This is a doom scroll checkpoint. (Thank you @kateinkc_ for this gift)
Drink water. Stretch. Take a few deep breaths. Put your phone down for a while.
Today is heavy. I mean really heavy.
I’m writing this as your pastor, but I’m also writing it as someone sitting in the same exhausting grief you might be feeling right now. My daddy taught me to believe in a Democracy that feels like it’s being dismantled before our eyes. We’ve watched ICE commit murder. We’ve watched oligarchs flood the zone with chaos, trying to numb us into paralysis.
And I want you to know: your grief is holy. Your horror is appropriate. Your numbness is your nervous system trying to protect you from unbearable pain.
But here’s what I also know: We are not called to bear this alone. We are not called to stay numb. We are not called to despair.
We are called to love fiercely in the face of hate. We are called to act with courage when chaos tries to paralyze us. We are called to practice mercy when cruelty is made policy.
So here’s what we do right now, today:
We turn toward each other, not away. We check on our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable. We show up for our communities. We rest when we need to rest, because rest is resistance. We keep our hearts soft even when the world tries to harden them.
This is not the time for lone rangers. This is the time for beloved community. This is the time we’ve been preparing for, even if we didn’t know it.
Look for the light-bearers. If you are gonna scroll – watch Maura Healey, Michelle Wu, Amanda Gorman, Jamaal Bowman, James Talarico, and the artists and organizers and faith leaders who are standing up right now. They’re showing us the way forward.
As Fannie Lou Hamer said: “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”
Tomorrow we’ll be snowed in. Join me for virtual Sanctuary Sunday Soul Circle (8:30 am) in the morning if you can. Or come to Virtual Worship at Myrtle Baptist Church at 10:00 am tomorrow for a Word from me: The Ground Knows What to Do.
Call me if you need to cry. Or just talk. We’re in this together.
Our ancestors survived worse than this. And they left us a blueprint: love hard, organize harder, and never let them make you believe you’re alone.
I love you. I mean it.
Rev. Wendy
