>> WOW.
I HAVE BEEN SO JEALOUS OF THIS CHALICE EVER SINCE I CAME TO MY
FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN 1989, BUT THOSE OF YOU IN THE BACK MAY HAVE NOT SEEN T BUT IT BURSTS
INTO FLAME UP HERE ON THE STAGE, THAN EVER.
[LAUGHTER] >> ON A FLIGHT FROM BOSTON TO
NEW YORK, I WOUND UP IN CONVERSATION WITH A TEENAGER SHE WAS BUBBLY AND FILLED WITH A SPARK.
SHE SHARED THE STORY OF HOW SHE JUST SPENT THE WEEK WITH SOME
FELLOW YOUTH IN BOSTON AT A CHURCH CONFERENCE FOCUSED ON
SOCIAL JUSTICE. MY EARS PERKED UP.
BOSTON? SOCIAL JUSTICE?
I WONDERED, IS SHE A UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST?
NOT WANTING TO BE NARROW-WINDED ABOUT IT AND KNOWING THAT MANY
OTHER RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS CARE ABOUT MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD, I SAID, IT SOUNDS LIKE
YOU'VE JUST HAD A POWERFUL EXPERIENCE.
TELL ME, WHAT CHURCH ARE YOU A PART OF?
SHE RESPONDED, OH, THE NORMAL KIND.
WHAT'S THE NORMAL FIND, I ASKED? SHE SAID' APPREHENSIVELY, WELL,
YOU COULD SAY IT'S ONE OF THE PROTESTANT TRADITIONS.
NOW I KNEW SHE WAS A U UUA [LAUGHTER]
>> AND I JUST WANTED HER AND ALL OH, WHICH ONE, I ASKED?
YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF IT, SHE SAID.
[LAUGHTER] >> I FINALLY SAID, YOU'RE A
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST. RIGHT?
HER EYES WIDENED AND SHE EX EXCLAIMED, HOW DID YOU KNOW?
[LAUGHTER] >> SO AM I.
THIS EXPERIENCE AND OTHERS LIKE
IT HAVE ME WONDERING, HOW DO WE TELL OUR STORY?
IS THE STORY, NO ONE WILL UNDERSTAND OUR RELIGION?
I CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT WITH A STRANGER, ESPECIALLY ON A PLANE?
IS THE STORY WE ARE SMALL? NO ONE HAS HEARD OF US?
THE PERSON IN FRONT OF ME PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE INTERESTED.
WHAT IF THE STORY CHANGED INTO, THIS IS A CHANCE FOR ME TO SHARE HOW MY FAITH HAS MADE A
DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE. WHAT IF IT IS, PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY TO KNOW A FAITH LIKE OURS EXISTS
, A FAITH THAT DRAWS WISDOM FROM SO MANY TRADITIONS
AND PROFESSES THAT THE DIVINE IMPRINT OF LIVE CAN BE SEEN --
OF LOVE CAN BE SEEN EMANATING FROM EACH AND EVERY HUMAN BEING?
YES, HOW DO WE TELL OUR STORIES? HOW ARE WE EQUIPPING ONE ANOTHER TO TELL THE STORIES OF OUR LIVES AND OF OUR FAITH?
FOR THAT MATTER, WHAT ARE THE STORIES WE CHOOSE TO TELL?
WHO AND WHAT DO WE LEAVE OUT? AND WHO AND WHAT DO WE CHOOSE TO INCLUDE?
ULTIMATELY, WHAT IS THE MEANING THAT WE DRAW FROM THE STORIES
THAT WE TELL AND CAN THE MEANING CAN THE STORY CHANGE? MANY OF THE MOST TREASUREED
STORIES ENGAGE OUR IMAGINATION AND PLANT POSSIBILITIES OF
HEALING AND TRANSFORMATION AT TIMES WHEN HOPE HAS GROWN MOST
DIM AND ALL SEEMS LOST. THE ISRAELITES CROSSING THE RED
SEA, THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED, AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN ARE
PRIME EXAMPLES. WHEN MOST OF US THINK OF THAT
FIRST STORY, THE ISRAELITES CROSSING THE RED SEA, WE
REMEMBER TWO THINGS: MOSES LIFTS HIS STAFF, AND GOD PARTS
THE WATERS. MIDRASH, A RABBINIC TRADITION OF FILLING IN THE GAPS IN TORAH,
IMAGINES THAT THERE IS MORE TO THAT STORY.
IN THIS RETELLING, MOSES LIFTS THAT STAFF , BUT NOTHING HAPPENS.
JUST WHEN IT SEEMS THAT THE ISRAELITES HAVE GONE ALL THAT
WAY ONLY TO PERISH, NACHSHON EMERGES FROM THE CROWD AND
BRAVELY PUTS 1 FOOT IN FRONT OF THE NEXT, IN FRONT OF THE OTHER, AND WAYS OUT INTO THE WATER
UNTIL HE IS IN, LITERALLY, OVER HIS HEAD. HIS COURAGEOUS ACT INSPIRES
OTHERS TO JOIN HIM. IN FACT, IN ANOTHER MIDRASH, IT
IS ONLY WHEN EVERY WOMAN, MAN, AND CHILD JOINS NACHSHON THAT
THE WATERS PART AND THE PATH TO FREEDOM UNFOLDS.
THE STORY SHIFTS FROM ONE OF DIVINE INTERVENTION TO ONE THAT
CALLS UPON HUMAN BEINGS, ORDINARY HUMAN BEINGS LIKE
NACHSHON AND LIKE US TO STEP OUT -- PROPHETIC POSSIBILITIES.
IN OUR SECOND STORY, KISA GOTAMI AFTER THE DEVASTATING LOSS OF
HER CHILD. THE BUDDHA SENDS HER ON A
JOURNEY TO HEAR TALES OF SORROW AND SURVIVAL.
* THAT REFLECT HER PAIN AND REMIND HER, SHE IS NOT ALONE.
KISA REALIZES ON THAT JOURNEY THAT TO LOVE WHAT IS MORTAL
COMES INEVITABLY WITH RISKING THE PAIN OF LOSS.
AND EACH ONE OF US IS INVITED IN THERE IS NO PRIDE IN GOING IT
ALONE .
AND WE ARE ALSO INVITED TO BE THE ONES WHO OPEN THE DOOR TO
ANOTHER'S GRIEF, TO BE PRESENT TO IT AND TO IT SHARE THE STORY
OF OUR OWN LIVES IN WAYS THAT MIGHT LEAD TO HEALING.
FINALLY, THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN IS ABOUT MUCH MORE, SO MUCH MORE THAN BEING A GOOD
NEIGHBOR. JESUS IS TALKING TO A FELLOW
ISRAELITE AND THE 'EM KNIT I -- ENMITY BETWEEN ISRAELITES AND
SAMARITANS WAS LEGENDARY. I PICTURE THEIR LOOKS LIKE THOSE THAT I RECEIVED WHEN I WENT TO
FENWAY STADIUM, BOSTON RED SOX
COUNTRY, IN FULL YANKEE REGALIA. SEE HOW HARD IT IS TO SHOW
COMPASSION IT IS, THEREFORE,
SHOCKING TO HEAR THAT IT IS A SAMARITAN WHO CARES FOR THE
BEATEN MAN, WHO CARRIES HIM TO THE INN AND WHO PROMISES TO WAY
WHATEVER THE COST. THE STORY IMAGINES A FUTURE
WHERE THE LINES THAT WE HAVE DRAWN BETWEEN OURSELVES AND
OTHERS ARE COMPLETELY HE RACED AND WHERE WE LIVE INTO THAT
RELIGIOUS UNIVERSALIST TRUTH, WE
ARE ONE HUMAN FAMILY. [APPLAUSE] >> WISDOM TALES
REMIND US THE STORIES WE TELL MATTER.
THEY HAVE THE POWER TO SHAPE WHO AS UNITARIANS, WE LIFT UP
STORIES THAT CALL US TO LIVE INTO THE SPARK OF DIVINITY, AND
THE DEPTHS OF HUMANITY, THAT RESIDES IN EACH ONE OF US.
AS UNIVERSALISTS, WE LIFT UP STORIES THAT HAVE US ACT OUT
THAT BELIEF OVER AND OVER THAT WE ARE INTERCONNECTED AND OUR
FAITHS ARE INTERTWINEED. AND AS RELIGIOUS LIBERALS, WE
ARE SO BLESSED. WE GET TO CHOOSE GUIDING STORIES FROM SO MANY SOURCES: SACRED
TEXTS, LITERATURE , SCIENCE,
NATURE, THE DEEDS OF OUR ANCESTORS, AND EVEN THE PAGES OF
OUR VERY OWN LIVES. IN THAT LAST TRADITION, I WANT
TO SHARE A STORY OF FACING UN UNCERTAINTY AND FINDING HOPE.
THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A UU FAMILY I KNOW WELL.
ILLNESS AND GRIEF STRUCK THREE TIMES IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS.
FIRST, A WOMAN LOST HER HUSBAND. THEN SHE LOST HER FATHER.
THEN HER 16-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER NOTICED A MASS GROWING IN HER
ARM. AFTER MANY SCANS AND TESTS, THE
WOMAN SAT WITH HER DAUGHTER WAITING TO HEAR WHAT NEXT?
THE ONCOLOGIST SAID, YOUR DAUGHTER HAS A VERY RARE FORM OF CANCER.
THERE IS NO SUCCESSFUL PROTOCOL. I GIVE HER ABOUT 3% CHANCE OF
SURVIVAL. SHE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH DE-
DE-BILL STATING AND TORTUROUS TREATMENT.
IF IT WERE ME, I WOULD TAKE HER HOME AND LOVE HER FOR THE LITTLE TIME THAT SHE HAS LEFT AND NOT
PUT HER THROUGH THAT TORTURE.
HIS WORDS WERE FILLED WITH CONFIDENCE.
THE MOTHER WAS STUNNED. LIKE KISA, SHE WAS STILL CLING
ING TO GRIEF. HER STORY SEEMED TO BE THAT
EVERYONE SHE LOVED WOULD DIE AND LIKE MOSES AND NACHSHON, SHE
FACED AN OCEAN OF TROUBLE THAT WOULD LIKELY LEAD TO DEATH, THE
DEATH OF HER DAUGHTER. SHOULD SHE STEP FORWARD INTO
THOSE TURBULENT WATERS? OR SHOULD SHE ACCEPT WHAT THE
ONCOLOGIST INTERPRETED AS A CLEAR END TO THAT STORY?
I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT MY MOTHER DID NOT CHOOSE TO FOLLOW THAT
DOCTOR'S SCRIPT. [APPLAUSE]
>> MY MOTHER AND I VISITED
ANOTHER DOCTOR, WHO LOOKED AT ALL THE SAME TESTS AND SPOKE OF
THE SAME DIRE POSSIBILITIES, BUT SHE SAID, I NEED TO BE HONEST
WITH YOU. THERE IS NO SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT FOR THIS CANCER.
HOWEVER, LET'S GO ON AN ODYSSEY TOGETHER AND TRY TO FIGURE
SOMETHING OUT. ANY CHANCE, ANY CHANCE IS WORTH
IT. WE DID GO ON AN ODYSSEY AND IT
DID INCLUDE A DEGREE OF TORTURE, AM, ALIVE, A MINISTER
, A MOTHER, AGAINST ALL ODDS.
YOU WOULD HAVE NO IDEA THAT THIS ARM. MY STORY ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT
SHARING HOW MY RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY, UNITARIAN
UNIVERSALISTS, IN PARTICULAR AT ALL SOULS NEW YORK, BUOYED ME UP ON TURBULENT WATERS AND ALOUD ME PRECIOUS MOMENTS TO CATCH MY
BREATH. IN FACT, THAT COMMUNITY ENSURED
THAT I WOULD EXPERIENCE A DEGREE SURVIVED.
I WOULD HELD BY OUR RELIGION WITHOUT EASY ANSWERS.
IT REFLECTED REAL LIFE. I REMEMBER SPENDING HOURS WITH
MY YOUTH ADVISOR AND PEERS AS THEY HELPED ME TO LIVE INTO THE
QUESTION MARKS THAT PUNCTUATEED MY DAYS.
YOUTH GROUP MOVED TO THE PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY WARD ON SOME
SUNDAYS TO TESTIFY TO THEIR WILLINGNESS TO GO TO HARD PLACES TO SHARE THE HEALING POWER OF
COMMUNITY. [APPLAUSE]
>> AND IT GETS BETTER, BECAUSE
YOU WERE IN THE STORY. I WAS HERE AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THE WEEK BEFORE I STARTED CHEMOTHERAPY AND I SAT RIGHT
THERE. IS THAT WHERE THE YOUTH CAUCUS
IS? RIGHT OVER THERE.
[APPLAUSE] >> AND THE RADICAL ACCEPTANCE
THAT I EXPERIENCED WHEN SHARING MY STORY WITH STRANGERS FOR THE
FIRST TIME AND THE RADICAL LOVE FUELED ME TO BE PREPARED FOR THE NEXT STEP.
150 PEOPLE IN MY CONGREGATION GAVE BLOOD IN MY NAME.
QUITE LITERALLY, I AM HERE, IN PART, BECAUSE UNITARIAN
UNIVERSALISTS WERE WILLING TO GIVE A PIECE OF THEMSELVES SO
THAT I MIGHT LIVE. [APPLAUSE]
>> THESE EXPERIENCES HAVE GIVEN
ME A DEEP PERSPECTIVE THAT LIFE UNFORTUNATELY IS NOT A GIVEN.
BUT LIFE IS A GIFT FOR WHATEVER NUMBER OF DAYS OR HOURS TO
CLAIM CLAIM.
EACH OF US ARRIVES AT THIS MOMENT, IN PART BECAUSE OF THE
LOVE AND COMPASSION OR THE COURAGE AND SACRIFICE OF OTHERS.
AND EACH OF US HAS THE CAPACITY TO OFFER THE SAME IN RETURN.
THAT IS OUR SPARK OF THE DIVINE .
MOSES AND NACHSHON, THEY NEEDED ONE ANOTHER AND THEY NEEDED THE
REST OF THE GROUP TO REACH THE ROAD OF FREEDOM KISA NEEDED
NEIGHBOR AFTER NEIGHBOR TO BE WILLING TO OPEN THE DOOR OF
THEIR HEARTS AND TO BEAR WITNESS AFTER LOSS.
THE MAN, THE ISRAELITE BEATEN ON NEEDED THE ISRAELITE TO BE
WILLING TO ACCEPT HIS HELP AND THEN THE TWO OF THEM WROTE A NEW STORY, ONE ABOUT UNITY AND NOT
DIVISION SACRED STORIES, MODERN
AND ANCIENT, ARE THE ONES THAT SPEAK OF A CREATIVE HEALING
POWER OF LOVE THAT EXISTS IN THE ABLE TO BREAK INTO BROKENNESS
AND SUFFERING IN EACH OF OUR LIVES AND ALSO IN THE WORLD
BEYOND. DO WE TELL STORIES AND ACT ON
THOSE STORIES IN WAYS THAT MAKE THE BONDS OF THAT LOVE VISIBLE?
WHO ARE WE IN THESE STORIES? REPRESENTATIVES FROM WIND OF THE SPIRIT, AN IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
ORGANIZATION, VISITED THE MORRIS INVITED US, ACTUALLY CHALLENGED
US TO LIVE INTO THE STORY OF GOOD SAMARITAN AS THEY WERE
ALREADY DOING. THEY WERE CREATING A STORY OF
SOLIDARITY AND CARING BETWEEN IMMIGRANTS OF DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES AND NOW THEY WISHED TO NONIMMIGRANTS.
THE MAN, WOUNDED BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD , SPOKE AT THAT
GATHERING. HE IS A DAY LABORER WHO WAITED
BY THE TRAIN STATION IN MORRIS TOWN, NEW JERSEY, WITH MANY
OTHERS HOPING TO FIND WORK. A LANDSCAPER PICKED HIM UP AND
TOOK HIM TO A JOB SITE WHERE HE BECAME INJURED.
THE LANDSCAPER OFFERED HIM A RIDE TO THE HOSPITAL, BUT
INSTEAD, HE ABANDONED HIM TWO TOWNS OVER BY THE SIDE OF THE
ROAD , BLEEDING WITHOUT PAY.
THIS INCIDENT WAS ONE OF A GROWING NUMBER OF INHUMAN COMMUNITY AGAINST UNDOCUMENTED
IMMIGRANTS. OUR MAYOR HAD PUBLICLY VOWED TO
SWEEP OUR STREETS CLEAN OF IMMIGRANTS.
HE APPLIED TO HALF OUR POLICE OFFICERS, DEPUTIZED AS
IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, WITH THE EXPRESS
PURPOSE OF DEPORTING PEOPLE DIRECTLY FROM THE COUNTY JAIL.
THE MAYOR PRESENTED THIS PLAN AT THERE WAS A VISIBLE LINE OF
SEPARATION THAT DAY AS WHITE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY LINED
UP AT THE PRO MIC AND LATINO MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY LINED
UP AT THE CON MIC. IMMIGRANTS SHARED STORY AFTER
STORY OF FALSE ARRESTS, OF RAIDS SEPARATION OF FAMILIES, AND OF
THE PROPENSITY THAT OFFICERS HAD
SHOWN TO POINT THEIR GUNS TOWARDS UNARMED PEOPLE, EVEN
STORIES OF THIS HAPPENING WITH CHILDREN. LIKE THE TRAVELERS WHO WALKED
PAST THE BEATEN MAN IN THE ROAD, THEY ASKED FEW QUESTIONS.
WHILE I WASN'T SURE WHETHER MY WORDS WOULD SUFFICE, I FELT
CALLED TO SPEAK OUT. I JOINED THE IMMIGRANTS AT THE
CON MICROPHONE AND BEGAN. MAYOR, AS A PERSON OF FAITH, I
BELIEVE THAT THIS PLAN WILL FURTHER DIVIDE, RATHER THAN
UNITE, OUR COMMUNITY. WE HAVE MORE WORK TO DO OF
LISTENING TO ALL OF OUR RESIDENTS, OF CULTIVATEING
COMPASSION, AND OF COMING UP WITH A SOLUTION TO BENEFIT ALL.
I LIFTED UP THE HISTORY OF
RACIAL PROFILING AND I COUNTERED IMMIGRANTS IS GOOD FOR THE
ECONOMY. DURING THE BREAK, THE BULLY -- I MEAN MAYOR SHOOK ME BY THE ARM
AND SHOUTED, HOW DARE YOU SPEAK AGAINST ME IN PUBLIC.
WHEN THE MEETING -- I DARE. WHEN THE MEETING RESUMED, HE
BEGAN A TIRADE. HOW WILL THAT WOMAN MINISTER
FEEL WHEN THE NEXT WOMAN IN OUR TOWN IS RAPED? LINES CHILLINGLY CLOSE TO THOSE
THE SHOOTER SHARED IN CHARLESTON .
HE CONTINUED WITH A RACEIST SET OF POINTS THAT I WON'T SHARE.
I GUESS HE DID NOT APPRECIATE MY AFTER THE MEETING, I WAS ASKED
TO VISIT WITH A FAMILY IN URGE HE WANTS NEED OF A PASTOR.
I SPENT THE REST OF THAT EVENING CHILD THE NIGHT BEFORE HER
MASTECTOMY WITHOUT HER HUSBAND PRESENT, BECAUSE HE WAS IN THE
JAIL AWAITING DEPORTATION ON LOITERING CHARGES.
MY HEART WAS BROKEN. AND MY EYES WERE FULLY OPEN.
IT WAS TIME FOR US TO CHANGE THE THANKFULLY, MANY OTHERS, CLERGY
AND LAY PEOPLE, INCLUDING FROM THE MORRIS TOWN UNITARIAN IT
FELLOWSHIP, IMMIGRANTS, AND CITIZENS, WERE READY TO CROSS
LINES AND CROSS TURBULENT WATERS WHEN THE PRO-AMERICA RAMSEY WAS
ORGANIZED ON THE -- RALLY WAS ORGANIZED ON THE TOWN HALL WITH
HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS IN ATTENDANCE, WE WERE READY.
WE SHOWED UP IN EVEN GREATER NUMBERS AND DEMONSTRATED THROUGH NONVIOLENT PROTEST OUR FERVENT
BELIEF THAT ALL PEOPLE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD.
AFTER THAT RALLY, WE COORDINATED SHATTER MYTHS ABOUT UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS.
THEN WE FORMED A WORKER CENTER TASKFORCE WITH A VISION OF
CONNECTING IMMIGRANTS AND CITIZENS WITH WORK THAT PAID
FAIR WAGES, INCLUSIVE OF CONNECTING WOMEN TO WORK, A
POPULATION SO OFTEN LEFT OUT OF THESE CENTERS.
I WAS HONORED TO CO-CHAIR THIS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, THIS
PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS, THE
INTER INTERFAITH COMMUNITIES, AND THE MAYOR DID HIS BEST TO THWART OUR EFFORTS.
HE SAID WE WERE WASTING OUR TIME .
HE SAID WE WOULD NEVER DO IT. WE WOULD NEVER GET OUR DIVERSE
COMMUNITY TO COME TOGETHER. HE LEVERAGEED EVERYTHING
BUREAUCRATIC ROAD BLOCK THAT HE HAD UP HIS SLEEVE.
BUT WE DIDN'T GET LET ANY OF THAT STOP US.
WE WERE LIKE NACHSHON AND THE ISRAELITES MOVING AHEAD THROUGH
THE WATERS AS FAR AS OUR LIMBS AND OUR SPIRIT WOULD TAKE US.
IT WASN'T A WASTE OF TIME. PEOPLE DID COME TOGETHER.
PATHWAYS TO WORK OPENED SUCCESSFULLY AND WE HAVE SINCE
CONNECTED THOUSANDS TO EMPLOYMENT, LEGAL COUNSEL, AND
OTHER VITAL RESOURCES. [APPLAUSE] >> AND I CAN'T HELP
BUT THROW IN THE MAYOR -- A NEW MAYOR WAS ELECTED AT THE NEXT
ELECTION. [APPLAUSE]
>> HOWEVER, THE STRUGGLE FOR
ECONOMIC JUSTICE, TO END RACISM AND TO COUNTER OPPRESSION IS
NEVER ABOUT REMOVING ONE PERSON FROM POWER.
WE ARE FAR FROM THE END OF THIS STORY.
THAT WOULD BE TOO COMFORTABLE AND TOO COMPLACENT A PLACE TO
REMAIN. NO.
IT IS ABOUT THE CONTINUOUS WORK OF DISRUPTING NARRATIVES OF
PRIVILEGE THAT ARE WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF OUR SOCIETY AND
OUR INSTITUTIONS IN MORRIS TOWN AND EVERY TOWN THAT WOULD HAVE
US THINK THAT SOME OF US DESERVE RECEIVED, WHILE OTHERS MERIT
LESS. WE MUST CONTINUE TO WRITE THE
STORY. AND WE HAVE WRITTEN A NUMBER OF
CHAPTERS SINCE THE OPENING OF PATHWAYS.
SOME ARE A PAINFUL REMINDER THAT
THE WORK OF JUSTICE AND HEALING DOES NOT ASCEND IN A STRAIGHT
LINE FROM BROKENNESS TO WHOLE NESS.
AND OTHERS ARE A HOPEFUL REMINDER OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE
WHEN WE COCREATE WITH A LOVE THAT EXCLUDES NO ONE.
TWO RESENTED EXAMPLES: LAST MONTH OUR POLICE OFFICERS BEGAN
TO WEAR BODY CAMS, AND THIS SUMMER WE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO
OPEN THE TOWN POOL TO CHILDREN WHOSE PARENTS WORK ALL DAY,
WHICH DISPROPORTIONATELY EXCLUDED CHILDREN OF COLOR. [APPLAUSE]
>> >> WHAT ARE THE STORIES THAT
YOU AND YOUR CONGREGATION ARE LIVING INTO?
THE STORIES YOU TELL ARE POWER FUL SPIRITUAL TOOLS.
THEY IMPACT THE WAY YOU VIEW THE RESPOND.
ONE STORY MAY CAUSE YOU TO BE FEARFUL AND LESS RESILIENT AND
DO WE NEED RESILIENCE IN THIS TIME IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAINTY
AND CHANGE. AND ANOTHER MAY JUST BE THE FUEL YOU NEED TO FIND HOPE AND
STRENGTH, COMPASSION AND CREATIVITY.
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS ARE ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR NEW
NARRATIVES THAT INVITE US INTO A KNOWN TODAY.
OUR FAITH ASSERTS REVELATION IS
NEVER, NEVER SEALED. AS WE GROW INTO A MORE
MULTICULTURAL, MULTIGENERATIONAL , EACH MULTI-
FAITH COMMUNITY -- EVEN MULTIFAITH COMMUNITY, WE WELCOME IN NEW STORIES THAT TEACH US
MORE AND MORE ABOUT WHAT LOVE REQUIRES OF US.
IS IT TIME TO TELL A NEW STORY? THERE WAS A TIME THAT I NEEDED A NEW STORY.
LONG AFTER BEING CURED OF CANCER , I WAS SERVING AS A
CHAPLAIN IN THE HOSPITAL. I RECALL ALWAYS BEING SO
INTENTIONAL, TO TOUCH PATIENTS WITH THIS, MY GOOD ARM, AND
NEVER TO TOUCH THEM WITH THIS, I BAD ARM. ONE DAY, I MET A PATIENT, THE
ONLY PERSON THAT I HAVE EVER MET CANCER.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, FOR THE FIRST TIME AND NOT THE LAST, I
REACHED OUT WITH MY BAD ARM AND I TRIED TO OPEN THE FINGERS AND
PLACE THEM ON HER SHOULDER AND IN AN INSTANT, I KNEW I HAD THE
STORY WRONG. THIS IS MY STRONG ARM.
THIS IS -- [APPLAUSE] >> THIS IS THE ONE
THAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT PAIN AND LOSS AND SO MUCH ABOUT HEALING.
THIS ARM EMBODIES STRENGTH, AND WHAT'S MORE, THESE TWO ARMS
EMBODY MY FULLNESS AS A HUMAN BEING.
THIS IS MY HEALING ARM.
YOU, TOO, HAVE KNOWN SUFFERING. YOU, TOO, HAVE KNOWN HEALING.
YOU HAVE BEEN IN OVER YOUR HEAD AND OTHERS HAVE REACHED OUT TO
SAVE YOU. YOU HAVE SEEN OTHERS IN PAIN AND YOU HAVE REACHED OUT TO SAVE
THEM. THESE ARE OUR STORIES!
TELL YOUR STORY WITH PRIDE, WITH FIND MEANING IN THE BROKEN
PLACES. RAISE YOUR ARMS TO THE SKY.
YOU SHALL MAKE WAY FOR FREEDOM .
WE SHALL MAKE WAY FOR JUSTICE. TOGETHER YOUR STRENGTH AND MY
WEAKNESS, MY STRENGTH AND YOUR TURBULENT WATERS.
LET US LEARN TO TELL NEW STORIES HERE IS A DELICIOUS ONE FROM
THIS WEEK. MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS FINALLY
HERE. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
>> AND YET THE STORY OF EQUALITY
IS FAR FROM OVER. WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WRITING
CHAPTERS OF RACIAL JUSTICE, OF TRANSJUSTICE, OF JUSTICE YOU FOR OUR EARTH.
[APPLAUSE] >> OH, YES, LET US WEAVE NEW
TALES, A NEW REVELATION, AND LET THE PRECIOUS DAY THAT IS OURS TO
