Welcome to November 2021!
Our theme this month is “Holding History”. We just wrapped up October with Samhain and an understanding that the interdependent web in which we exist includes that which has existed throughout all of time. It’s a “web of space and time”, if you will. We exist because our ancestors existed. In the broad spectrum of life, we exist because the events of history brought our ancestors into the places they did to make the decisions they did. Our relationships include our ancestors and all those that have gone before us.
I feel a deep sense of gratitude for my ancestors, but I also have a heart open enough to face the fact that many atrocities were committed along the way– stolen land, stolen people, slavery, genocide– and that history, as it was, has taken away freedom, justice, and the ability to live a healthy life of abundance and joy for many people, mainly Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC).
How do we balance the joys and sorrows of history then? That sounds like a lot to “hold”. Indeed, reckoning with the past and recognizing the privileges that those of us who are white have at the expense of BIPOC folx is heavy and uncomfortable. However, this is a challenge we are invited into if we are to live up to our UU Principles, specifically the 6th Principle that promises to affirm and promote “peace, liberty, and justice for all”, and most notably our 8th principle that states that we covenant to affirm and promote:
“journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
The goal here is not to shame anyone. Shame is when we feel worthless as a person. By no means does that have a place in Unitarian Universalism, as our 1st Principle promises us. Being uncomfortable with the truth is not about shaming, it’s about reconciling and making changes– often difficult ones. It takes courage to face feelings of discomfort (guilt, sorrow, grief) and to change how we live, but the end goal is to free everyone from the shackles of racism and oppression in a web of life in which we all are truly connected. That is why our 8th Principle speaks of “spiritual wholeness” and Beloved Community. We are not whole unless we are all a part of love and justice.
“Holding History”, then, requires that we open our hearts to the truth and let it in. On a personal level, it means we seek out the experiences and realities of others (from our own family and friends to individuals throughout the community) and move forward in an accountable way. On a communal level, it means that we open our eyes to the fact that history has largely been written by white men and thus discounts the experience and reality of BIPOC folx. We need to know the truth in order to change ourselves and our systems so that they include peace, liberty, and justice for all.
Our exploration of “Holding History” this month will help us see new truths and to understand the healing power of facing the truth. We will end the month with discovering how not to hold on to regrets and instead to live into an active hope that sustains life for all.
I look forward to taking this journey with you all.