"So Much Has Been Lost"

"So much has been lost..."  

These words have been ringing in my head since Sunday.  

"So much has been lost..."  

Our UU church presented a service last week looking into the eye of the white supremacy that we have allowed to weave itself into our institution and faith communities from the time of its roots.  Unitarian Universalism cannot think itself separate from the society in which it exists, and that society is built on a scaffold of racist structures.  For whatever reason, we are finally turning our ear to hurt that has been expressed over and over, but not believed, not honored, not heard, and certainly not atoned for.  

In this society I benefit from lots of unearned privilege.  I am a cis-gender white woman with economic security, married to a man.  I'm sure I put my foot in my mouth every day without realizing it. I spend a lot of time not saying things for fear they will be the wrong things.  This is no longer acceptable.  If change is going to occur we have to start talking. And listening. 

White congregants: "So much has been lost."

People of Color: "Beloved, you must not be defensive when you hear our hurt."

This is the refrain from a responsive reading, "A Litany for Two Voices" created by Rev. Erika Hewitt and Rev. Rebekah Savage for this service in UU churches across the country. These were our words in the pews.

And isn't this so?  What have we lost?  What have we traded for our privilege?  We have traded Beloved Community.  What could we, as a faith, have created, time and time over, if we had not been clinging to that privilege? And now that we are listening, what will we do?

This time of year in the Jewish Calendar we are heading toward the month of Adar.  In Adar we think about uncovering what is hidden.  We read the Book of Esther.  We contemplate the story of one woman unveiling the hate of a leader, changing his heart, saving her people.  

We must not fight this uncovering.  Let it be seen. 

Keep talking. Keep listening. Hear the hurt.  Really hear it.  

Let that loss lead us with unwavering determination as we work towards a true Beloved Community.