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COMPASS ROSE: THE UU SAN MATEO BLOG

Living love through The Practice of INCLUSION

Updated: 5 days ago



Our February theme suggests we live love more deeply through The Practice of Inclusion. But what does it mean to practice inclusion?


The Soul Matters Sharing Circle reminds us that there is in human nature a "primal hunger to belong…to be let in. No one likes standing outside the circle. From the time we are little, inclusion and belonging is the thing we seek…the Holy Grail…the promised resting place."


We are hard-wired to create safe sanctuary for ourselves. But once that's found, it is far too easy to pull the liferaft back into the boat. "Beware of the kind of belonging that only wants to bless you," Soul Matters reminds us. "Closed circles don't just set us apart, they also set us above."


During these early days of our country's new administration, I notice I am setting myself above, living inside a bubble of privileged sanctuary. I am already among the included, so it's easy for me to feel exempt from the pain being inflicted on others:


  • Arresting, detaining, and deporting immigrants? That's not my problem! I was born in New Jersey to white American citizens. My citizenship cannot be questioned like that of my undocumented neighbors.


  • Declaring male and female to be the only two genders? That does not affect me in any way. I am a cis-gendered woman, so I am not threatened by that declaration.


  • Ending diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives? I am mostly retired, so the withdrawal of such initiatives has no impact on me.


I am not alone in my response. A friend of mine declares, "Not my problem!" every time this administration issues a new edict. My next-door neighbor says he's choosing to ignore what's happening because doing so makes him a much happier person, and a better husband and father.

 

During the late 1930s, German theologian and Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller wrote a poem called "First They Came…," pointing to the German population's inaction as the Nazi regime gained power, and the inevitable result of such inaction. You've probably heard it before…


First they came for the Communists

(and then the Socialists…the trade unionists…the Jews)

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Communist

(or a Socialist…a trade unionist…or a Jew).


Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak out for me.


I offer some updated verses:


First they came for the undocumented immigrants

And I did not speak out

because I am not an undocumented immigrant.


Then they came for the transgendered

And I did not speak out

Because I am cis-gendered.


Then they came for gay and lesbian marriages

And I did not speak out

Because I am not gay.


As long as what's happening doesn't threaten us, the need to remain safe can lead us to ignore injustice. But what if the current administration comes after me? Or you?


In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. ... Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."


This is not a new story. Rabbi Hillel, a Jewish religious leader, sage, and scholar who lived in the first century B.C.E., wrote:


If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?

If I am not for others, what am I?

If not now, when?


We are in this together. As Dr. King said, "...[E]ither we go up together or we go down together." It is not enough to create safe sanctuary only for ourselves. The Practice of Inclusion calls upon us to live love more deeply by creating sanctuary not just for ourselves, but for everyone.


And the time to do that is now.




Seeking more inspiration and wisdom about The Practice of INCLUSION? Check out this month’s Soul Matters Overview and the complete ministry guide.


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