Women’s March Wenatchee

Sat, Jan 21, 2017

Rev Laura Shennum

Greetings, thank you for gathering to show the spirit of the Wenatchee Valley! We gather in strength to show support for each other in this community we love so dear. This is a time to for us to join together to promote the worth and dignity of all people. As a Unitarian Universalist Minister and a person in the human community, I know:

to act from a place of hatred and fear leads to hopelessness,

to deny a person basic human rights no matter what their religion, race, gender, age, sexuality, ability, ethnicity, or immigrant status is immoral,

to threaten and bully people because they are different or because you fear them is cowardice,

to deny a person the ability to make choices about the health of their own bodies is abusive,

to choose violence in our reactions to conflict or disagreement is dangerous,

I also know:

to act from a place of love and compassion leads to goodness,

to grant basic human rights to all people is a moral obligation,

to step into discomfort and understanding in the midst of fear is courageous,

to let people make health decisions for themselves is empowering,

to provide stability and safety to all people in our community is equitable,

to chose peace in our reactions to conflict or disagreement is strength.

It is in that spirit of strength I offer this prayer:

Spirit of Love,

Let us rejoice in the community we are surrounded by and know we are not alone in this work. Grant us the ability to embody your love to carry with us and greet each obstacle we encounter. For we know, hate will not heal hate, only love will. May we pace ourselves for the long journey ahead. May the blessing of your strength be with us in our gathering today and all days. We ask with our hearts full of gratitude and with our feet ready to march. Amen.