Interim Minister's Update: Our Road Ahead
I loved writing my update about how fun the “Our Road Ahead” sessions are. But, today, I’m rewriting this update to you after the shootings at the high school in Florida. I was just 2 blocks away when the shooting at the Columbine High School started 19 years ago. I spent that day with teens rescued from the school and their parents as they waited in torment for their children to return to them safely. Some did not return, as you know.
I find the ceaseless repetition of these tragedies almost unbearable. Each one takes me back 19 years to all I saw and heard. I find it would be so much easier to ignore all that’s happening around us and just forget it all. But that was a very real day for me – and for all of us. In these times, we’re all experiencing a lot of trauma.
This is why I come to church. To stay awake. To stay connected. To keep on being alive. And to remember joy when the world goes insane. Our ministry together gives me courage and hope in horrible times. First Unitarian is a lived, connected response to the horrors of a nation constantly threatened by violence, by corrupt political and business leaders, and by a bizarre hatred of people based on race and ethnicity. We need each other to stay connected to our lives and communities. These times and this world need our fierce love.
Our children need us to be this fiercely and lovingly connected. They need our example of being alive this way. It’s one big reason why they come to church.
Your staff and your Board of Trustees need your guidance. We’re not here to map the road ahead. That map has to come from you.
The road ahead for our nation is going to be hard. Discovering your road ahead, as First Unitarian, can make that national journey less painful and more life-affirming. And more reasonable. And give hope to our children.
I’m feeling passionate as I write, but these sessions for “Our Road Ahead” are joyful and a lot of fun. It’s flat-out fun to share deep spiritual experiences and dream of how the world will be better because First Unitarian is here.
Sign up. Show up. Now is
not the time to stay home and be disconnected. Show up for fun. Show up for joy. Show up for our children.
With Love and Gratitude,
Joel
