Response to Minneapolis Shooting
Dear Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists,
In light of the horror of what happened in Minneapolis on Wednesday, we are shifting our focus for worship this week. I will be addressing the now clear and present danger of fascism in our nation with pastoral care, and theological integrity. Please do attend if you can. It's a time to come together as a community and be with one another. One of our organizing partners, Meghan McNamara, was already slated to speak briefly about our shared efforts in the world. We are also rebirthing our Pastoral Care Associates team that I will be speaking more about in the coming weeks in a separate message. Two of its members will be present on Sunday to speak with anyone after the service who needs to talk following the service. David is a career psychologist, Janna is a career UCC minister, and Nicki is an ordained Baptist minister. Both David and Janna will be present on Sunday. I'll be around too, of course. Though I'll be shifting to join the new members gathering by 11:30am in the Main Sanctuary.
I encourage you to watch this 22-minute video from Rev. Ashley Horan. She is my colleague and a friend. She's our denomination's Vice President for Programs and Ministry. And she just happens to live a block from where the murder of Renee Nicole Good occured. Rev. Ashley offers us a trusted perspective on the ground, and then offers suggestions on how we can all be part of the resistance to these acts of terror in our own community. This is not an accounting from some random person in the world; this is a major leader in our Faith, and someone who I have personally known for years. If you choose to follow her on Facebook, she has hours of live coverage in video and photo format from on the ground. There are no images of violence in this video however. She is speaking from her home office.
Our Director of Religious Education, Robin Wootton, will be available to parents and caregivers, and their kids, to process all this if you need after the service as well in our Religious Education space. Below you will find Robin's message to our community including a list of resources for our families to talk about this at home.
Much Love,
Rev. Jude Geiger
As a parent, it can be really hard at times to know how much to say to our children about events happening in the world. When really sad, scary things happen, even for adults, it can be a difficult choice between saying everything you know about a tragedy and carefully choosing which parts to share and which parts are just too much for your child to handle. Considering both age and maturity, you know your child's capacity better than most, and as parents, we try to assess how much our kids are burdened by as well as how curious they may be. Some kids, and some adults, are actually eased by having more information instead of feeling left in the dark, while others need more distance from information as it becomes overwhelming and increasingly concerning. I have tried to carefully consider each of my kids and their needs and help them to lean into their own personal sense of safety and security in times of concern and grief.
Thankfully, the UUA has some good resources online if you need some help thinking it all through for your kids, and for yourself. If you'd like to talk more and would like me to process with you, please do reach out. I will also be around Sunday following RE if anyone would like to talk more.
From Winchester Unitarian Society
https://www.winchesteruu.org/childrens-programming/resources-parents-caregivers-talking-kids-violence-death-loss/
A Trauma Response Resource List from the UUA
https://www.uua.org/safe/response/trauma-response
The official ministry of the UUA to respond to trauma - a great resource to have for any of life's emergencies
https://www.uutrm.org/
And I'll close with this, briefly. One of my favorites is Fred Rogers who famously said, to paraphrase, in any tragedies, always look for the helpers. There will always be those who stand out as courageous and helpful and kind. Look for these friends in the midst of the storm and we'll make it through together. You are not alone. You are loved and heard and seen. We are here for you. Peace to all.
-Robin