Living Love Through the Practice of Story

January can be a dreary month.  The joyful winter holidays, with their lights and singing, are behind us, and the days ahead are longer but cold and sometimes lonely.  And this particular January, we’re going to witness the second inauguration of a President who has promised to dramatically worsen the plight of the vulnerable and oppressed people of this nation, in the name of “making it great.”  We will need to remember all the lessons we learned during his first term about taking care of one another and our communities, because it seems he is set on dismantling the national systems that have, however imperfectly, been in place to take care of us.  We, the people, will need to build and rebuild networks of care and mutual aid.  We, the people, will need to nurture the best in ourselves and each other, and actively resist hatred and oppression.  This will not be easy.

This is a good time to reflect on the power in the practice of story.  The stories we tell ourselves matter, and the stories we tell of ourselves can give us the strength and courage we’ll need to face down what’s ahead.  As Unitarian Universalists, we’re well equipped to shape our stories.  Our faith tradition has, after all, changed and grown with the learnings and experiences of our people throughout our history – and our congregation’s story changes with every person we welcome into our doors.  We are intentional about this, and it’s grounded in our understanding that everyone has something to contribute to the beloved community we’re building.  We get to be the creators of our own story.  I have no doubt that we will continue to create stories that sustain us in the work ahead.

In faith and love, Karen

[January 1, 2025]