Despair, I want to tell you a story, is that ok? Many years ago, there were loving, caring people who were really struggling with the world around them. There was dehumanizing injustice and corruption, and these people felt helpless to change it. Do you know what they did? They sang. They sang stories of love and justice. They sang of faith—which is hope without certainty. These were our UU ancestors who kept telling stories of a different future through the songs they sang. Like the tide, civil rights and rights of nature rolled over this county and they were ready to live the story they had been singing. But the tide is going out now.
Despair, I remember a time in my life defined by fear. I lost my voice. I could not speak about what was happening. It was when I stopped asking my ancestors for guidance and support and when I stopped living the story that I wanted future generations to tell their children.
This was when I stopped singing. There are many ways I can tell this story that can all be true. But here is how I tell it: when I quit singing was when I stopped believing there was hope.
Despair, whatever happens, I want to live as I know to be good and true: staying open hearted and not frozen in fear. I want to know the stories that say civilization begins by helping one another. So despair, will you sing with me?
With Love,
Rev. Stacy Craig