Friends:
We’ve confronted some trying times this first month of 2025. With the wildfires literally burning our city and a new administration in Washington doing all it can to figuratively burn our nation, our spirits have been seriously tried.
But we are still here! And we are still fighting back to rebuild our city and preserve our democracy.
We can and will succeed together in community because I firmly believe that not only are there more like-minded and motivated people who know what needs to be done but within those progressive, compassionate masses, there is more resilience, strength, and especially powerful love that we have only begun to tap into.
And tap we will!
As you consider how much love you have to share, I invite you to also consider just how vital a community like ours is, not only to the city and the nation but to each and every individual and family we serve, especially at this time. I invite you into gratitude for all the love we receive and how much more is available to you.
Here are words that truly inspired me recently to give even more love in the days ahead. Reverend Jennifer Gutierrez, the Executive Director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice wrote:
“I have been reflecting on the legacy of CLUE’s founder, Reverend James M. Lawson Jr., who taught that the first step in nonviolent direct action is for each person to discover the love and power that is in their own life. Then, we can withdraw our consent from the powers that be. A tyrant must have the consent of the people he is tyrannizing.
We do not consent.
We do not consent to be divided by race.
We do not consent to fear the stranger.
We do not consent to the “need” for gender conformity.
We do not consent to the depression of wages for the sake of Capital.
We do not consent to the commodification of our health and wellbeing.
We do not consent to the ongoing destruction of our natural world for the sake of profit.
We do not consent.
As we withdraw our consent from those in power, we must come together in a community focused on diversity and equity, what Dr. King and Rev. Lawson called the Beloved Community.
Our faith teaches us that the power of love is stronger than their doctrine of hate. When workers of all kinds, migrants, LGBTQ siblings, and so many others come together with their allies of every background and faith, we become a powerful force for building the Beloved Community here in Southern California and throughout the world.”
Pacific Unitarian Universalist Church is a significant part of a larger Beloved Community here in Southern California poised to play an important role in a resilience movement that will see our city and our nation rebound and rebuild. It will be a long and hard-won victory but, I have no doubt it will arrive because I am witness to the incredible strength of the spirit and love that fills our congregation.
Pastor Berg
