Over the past few weeks, I’ve been carrying you with me across miles and moments, and I want to share a little of what I’ve been seeing, learning, and feeling.
As many of you know, I traveled to Minneapolis to participate in a public witness last month. It was bitterly cold – the kind of cold that makes your eyelashes freeze. It was also deeply clarifying. Hundreds of people showed up despite the cold and despite the short (six days) notice. We were clergy and lay leaders, people of many faiths. We stood together in the face of policies and practices that dehumanize our immigrant neighbors, putting our bodies in between them. What struck me most was not only the moral clarity of the moment, but the relational infrastructure underneath it: people knew how to mobilize because they had already practiced being in community. They trusted one another, and the showed up when they were needed. There were phone trees, shared language, shared values, shared scripts, official guidelines for engaging with news, and up-to-the minute instructions of how and where to engage in public action. It was an amazing display of mutual aid and collaboration across differences.
Not long after, I found myself in Albuquerque for the UU Minister’s Association’s Institute, gathering with UU ministers from across the country. The learning track I participated in was “Meet the Moment,” and that phrase followed us everywhere – into workshops, hallway conversations, late-night reflection. We talked honestly about the times we are in: the exhaustion, the grief, the urgency. And we practiced skills that help faith communities respond with courage and organization. We talked about how to build real community before a crisis, how to organize so we can mobilize when needed, how to narrate our values-based responses, and how to live into those values. Again and again, the message was clear: love is not just a feeling. Love is a practice. Love is preparation.
Holding these experiences together, I keep thinking about how grateful I am to be learning these lessons alongside you. This congregation understands that love shows up in concrete ways – in care for one another, in public witness, in choosing relationship over isolation. I see you already doing this work, whether you call it organizing or simply showing up for each other.
As I write this, I’m also aware that summer will bring a transition for me, and I find myself already a little tender about it. Leaving will be hard. This community has shaped me more than I can easily put into words, and I will carry you with me – your stories, your courage, your care – wherever I go next. Thank you for being part of my formation, and for continuing to meet this moment with love.
With deep gratitude,
Emma