Practicing Deep Community, Deep Hope, Deep Belief

On April 16, 2023 I had the honor of sharing my reflections with my church community. Below is a slightly extended and updated version of what I shared. Even with the small additions and updates, there is still so much more to say.

from the left a hand holds a lit match next to a short lit canlde in a flower-shaped candle holder. The background is all black.

Second Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy

Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20: 19-31

Good morning. It is so good to be with you all today. What a week it’s been. I have talked to many people who feel heart-broken, despondent, angry, frustrated, helpless, hopeless. Perhaps you are feeling these, too. We bring this collective pain, as well as our individual struggles, into this second Sunday of Easter. Today’s readings show us practices of deep community, invite us to root in deep hope, and encourage us to practice deep belief in the Christ of transformation, the Christ that has been with us for all time and was embodied for us through Jesus’ resurrection.

In our first reading we hear how the community of disciples shared all things in common and allocated resources according to need. In the second reading from the first letter of Peter and the gospel reading from John, we are invited into hope, into the practice of believing. To be sure, believing and expanding our hope are practices. If you are like Thomas, if you are like me, hope and trust in renewal and resurrection fluctuate and waver, particularly in times like these, when there is so much to grieve.

If you ever struggle to believe in what you cannot see, I offer a simple, but not always easy invitation: broaden your perspective. Orient yourself in another direction. Practice patience. We only need look to our yards and gardens to see that Life is stronger than death. Resurrection is the way of Creation. This isn’t to say we should ignore the pain and harm in the world, but rather to remember that it is only a part of the picture. Then we can seek the places where in the midst of it all, people are taking steps toward care, healing, and restoration. Ask yourself the question: What do I want to see? And then keep your eyes open for it.

I want to see a world of vibrant community in which meeting needs is prioritized over unfettered accumulation. I could easily look around and not see this. AND there are places where people are operating differently from the dominant cultural norms.

Here at St. William we are strengthening our interconnected community through small groups and community retreats. When members of the community express a need, others step up, offering resources in ways that support individual and collective well-being within and beyond our church community. When our LGBTQ+ siblings are hurting, when our Black and Brown siblings are hurting, when our immigrant and refugee siblings are hurting, our leadership makes public statements affirming that they, you, we all are worthy of care; individual community members write letters, rally in Frankfort, collect resources, and otherwise tend to needs. When members of the St. William community saw that free trade did not mean fair trade, Just Creations was born, now 33 years ago. These are just a few of our works of community. These are acts of seeing the Risen Christ and recognizing that we play a role in its joyful fruition. This is believing in the value of salvific acts, even when we’re not sure of outcomes.

What is the world you want to see? I want to see a world in which all people feel safe enough and supported enough that they don’t turn to guns to protect, defend, or avenge. I want to see a world in which violence is not seen as a viable and desirable strategy to meet needs. We are 106 days into 2023 and in the United States there have been at least 161 mass shootings, in which at least 4 people were injured or killed with a gun. I suspect that since the 146th such shooting happened Monday at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville, many of us have been feeling the impact of this ongoing violence particularly strongly. Last night at Chickasaw Park, Louisville experienced another mass shooting- 2 dead, 4 injured- the 158th in the country, the second in a week for our city. This was one of 7 mass shootings that happened on April 15th in the United States, the largest being in the small town of Dadesville, AL, where 4 people were killed and 20 injured at a Sweet 16 party. These are only the mass shootings, not even counting the other injuries and deaths from gun violence.

I do not put my faith in guns or violence. Guns are not part of the story of the Risen Christ. I do not put my faith solely in gun legislation. Stricter gun laws are a stopgap, but they’re only one step toward creating greater collective safety. I put my faith in the multi-faceted and creative expression of people power.

Two and a half weeks ago, I was one of a few hundred people from around Louisville who participated in an anti-violence summit with the guiding question, “What if Louisville were the safest city in the world?” I believe in the people who were in that room- the violence interrupters, the mental health professionals, the restorative justice and conflict resolution teachers and practitioners, the elders who have shown us the efficacy of nonviolence.

I have seen the power of nonviolence on the streets of Louisville, at Standing Rock, in Palestine, in Colombia, in Guatemala, and other places in the world. Erica Chenoweth’s extensive and ongoing research on nonviolent and violent movements gives any doubters evidence to show that nonviolent social movements for change are twice as effective as violent movements and all such movements that have involved just 3.5% of the population have succeeded. 3.5% Echoing the second reading, there is cause for rejoicing here.

The world I wish to see is one in which we are so bound to one another that we don’t need laws to restrict guns because no one has used them to hurt others. I dream of a world in which we don’t have prisons or police forces because we choose other ways of addressing and repairing harm. Beyond St. William we also have models of these, places where small pockets of people are practicing care-filled community.* We can see them. When we struggle to see and believe, may we turn toward one another and lean into the love-filled creative potential of Christ in our midst.   

We shall be known by the company we keep
by the ones who circle round to tend these fires
We shall be known by the ones who sow and reap
the seeds of change alive from deep within the earth

It is time now
It is time now that we thrive
It is time we lead ourselves into the well
It is time now, and what a time to be alive
In this great turning we shall learn to lead in love
In this great turning we shall learn to lead in love

(Listen here to “We Shall Be Known,” by MaMuse, performed by thrive East Bay Choir)

*In future writing I will name some of the places and people that help me hold onto hope.

Riding the Roller Coaster Together

On April 1 I posted this question on Facebook: Who else had been hoping to wake up this morning to hear that the last few weeks were all just a sick extended April Fool's joke? 

Of course, it's not. This is very real. The most apt analogy I know is that of a roller coaster. A very long emotional roller coaster that none of us chose; the entire world is in its cars.  

Some of us are terrified all the time, whether we're upright or upside down, moving quickly or slowly. Some of us are angry that we were forced onto the ride. Some of us are anxious because we don't know what's ahead. Some of us are anxious because we have ideas about what's ahead. Some of us are grieving the things we can't experience while on the ride. Some of us are grieving the cars that derailed. Some of us are sick. Some of us are excited about certain parts of the ride. Some of us are hanging on tighter to our co-riders. Some of us are distraught because we're the only one in our particular car and we can't reach anyone in another car. Some of us feel calm, even though we've never ridden this ride before, hopeful that we'll get through it.

For many of us, our emotional state depends on where we are on the ride- going up a long slow hill, at the peak about to speed down in a seeming free fall, sideways going so fast around a curve that our body is jolted, upside down hoping our restraints don't fail us. Our emotions can change from high to low in the blink of an eye- from calm to anxious to angry to sad to hopeful. Sometimes we experience seemingly contradictory emotions all at once. This is a normal response to not normal times. 

Regardless of where we are on the ride, remember that we are all doing our best and sometimes our best looks fan-frickin'-tastic and sometimes it looks bleak. Our best doesn't always look the same.

Regardless of where you are, you are doing your best and sometimes your best looks fan-frickin'-tastic and sometimes it looks bleak. Your best doesn't always look the same.  

My deep hope is that we will be gentle with ourselves. My deep hope is that we will be gentle with each other. We are all in this together. 

We are all in this together. 

We are all in this together. 

As my mind cycles through scarcity and abundance thinking, I offer myself the above reminder a lot. Many times a day. We are all in this together. We are all in this together. I trust that as I offer care in the way I'm able, I, too, will receive care. Maybe it's easy to trust that because of my many points of privilege. In my life, I have always been ok. Whatever the source, I will continue to practice trusting. It is a practice. An experiment.

The roller coaster is giving us all sorts of opportunities, some welcome, many not, to practice and experiment. With meditation and breathing practices. With new was of connecting to loved ones we can't see. With new ways of disconnecting from our family or housemates when we're spending far more time together than we're used to. With finding activities that bring us joy when things we'd normally do aren't currently available to us. With finding new routines for our days. With finding balance between caring for ourselves and caring for others. With so many areas of our lives. 

As you are experimenting and practicing, I imagine you're also looking for guidance. I know I am. Recently I read this article, Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure, and offer it here as I found the perspective helpful and you might, too. 

And if you're needing a bit of beauty for your ears, I offer this rendition of Imagine. 

Wherever or however you are, I hope you are finding what you need to sustain you. Know that I am here, ready and willing to listen or offer what I'm able. 

We are all in this together.