Dear Congregation,

Greetings from Portland, Oregon, site of the General Assembly (GA) of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).   You all have been in my thoughts in the wake of the Supreme Court majority’s overturning of the right to abortion services.

This a dangerous, deadly decision, especially for adults or youth who live in states that now will outlaw any kind of abortion service, even for pregnancies resulting from sexual abuse and assault.  It will be lethal for people who don’t have the money, time, or freedom to travel to a state where they might get access to services.  And the extreme and repressive turn of the Court is threatening to so many of the rights and liberties which so many have worked so hard to achieve.  Feelings of outrage, disbelief, fear, and sadness are understandable.

At GA I am surrounded by people who share these feelings.  Friday afternoon I joined the four lay delegates here from our congregation at a protest rally in downtown Portland.  I know that rallies took place in Sacramento and most other state capitals, cities, and towns.  Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, our UUA President, spoke at the rally with passion.  UUSS member Celia Buckley recorded Susan on a phone, and you can see it below or on the UUSS Facebook page.

Directlink: https://youtu.be/tPrZn7GVD_o

Amid the anger and fear, when we gather together, we can also find the fierceness to go forward. We can find the courage to do so, together.  Solidarity is always necessary to protect dignity, equity, and liberty for everyone.  I hope you will reach out to others.  As much as we might want to turn inward, the days ahead will be a time to be connected in community.

Tomorrow, we have a wonderful morning planned at UUSS.  At 10:30 we have a gifted guest preacher.   At 10:15 I will be co-leading Religious Education ArtWorks with Yoga teacher Manuel Padua. Manny invites kids and youth of all ages and any adults in their families to join us.  Bring a mat if you have one and wear loose-fitting clothes.  If you attend the service on site, I’ll see you at coffee hour.  If you’re online, please be in touch with me this week.

Moreover, amid the rising tide threats to democracy, it is important to act.  Our UUA has a number of ways for you to plug in through UU the Vote, with ways to participate by phone and computer.  In particular, our UUSS members are working with Reclaim Our Vote, which you can read about in the June 17 biweekly Summer Message.  We want everyone in every state to have access to their constitutional voting rights.

As I hold you in love and look forward to seeing you soon, I leave you with this new poem by UU minister Lynn Ungar.

You are not wrong to be furious. You are not wrong to be scared.                                                                        You are not wrong to wonder what we do today and tomorrow and tomorrow.

You are not wrong to notice the brilliance of the sky.

You are not wrong to think of your daughter.  You are not wrong to imagine people you will never know.  You are not wrong to think “This doesn’t really affect me” and to know it really does.

You are not wrong to look for pictures of puppies or kittens or flowers or trees.                                            You are not wrong to try to massage the ache out of your own heart. 

You are not wrong to yell or cry or scram or hide under the covers in your bed.                                              You are not wrong to turn to your neighbor and say: “What do we do now?”