Yesterday, we opened our Eliot sanctuary – a place of refuge, a place to refuel our weary spirits, and a place to cultivate responses to the happenings of the world that are centered in love. Here are the words I shared:

In many ways, I feel wordless today. There are no words that will wipe away the grief, the frustration, the anger, the bewilderment that so many of us are feeling at this moment.

On Sunday, we read a poem by Jane Hirshfield called “Metempsychosis.” There are a couple of lines from it I want to reread now:

“Yet even today, to look at a tree
and ask the story Who are you? is to be transformed.

There is a stage in us where each being, each thing, is a mirror.”

I have been reflecting on those lines in the past week and leading up to today. A presidential election is a time to ask the story, “Who are we?”

The results of the election – each vote cast and not cast – is a mirror and an answer to that question.

By having the courage to ask the question and to look in the mirror is to be transformed.

Many want to see in our nation’s reflection a people who resist isolation, xenophobia, racism, and hatred and instead embrace a multiracial, multicultural future rooted in collective liberation. Many want to see a people who believe in women and especially black women. Many wanted to see a people who invest in the long-term gains of a green economy rather than reaching once more to guzzle oil and gas – an addiction that is leading us to more death.

Yes, that is there in the mirror in places, but the sum total is tilted towards fear, polarization, and white Christian male supremacy – at least right now on November 6, 2024. But seeing that part of our nation more clearly, seeing that human tendency to “other,” which is our original sin, is the key to being able to be transformed.

Today, I think it is important though not to get too far down the road of analysis… and just to feel the sorrow, the disappointment, the devastation.

Our feelings are the source of our connection to one another and the source of our compassion – we are united by recognizing the tears and suffering in one another. The ability to understand the suffering and fear of those who voted differently than us is also rooted in compassion. If we didn’t think this outcome was possible, what did we miss?

Today is also a day to affirm that some of us have privileges, and some of us are on the margins, and some have identities that place us in spaces of privilege and on the margins depending upon the circumstances.

Today is a day to say: LGBTQ Beloveds, people who might need access to an abortion or to gender affirming care, black and brown beloveds, beloved immigrants who are without papers that offer security – We are here for you and will be companioning you on the journey.

The mirror of last night reminds those of us who carry privilege some or all of the time that companioning you will be really listening, learning, and following your lead.

Whoever won the election, we knew we were still very far from the beloved community. We knew the work of putting love at the center of our lives would ultimately be the same and no matter the results of voter turnout.

Today, we rise and mourn. Tomorrow, we rise and resist. 

—

Following the gathering of music, prayer, poetry and reflection, we went into Buchan Reception Hall to be together, share with one another, hold each other, and for nourishment.

This Sunday will be another such opportunity. Following the worship service, if you are able to stay, join us in Fuller Hall for Souper Sunday. We are providing soup, and we encourage you to bring something to go with the soup to share with others.

Then at around 12pm, we are hosting Drop-In Community Circles – there are ones for parents and ones for people in general. Drop-In on any of the second Sunday, Souper Sundays for fellowship and also to meet in a circle if you have the time. (We are providing childcare for children opposite these circles.)

We will be meeting around the theme of the year, “Join the Journey,” and the topic of the month: Story – which lends itself to this time of processing, supporting one another, and reflection in the wake of the elections. We have some readings and spiritual questions to get the conversations started.

Let me close this column by sharing the words I offered at the end of yesterday’s gathering:
 

“Take courage friends.
The way is often hard, the path is never clear,
and the stakes are very high.
Take courage.
For deep down, there is another truth:
you are not alone.”

– By Wayne Arnason

None of us is alone. 

So go forth and know that even on a day of sorrow, 
there are blessings, and you are among them. 

Go forth and share the blessing of
your compassion and your courage
with one another and with the world.

May it be so.

And blessed be one and all.

In faith,

Rev. Alison