Minister’s Message

Dear Ones,

Today, faith leaders from across the country are in Minneapolis to side with love and against ICE. Although we in Napa are far from that action, we know that immoral and egregious attacks on our siblings in Minnesota – and in Oregon, Maine, and everywhere people are being targeted by ICE – affect us, too. For we are all interconnected, and what affects one of us affects us all.

These attacks are meant to sow fear and make us feel that “resistance is futile.” When asked about how to renew oneself when exhausted by politics and injustice, sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom (on The PBS Newshour) says the problem is that we have too much information and too few opportunities to act. She recommends doing something that gives you a sense of agency. She said, “The more time you spend doing something…the less exhausted you are by the onslaught of information that really wins when it can convince you that the only thing you can do is watch what is happening to you.”

I am not at all opposed to withdrawing for a time, for personal self-care. We can best be of service when we have done those practices that ground us and allow us to be present. Yet Cottom tells us that self-care can also mean taking actions that connect with others and align with our values. Actions like joining a protest (e.g., the one at Third and Soscol every Friday at 4 pm), engaging in a service project, supporting a friend in need, teaching a child to read, showing up for Sunday worship services – all of these actions connect us with our communities and help us feel less helpless. As one of my colleagues writes from Minneapolis, “Show up for your neighbors like your life depends on it, because it does. And don’t ever stop.”

I am grateful for all the ways you take action. Whether seemingly large or small, all of it matters. If you are feeling overwhelmed or in despair, please reach out to me or others here at NVUU.

In faith,
Rev. Susan