Resistance & Resilience for Trump’s Inauguration

Last updated on: January 18, 2017 at 8:47 pm by Carl Gregg

Resistance & Resilience for Trump’s Inauguration 2017-01-18T20:47:48-05:00 Carl Gregg

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I was honored to speak this evening at a Multifaith Candlelight Vigil of Unity & Hope on Inauguration Week in Frederick, Maryland along with local colleagues and politicians. The following is the transcript of my closing words:

In the coming days, my prayer for our country is that we find a path toward unity and a future with hope. When I consider how we might find our way toward such a path, I am reminded of the final blessing offered to my seminary class from our Latina Feminist history professor.

She taught us that there are at least two ways of telling U.S. history. The first is from above — the perspective of powerful white men: presidents, capitalists, owners of industry.

The other way of telling U.S. history is from below — a people’s history: the perspective of America’s women, factory workers, African-Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers. We need to learn to understand U.S. history from all those perspectives if we are to have any hope of finding our way toward an authentic unity amidst all our diversity.

In that spirit, I will leave you with these words that I learned from my professor — words often called the “Franciscan Blessing” in honor of the 13th-century saint Francis of Assisi, who was know for his work for peace and among the poor. In the days and years ahead:

May you be blessed with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, that you may live deep within your heart.

May you be blessed with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, that you may work for justice for all people.

May you be blessed with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, hunger, homelessness and rejection, that your may reach out your hand to comfort them.

And may you be blessed us with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world so that together we can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen. Ashe. Blessed be.

Go in peace and with great love.

The Rev. Dr. Carl Gregg is a certified spiritual director, a D.Min. graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary, and the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick, Maryland. Follow him on Facebook (facebook.com/carlgregg) and Twitter (@carlgregg).

Learn more about Unitarian Universalism: http://www.uua.org/beliefs/principles

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