There have been three Truly Trying Times since I’ve been working with congregations through the UUA: The first Trump administration; the pandemic lockdown; and this, the second Trump administration. So I’m familiar with what happens when our congregations have been set back on their heels by world events.

That feeling of overwhelm, of not knowing how to respond, of wanting to hide, of feeling like all is lost, of tension and even fights breaking out for no good reason…nowadays I know that that behavior is what early days of Congregations Got Shook look like. (The latest Braver Wiser piece by Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Stevens addresses this beautifully.)

I know the next phase, too. In the past two Times, after a few months, congregations collected themselves. They took a look around to see what they had to rely on and what they had to offer. They found a recommitment to the central importance of religious life and a true gratitude that they had a community of care to depend on and to launch from. And they found the energy to do what was needed, because the day-to-day work of church suddenly seemed really, really essential.

You’ve been training for this Time this whole time.

I’ve had times in my own life when I had to rise up with such intensity that I may as well have been on fire, and every single bit of previous frippery incinerated at my feet. My vision became crystal clear and my focus put lasers to shame. All the parts of my life needed to point in a single direction, and point they did.

This is such a time for Unitarian Universalists. Those who follow a faith centered on love and valuing human dignity and political democracy, one that insists on justice and equity, cannot stand idly by when a nation turns towards cruelty, deception and tyranny. We already have all the tools we need for the time at hand, because we already know what is right and we know how to talk about it. Check out all the public theology already being done across the country by UUs at the Hands Off protests this month.

The thing we need to do is be ourselves. We know what we need to know. The training we need has already been completed. Let the frippery burn, and stand tall. Let your hair catch fire and your focus rival lasers. You are a Unitarian Universalist. Your values will save lives. The time is now, more than ever, to live them, in ways small and big.