(View web-friendly version here)
Quakers (Society of Friends) "We are not for names, nor men, nor titles of Government, Interfaith Leader from the Christian Black Church Tradition I find my resolve to keep moving forward because I come from a resilient people. Ancestors who navigated heartbreak, oppression, grief, and anger, all from a system that told them they were not human. My grandmother founded a church in a time and culture where women weren’t traditionally allowed to, and my grandfather organized his church to vote in the Jim Crow South, at great risk to his safety and well-being. Today, I lead an interfaith advocacy organization that champions comprehensive reproductive health and supports expanding access to democracy for all. I stand in a tradition of people using their faith and resources to strengthen their communities, and I encourage all of us to continue in the examples set by our elders in this way. Moving forward, our work is to build communities of care where we advocate and organize to preserve the dignity of all people and ensure we all live in communities that enable us to thrive. We cannot let the darkness of despair envelop us. We have work to do. Today, let us lament. Let us mourn. But tomorrow, let’s hold on to hope and use our collective moral power to resist violence and pursue nonviolent action to build a future of freedom and dignity for all. --Jeanne Lewis, CEO, Faith in Public Life Action
Interfaith Leader from Sikh Tradition Together we will alchemize our pain and grief into courage and energy and action. We will build worlds of love and protection among each other. We will be one another’s refuge. We will refuse to relinquish our humanity. We will harness our rage. We will organize and innovate. We will keep our ancestors at our back, and the children we are laboring for in front of our eyes. We will practice joy. We will summon our deepest wisdom to hold the light and be the light — until there is another chance at rebirth. We will practice the world we want in the space between us. We will make love our compass. And in our hardest moments we will remember: In every turn through the cycle of human history, people have been thrown in the darkness. And they have a choice — we have a choice: Do I succumb to my despair, or dare lift my gaze and sing a song of love? Do I free only myself, or do I refuse to leave anyone behind? This is not a 4 year campaign. This is a 40 year vision. The only way we will birth the world we dream is through a shift in culture and consciousness — a way of being, a way of seeing, that leaves no one outside our circle of care. -- Valarie Kaur, activist, faith leader and founder of the Revolutionary Love Project Interfaith Leader from the Muslim Tradition At Interfaith America, we believe that our democracy thrives because of its diversity—of thought, belief, and background. We all remain neighbors, and we are all Americans. In the days ahead, our focus on civil dialogue, bridging divides, and civic pluralism will be essential. Regardless of our feelings about the outcome, this moment calls us to reach across those differences, grounded in our shared values. The work of bridgebuilders is more critical than ever. -- Eboo Patel, Muslim leader and Founder and President, Interfaith America Statement from Unitarian Universalist Association Today, as it has always been, the unwavering Love at the center of our faith is our greatest balm, our strongest shield, and our fiercest power. That animating core of Love will both demand our rigorous action and offer us the wellspring of hope and courage that will equip us for that work in the times ahead. ... We will move deliberately. We will resist en masse. We will focus our efforts and abandon distractions. We will act as if no person is disposable. We will fight for our survival. (Click here for full statement.) Statement from Jewish Faith Leader The ground on which we were standing has shifted and we are in unfamiliar, unstable territory. ... I think that for many of us the metaphor of grief is apt. Jewish wisdom teaches that we should make space for mourning ... And our millennia-old tradition also encourages resilience and pushes us toward action ... We engage while drawing on and raising up Jewish values that nourish and sustain us. For me, these include:
. . . We need to model, we need to advocate, we need to build communities reflecting our values, we need to show up as allies, we need to love. In keeping with a core mitzvah (religious imperative) of Judaism, we need to do all this together, in community. -- Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., President and CEO, Reconstructing Judaism Statement from Roman Catholic Leader of Pax Christi [After the election, we have to ask], "How much risk are we willing to take as a movement?" To continue working for the dismantling of the white-supremacism systematically embedded in our nation just became more difficult. To stand with immigrants and refugees, recognizing that we are all sojourners with no lasting home, will be more costly in many ways. To uphold the dignity of women, made in the image and likeness of God with full and equal dignity and rights just became unpopular. Even to simply listen to each other becomes counter-cultural. ... -- Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv, Pax Christi's USA President (Click here to read full statement)
Rev. James Lawson Excerpts from "Only Revolutionary Love Can Save Us" CLICK HERE for link to very short youtube recording |