Here we are, acts threatening our humanity continue, and now what?

In the past few weeks, there have been letter bombs, several mass murders, individual acts of violence and hatred also ending lives that should still be lived, and of course the 24/7 barrage of words of vengeance and hatred that make me think we should all just stop talking. It really does get to be too much. And yet…. Such beautiful moments of resilience and hope.

This past Sunday twenty-two people came together across lines of faith – Jews, various iterations of Christians, Muslims, and wonderful resources in our larger community to have a meaningful and substantive discussion on Immigration – the challenges that we know are acting as significant and difficult roadblocks and the voices of our respective faiths, telling us to make the “other” one of us, because we are all created in the image of God. These gatherings always bolster me and give me cause for hope that the hard work many of us are engaged in is with purpose and may actually achieve something meaningful. Representatives from HIAS, Peace Islands Institute, Cabrini University, and so many of our faith communities shared stories including our own past with members of our families coming to the USA for a better life, with few prospects and from countries that were less than desirable. Our gratitude that our relatives not so long ago took this chance and the United States responded affirmatively was not lost in that room. Then we had to interface that with real stories of today and people who are being threatened given the climate in this country – people who are making our country a better place through their hard work, foundational values and important legacies. As one of the people with whom I have ongoing contact said some time ago when we were discussing the present dilemma and I tried to gently remind that person that we ourselves were immigrants, “That was fifty or more years go and that was different.” No, I would comment, in our conversation, it is not different. In fact, consider that if the present climate was operative when YOUR family came to this country, would they have been let in? What is different – simply that once again to forget history is to repeat its mistakes, and there are now way too many people who have forgotten their past and refuse to use it to acknowledge our obligation to give others a future, as those who came before us did for us.

In one of my shul (synagogue) communities of which I am part, both of the past weeks were important ones of reflection, consideration of our present reality and a shared validation of what is truly important in our lives – with so many people of different faiths supporting us with their presence and expression of solidarity on Show Up For Shabbat, a report from one of our community’s Rabbis on his experience as a chaplain with the Red Cross in Pittsburgh to help guide that community through its crisis, a moving talk from the heart from one of our State Senators and our wonderful Rabbi who provided just the right healing community feeling we all needed. The bringing together of prayer, lessons of Torah and looking at our world with all of its flaws and finding hope in each other’s caring solidarity was another example of the best of who we can and should be. Knowing that this was the case in so many of our houses and communities of faith bolsters my spirit and encourages my soul.

Now, I am in the midst of working with a wonderful group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish clergy in planning a community wide Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration. We will all come together as Americans who are free to practice the religions of our choice, a fundamental right guaranteed to us all, along with others that at present are being threatened. As Thanksgiving approaches with all of its attendant complexities and reframed meanings, the notion that we stop yet again and be thankful for our lives and many blessings seems to be something worth sharing and observing with other American communities of faith. It is my hope that as many people will make the point of showing up for these celebrations that will occur in many communities as they did a few weeks ago. It is critically important that we come together to celebrate to the same degree that we come together to mourn and support each other when needed.

Finally, this coming weekend I will be with one of my most cherished communities, a group of Orthodox Jewish parents of LGBT children. We will come together for prayer, community and sharing our stories with each other, while celebrating our children and their accomplishments and their lives. Once a year, we all gather while supporting each other in navigating the more religiously pitched communities in our lives and loving our children and advocating for them. I look forward to this gathering which is in its sixth year and am so aware of how much has changed in the past few years with more and more shuls/synagogues and schools and other institutions welcoming our LGBT children and other family members and friends.

Yes, there is much to celebrate and be thankful for in our lives. That being said, we cannot take these things for granted. We must always be aware of the need to continue to cherish what is important and to advocate for what is needed. It is when we stop looking to the sides and over our shoulder, insuring that everyone is safe, included and valued, that we as a society are most threatened. This Thanksgiving let us celebrate our many blessings and as we each approach our different winter celebrations, we should remember to honor each other’s narrative and consider what we can all learn from and with each other.