Rev. Lori Is Asking Questions
A version of this reflection was originally published in the previous week’s Friday Flyer.
Hello Good People,
We UU ministers have something called Freedom of the Pulpit. Which means we can say whatever we want. I am invoking that this weekend, as I pivot to include our street outreach partner, Britt LaShier to share a bit about herself, her call to her work, and what it looks like out there from a provider perspective. I will post my original sermon on the website. It has a lot more reflection about the traditional sense of earth climate. My first day on the streets felt a little bleak, and hopeful, and inspirational, and hard. Britt has an abundance of insight for our community and is one of the good ones. Or maybe I should say great ones! The work that she does and the caring for those overlooked gives me inspiration and faith in humanity really.
Some might think that there is a distinction between Earth Day and issues of climate justice, and issues around homelessness, poverty, and addiction. However our neighborhoods or lack thereof are our climate and there is no justice in unhoused encampments right now. On Wednesday as I helped deliver our kits and sandwiches out to where folks have been camped out, we arrived while code enforcement and Amtrak police arrived to turn out the camps. They offer no alternative, no time, no transportation to take whatever basic necessities you have accumulated, no phones to seek help. Nothing. This is part of our ecosystem and climate. And there is no justice in it. Our efforts are well appreciated and well received and there is room for so much more. For us education around the issues on the street, education about how the cities regulate and attempt to “manage” the population are a must. Our faith tells us not to look away. Our faith tells us that we can and should at the hard stuff. We can be part of conversations taking place a city council meetings and listening to needs so that we can continue to tangibly find our path with this issue. So that we build more relationships with our friends and partners in this work and with the folks who might like our help. For earth day, in the spirit of Green Sanctuary 2030, in alignment with our principles and values, keeping love always at the center of our (C)community, we will take a deeper dive in this issue.
I will begin posing a question every Friday Flier. I invite you to reflect on it for yourself, and then ask yourself how it integrate it with your spirituality. I ask you to consider the questions with our question in the Parish Hall. What does love ask me to do with this? Your question this week.
What is my biggest discomfort when it comes to the issue of homelessness and the unhoused population?
Be honest with yourself. There is no judgement in an honest answer. I invite you to wonder about why your feel that way. What shaped this perspective? Is it a perspective worth challenging? Worth exploring and educating about? For instance, if you are uncomfortable that the world doesnt offer housing first options and that makes you angry and sad, have you considered that it is not working for a number of reasons or even what any folks want? That is just one example. Only you know what causes you discomfort about homelessness.
Rev Lori Whittemore
(she, her, hers)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco Biddeford