I know how it feels right now. The news cycle is relentless. The executive orders come faster than we can process them. News of war, bombs, violence. Some mornings it takes a little extra courage just to open your phone. I feel it too. But when I look around, I don’t feel despair. I feel the possibilities and hope.
Last month, many of us from Orange Coast UU showed up for the No Kings protest — one of thousands happening simultaneously across this country. We stood in the sunshine with our neighbors, our signs, our stubborn, beautiful refusal to simply accept what we're being told to accept. And we were not alone. Millions of Americans — in red states and blue ones, in small towns and big cities, people who have never held a sign before in their lives — showed up. Parents brought their kids. Grandparents brought their lawn chairs. Veterans wore their hats. Something is moving in this country.
History is not made by the people who had the most power. History is made by the people who refused to sit down and be quiet. None of the movements that changed the world started with a majority — they started with people who looked at what was and dared to imagine what could be. That is us. Right now. The arc of history doesn't bend toward justice on its own. It bends because people like you get their hands on it and pull. So keep pulling, beloved community - the world needs your strength!
With love,
Rev. Sian
Rev. Sian Wiltshire is Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church's minister. Please feel free to reach out and say hello! She can be reached by email, revsian@ocuuc.org, or by church phone at (714) 556-2882 (x302).