democracy because I do see the possibilities of dismantling systems of oppression and ushering in a just, equitable, and inclusive world. One of the places where I most fully live that call is in the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. And right now we are being asked to participate in a MORE Faithful Month of actions. I see what so many of you are doing to be faithful - those pictures you sent in of yourselves doing what you can to fight for our democracy through making sure everybody can vote. In times of uncertainty, humans look for stability, for surety, an authoritarian leader who promises security…”law and order.” This is where we are right now as you know. There is, of course, no guarantee, but there is no other choice. As with Esther in the Hebrew scripture, I ask “who is to say we were not called for just such a time as this?” Let us go forth with radical love, fierce compassion, and eyes-wide open hope. And while we’re at it, let’s sing: Everybody's Got a Right to Live In solidarity, faith, and love, rev beth Join me on Sunday October 18th at 2pm for this special event: A California Statewide Webinar: Voting is Power Unleashed! Rev. Dr William J Barber II Sunday, Oct. 18 at 2-4PM PT. Please register at: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_lLrUzuApRQOAxfhCeUdr2w. For more info contact: contact:[email protected]  Beloveds,
Will you breathe with me? How are you? Really? Take a moment if you can - take a breath and know you are loved. So much has gone on in our country that it is dizzying. So if you feel afraid, disoriented, depressed, it is understandable and reasonable. Our community exists to be a place of love, support, and resources for our lives – our individual lives, our collective congregational life, and the wider community of life. I know that many of you are in school, caring for families, working or worrying about work. I am here for you. Our various programs and groups are here for you. With all that you are doing I also want you to rest. We are going into what will likely continue to be a chaotic time in our country. I do not think I need to recount the ways it has been, nor what we might expect. However, the instability of the president and the inability or unwillingness of this enablers in the administration and beyond demands that we do all we can to protect our neighbors, our communities and our democracy. I know many of you are working to get out the vote with locally, with UU the Vote, the Poor People’s Campaign. Let’s keep that up. In the next week, I’ll be developing a plan for Election Day – offering times that I will open my zoom room for drop ins – to breathe, ground and center, pray, rest. In the meantime, join us for worship this Sunday. We’ll be delving into the theme – “What Does it Mean to be a People of Deep Listening?” I want you to join us at 10am and let’s explore together. All love, rev beth |