To our beloved Unitarian Universalist community:
Yesterday morning, we awoke to the undeniable reality that the religious and political right’s decades-long strategy to sow fear and division and pit our communities against one another prevailed on the electoral landscape. While there were victories on important issues in state measures and local races, we cannot deny that the politicians who will hold control of the presidency and the senate have told us clearly their intent to target our communities and further destabilize our democracy.
Beloveds, we are with you in all of it today. We acknowledge that among us are a wide range of emotions, experiences, reactions and needs. We make space for all of us, and we join you in your tears, your terror, your anger.
Dear ones, please know that your Unitarian Universalist Association has been planning for multiple scenarios, including this one, for a long time. We know well that these election results will mean even more threats against beloveds among and beyond our congregations – especially BIPOC folks, migrants, trans/nonbinary/queer people, the disabled community, people with uteruses, and more. In the coming days and weeks, we will be in close communication with our leaders and our congregations about both spiritual and practical considerations as we provide extra support and solidarity to these groups and strategize our next moves to show up in our power as a religious community. If you have immediate questions and needs, please reach out to your congregation’s Primary Contact on your regional staff team.
There is profound rage in the nation right now – among both the staggering number of those who chose to vote for this deadly agenda of domination and division, and those who feel betrayed and dehumanized by it. Fear is also rampant across the country, although how we respond to that fear has clearly led us to respond in wildly different ways. Many of us – particularly those who have never found full hope and safety in the protections of the state – are not surprised at this outcome, even as we are shattered by it.
At the same time, Unitarian Universalists know that democracy and justice are central to, but not defined by, electoral cycles. We honor and celebrate the incredible work thousands of UUs have done through UU the Vote this year, and we remind ourselves that the long-term struggles for democracy, for bodily autonomy, for climate justice and decriminalization are the ongoing imperatives of our faith. We will continue to Side With Love because that is who we are, regardless of the results of any one election. We will center ourselves in Love, and ground our work going forward in our shared values of justice, equity, transformation, pluralism, interdependence, and generosity.
Friends, now is the time to trust your leadership; to be in close communication with your local partners and trusted co-conspirators; to prepare for the influx of people who will walk through your doors seeking comfort, community, connection.
It is a moment for deliberateness, care, thoughtfulness, and coordination. To give space for the magnitude of today, recognizing we will discern together the actions needed in the weeks and months ahead. And it will be imperative for us all, individually and collectively, to reground in the spiritual practices and organizing skills that we have been cultivating for so long.
So we pause, we breathe, we hold one another close. And we ask:
How will Unitarian Universalism meet this moment? Who are we called to be, and what are our deepest values and commitments compelling us to do as the map of the terrain that lies ahead snaps into focus?
Perhaps the greatest gift of belonging to the rooted, dynamic living tradition of Unitarian Universalism is knowing in our bones that we are both the inheritors of a complex and powerful historical legacy and the stewards of a future yet to be imagined.
Today, as it has always been, the unwavering Love at the center of our faith is our greatest balm, our strongest shield, and our fiercest power. That animating core of Love will both demand our rigorous action and offer us the wellspring of hope and courage that will equip us for that work in the times ahead.
Beloveds, we will hold our fear together.
We will honor our rage and devastation and grief.
We will hold one another ferociously, tenderly, faithfully.
And then:
We will move deliberately.
We will invest in trust.
We will claim joy, rest, and sustenance.
We will resist en masse.
We will fight fascism and continue the struggle for democracy.
We will continue to build our movements for justice.
We will focus our efforts and abandon distractions.
We will create safe harbor for those in danger.
We will leverage our resources.
We will sharpen our skills and our analysis.
We will act as if no person is disposable.
We will refuse the politics of division and despair.
We will seek the wisdom of elders and of history.
We will weave deeper connections with our neighbors.
We will fight for our survival.
And we will create the conditions of possibility for our thriving and liberation.
With deep love, faith, and solidarity,
Your Unitarian Universalist Association |
