Responding in Love: A Pastoral Letter
Responding in Love: A pastoral letter to the UU Congregation of York in the wake of violence in Orlando
Rev. Lyn Cox, Interim Parish Minister
June 14, 2016
To Our LGBT Siblings and allies in York,
I originally wrote this letter to my congregation, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York. As our dialogue unfolds, I realize that people from many aspects of our broader community in the city of York are part of this conversation. We are all in this together in a creative, beautiful, loving journey of sadness and hope.
My heart is breaking along with yours as we mourn those people who were lost in violence at Pulse, an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was Latinx Night and Pride Month, a time when revelers, many of them quite young, were seeking the refuge of their own communities. Some of us know the urgency of finding a welcoming place for our marginalized identities, the relief of finding such a place, and the continued awareness that our safety is provisional. Some of us may be new to the realization that gathering in large numbers is not a guarantee. We are grieving. We are angry. We are afraid. We are frustrated. But we are something else.
We are resilient. We are bold. We are defiant. We are endlessly creative. We are infinitely loving. May these be the qualities we continue to draw from each other and from our connection with the Spirit of Life. Our songs will not be silenced. Our dances will not be stilled. Our gatherings will not cease. Our love will not shrink or hide or apologize.
I want to speak directly to the young people of our region, who include youth and young adults of a variety of sexual orientations and gender identities. You are a beautiful creature of worth. You are a treasure. There is danger in the world, yes. There is also wonder, discovery, and joy. There are countless people who support you. There are people who cherish you, just as you are. If you are struggling, please reach out to me or to an adult you trust as well as to your peers. If you don’t know an adult you can trust with your identity, I encourage you to check out resources such as York Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (pflagyork.org). This world needs you, in all the fullness of who you are.
All of us, young and old, have a number of responsibilities in the coming months as we take a long-term approach to our response to this event. Our first responsibility is to continue celebrating life and love out loud and out front, caring for ourselves and each other in the process. Do not let fear or despair diminish our connections with our deepest values or with other people.
We also have a responsibility to build bridges. We will stand and move with our Latinx siblings, our Muslim siblings, and our LGBTQ siblings. We will continue to be vocal, joyful supporters of the York Equality Fest. We will continue to advocate for immigration justice. We will continue to disrupt the rhetoric of hatred, calling our friends and neighbors back into right relationship.
Finally, we have a responsibility to raise up and energize the refuges of equality. More than ever, we need places where LGBTQ identities, Latinx identities, Muslim identities, and many others can celebrate who they are. We will continue to support our Muslim siblings as they celebrate the beauty and peace of their faith during this holy month of Ramadan. We will welcome the stranger. We will greet neighbors warmly. We will marshal our resources and lift our voices to expand the reach of this life-saving message: the inherent worth and dignity of every person is an eternal truth and cannot be erased through violence.
I hope to see you this Thursday, June 16, at 7:00 for the “York Stands With Orlando” memorial service at Cherry Lane Park in downtown York. I’ll be giving the invocation. In whatever way you respond to this event, please know that you are loved and you are not alone.
Blessed be.
Rev. Lyn Cox
Rev. Lyn Cox, Interim Parish Minister
June 14, 2016
To Our LGBT Siblings and allies in York,
I originally wrote this letter to my congregation, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of York. As our dialogue unfolds, I realize that people from many aspects of our broader community in the city of York are part of this conversation. We are all in this together in a creative, beautiful, loving journey of sadness and hope.
My heart is breaking along with yours as we mourn those people who were lost in violence at Pulse, an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It was Latinx Night and Pride Month, a time when revelers, many of them quite young, were seeking the refuge of their own communities. Some of us know the urgency of finding a welcoming place for our marginalized identities, the relief of finding such a place, and the continued awareness that our safety is provisional. Some of us may be new to the realization that gathering in large numbers is not a guarantee. We are grieving. We are angry. We are afraid. We are frustrated. But we are something else.
We are resilient. We are bold. We are defiant. We are endlessly creative. We are infinitely loving. May these be the qualities we continue to draw from each other and from our connection with the Spirit of Life. Our songs will not be silenced. Our dances will not be stilled. Our gatherings will not cease. Our love will not shrink or hide or apologize.
I want to speak directly to the young people of our region, who include youth and young adults of a variety of sexual orientations and gender identities. You are a beautiful creature of worth. You are a treasure. There is danger in the world, yes. There is also wonder, discovery, and joy. There are countless people who support you. There are people who cherish you, just as you are. If you are struggling, please reach out to me or to an adult you trust as well as to your peers. If you don’t know an adult you can trust with your identity, I encourage you to check out resources such as York Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (pflagyork.org). This world needs you, in all the fullness of who you are.
All of us, young and old, have a number of responsibilities in the coming months as we take a long-term approach to our response to this event. Our first responsibility is to continue celebrating life and love out loud and out front, caring for ourselves and each other in the process. Do not let fear or despair diminish our connections with our deepest values or with other people.
We also have a responsibility to build bridges. We will stand and move with our Latinx siblings, our Muslim siblings, and our LGBTQ siblings. We will continue to be vocal, joyful supporters of the York Equality Fest. We will continue to advocate for immigration justice. We will continue to disrupt the rhetoric of hatred, calling our friends and neighbors back into right relationship.
Finally, we have a responsibility to raise up and energize the refuges of equality. More than ever, we need places where LGBTQ identities, Latinx identities, Muslim identities, and many others can celebrate who they are. We will continue to support our Muslim siblings as they celebrate the beauty and peace of their faith during this holy month of Ramadan. We will welcome the stranger. We will greet neighbors warmly. We will marshal our resources and lift our voices to expand the reach of this life-saving message: the inherent worth and dignity of every person is an eternal truth and cannot be erased through violence.
I hope to see you this Thursday, June 16, at 7:00 for the “York Stands With Orlando” memorial service at Cherry Lane Park in downtown York. I’ll be giving the invocation. In whatever way you respond to this event, please know that you are loved and you are not alone.
Blessed be.
Rev. Lyn Cox