Each new year I begin by making a Vision Collage. This is a mosaic of cut-out images from old magazines that when pasted together somehow convey new meaning. This process has become a ritual, a way of looking ahead and engaging the poetic imagination in the possibilities of what may be.
This month I ponder the way that vision is essential to creating hope in the face of despair. I am reminded of Martin Luther King, Jr. who we celebrate in January. King looked racism, poverty, and militarism head-on and proclaimed, “I Have A Dream”. His truth-telling, prophetic words still inspire and guide us.
In this month we are called to consider our work as a community of prophecy. Prophets call out present day injustice, offer a public voice to lament shared sorrow, and lead the way forward with a collective vision of hope. Prophecy is essential spiritual work.
We have an opportunity this month to raise our prophetic voices. On Saturday, January 21st, the day after the Presidential Inauguration, the Women’s March on Washington will take place in DC and in sister marches throughout the country. The march is a demonstration of solidarity and unity with the marginalized in society.
In the words of the organizers- “The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office and to the world that women’s rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us. This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We will not rest until women have parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.”
I will be marching along with my daughters and our multi-faith Sisterhood for Peace and Justice in the Women’s March on New York City (sister march to the one in DC). We will join with UU’s and other people of faith from nearby congregations. I invite ALL UUCRT defenders of human rights to join us in marching from the United Nations to Trump Tower. We will be taking the 8:08 train from Beacon, so let me know if you will be there! If you will be marching in NYC or DC, please come and share your story with us at the UUCRT service on January 29th.
May we lift our voices in the spirit of truth and justice, and pave the way for a new vision in the year ahead!
Terri Pahucki tlpahucki@gmail.com