Hi, all! Thank you for a very warm welcome back from my sabbatical! I return more centered, grounded and re-energized. For those who were unable to attend last Sunday’s vigil downtown, I wanted to share the invocation I shared there. It also appears as a letter to the editor in the Midland Daily News:

Friends, we live in dangerous and violent times. Even as we gather to mourn the death of Renee Good and others at the hands of those who should protect us, we gather also to resist the torrent of undemocratic, unconstitutional, and immoral actions of the current administration. We gather to find solace and strength in being together.

There are times when all we can do is bear witness to the pain and suffering of others, remembering and telling the stories of their living and their dying. This is not one of those times — though telling Renee Good’s and others’ stories is imperative. We can and must do more, because ongoing, unrestrained, and gross abuses of power will continue to test and threaten our deepest, shared American values.

To be sure, such times call us to resist the urge to retaliate out of our pain. And yet we must raise our voices and act to protect one another. Through whatever may come, I invite us to embody love, courage, and compassion carefully, thoughtfully — even strategically. There are countless ways to save lives, support one another, and improve the world.

Such times call us to respect — as best we are able — the inherent worth and dignity of every person. To defend the weak, the young, the infirm. To confront unjust systems and actions. To demand that our elected leaders be accountable — true to their oaths of office — and for us to vote for or against them accordingly.

Such times call us to remind our neighbors, co-workers, families and friends of the moral imperative of ALL OF US striving to be our best selves — living out our nation’s highest ideals of freedom, peace, and justice.

Whether you have faith in God, in love, or in some power hard to identify or describe, I invite you to live out that faith and the moral values it has taught you.

Tonight I invite us each to remember and invoke the god of our understanding, the spirit of life, the spirit of love and compassion, the spirit of determination and courage. Let us be faithful to and guided by the moral imperatives that we have been taught and which lie deep in our hearts. Let us embrace, harness, and channel the enduring, transforming power of love that is within, between, and among us, so that we might serve both our faith and the greater good.

May it be so.

Thank you!
Rev. Eric