Minister’s Letter 11/1/2024
Dear Friends,
I am wondering how your heart is. We are in a scary moment and many of us are sitting on pins and needles wondering what is going to happen with the presidential election. While I am unable to endorse a specific candidate at church, we can talk about our values. Unitarian Universalism affirms the right to access abortion, we see this as life affirming healthcare that any pregnant person deserves to make a choice about. We believe in democratic processes where everyone who is affected by policies and practices should have the right to influence them and that the decisions made by the collective should be respected. We believe that our world should be a just and safe one for everyone who lives in it where the leaders of the world are guided by empathy, compassion, and care. We believe in challenging white supremacy and Christian nationalism recognizing that those are systems of violence that tear at the fabric of our inherent worthiness. We know that no leader is going to do all of the things we believe in and that we must be relentless in our advocacy for justice and equity. The work ahead, no matter who gets elected as our president, is great and will take all of us.
How are you managing your anxiety? How are you taking action to influence this election in a way that will lift up your Unitarian Universalist values? Our Association has a campaign that calls us to “vote love.” How are you making that choice not just for yourself but to engage others around you? Here in Chicago, we are not only voting for a new president, we are voting for a new school board. How are your values informing the way you make decisions about your vote here? What kind of decision makers do you want to see on the school board to ensure our city’s children have the kind of education they deserve and where all those who work for the schools are treated with respect? Whose voices are you listening to as you make your decision?
We have gone through uncertainty before. We will likely not know the outcome of this election on Tuesday, November 5th. I want to be sure you know that you are invited to watch the returns in our sanctuary. In a moment like this, it is important to be with people we care about. You are not alone. No matter the outcome of this vote, we will be here at church the following Sunday, the Sunday after that, and the Sunday after that. We will not be in this world alone; we will be in this world as a collective with our values still intact. What do you need to feel cared for in this moment? How can your church community best hold you? What can I do to offer comfort and nurturing love? I promise to accompany you through whatever happens next. I promise to hold space to ground us in our faith. I promise to find ways we can take action to build up the world we dream of. What can you promise those who share your church with you?
The word “fascism” is being used quite a lot lately. We have seen fascism before and people have resisted. People have resisted across the generations and worked to ensure those who abuse power are taken down from their thrones. However we encounter fascism, we will do so with the strength of our faith and a shared knowing that we can be the architects of a more just society. You are not alone, read it again, you are not alone.
In faithful solidarity,
