I am writing this having marched yesterday with Frances and about 800 others in the Oaxaca, Mexico, Women’s March.  We joined with millions of others across the globe in resistance to the Trump agenda and misogyny.  Here, it felt particularly important to indicate solidarity with the Mexican people.  I noted some protest signs I particularly liked:  “Puentes Si; Muros No”;  “No, A La Zanahora Fascista”; “Dear World: We Are Sorry”; “Make America Kind Again”.

I can’t help thinking this IS what democracy looks like.  I am encouraged by the prospects that the impositions and injustices of the Trump administration will actually create a surge in activism that will overcome indifference and neglect of the poor, those in the middle class, and all those who feel unseen and unsupported.  A united, relational-based, courageous, compelling, nonviolent response is needed.  I think it has been launched.

Shortly, I will return home.  I feel a renewed commitment to nurture community.  In order to cope with the uncertainties and dangers ahead we need to foster and maintain relationships with people we know well and trust; people who share our values.  We need these people to be there for each other when we face danger.  And, I will encourage my communities to support those people and communities who are threatened yet are less known to me.   Working and protesting and praying and singing and finding awe and joy together is how I see I am most likely to find my place in the historical moment I am living.

 

We simply don’t know what to expect in these coming months.  However, we do know we are going to need to live with a new level of vigilance for ourselves and others.  These words by Thomas Merton offer guidance:   “In a time of drastic change one can be too preoccupied with what is ending or too obsessed with what seems to be beginning. In either case one loses touch with the present and with its obscure but dynamic possibilities.  You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith, and hope.”

 

In faith and hope:

Rev. Bill