May 30, 2020
Spread Love, Not Vitriol
Dear members and friends,

As if the Coronavirus wasn’t enough, we are now dealing with the horrific and brutal murder of another black man, George Floyd. Emotions are running high, including shock, outrage and grief. We know this is not a new occurrence. The thread of racism in our country has long and deep roots.

We didn’t just find ourselves here . The violence and injustice we bore witness to with the killing of George Floyd also took the lives of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and so many others.*

Brent Mitchell told us in his recent sermon that climate change is a pandemic. Racism is also a pandemic. And like COVID-19, we must act in response to what is happening.

It is normal to feel emotions, but we cannot stop there, especially if it is anger. Action is one antidote to anger. There are things we can do.

Here are some suggestions:

Conversation
Join me and other members and friends in a conversation via Zoom Monday, June 1, 7-8pm. We will be discussing what we can do as individuals and as a congregation.

Online Access:

Meeting ID: 848 0240 8862

Dial by phone
Dial: 312-626-6799

Read
Read a message from Love Resists, a UUA and UUSC campaign: https://bit.ly/3eCbSCW

Sign
Sign the "Movement for Black Lives National Call in Defense of Black Life".
You can take the pledge here: https://bit.ly/2Uc5NWn

Stay tuned to hear the outcome of our Monday evening discussion, and offer support to the actions we decide to take. And above all;

Spread love, not vitriol.

I hope your anger doesn’t pass, at least not too quickly. I hope it moves you to engage in whatever ways are right for you. In so doing our anger can be channeled into connection and action, and peace can once again find a place in our hearts.

With love and faith,
Reverend Rebecca
From our hymnal

#609 To Serve the People

To worship God is nothing other
than to serve the people.
It does not need rosaries, prayer
carpets, or robes.
All people are members of the
same body, created from one essence.
If fate brings suffering to one
member
The others cannot stay at rest.
-Saadi 
*Correction: We apologize for mistakenly identifying Amy Cooper as a victim in the first publication of this letter. Amy Cooper was the woman in Central Park who threatened to call the police when a black man asked her to leash her dog. 
First Religious Society, Unitarian Universalist | 26 Pleasant St., Newburyport MA 01950
978-465-0602 | frsuu.org