We will not fear
though the earth shall change
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea
though the waters roar with its tumult…
Be still…(Psalm 46)
Join us tonight:
6:00 p.m.
A Post-Election Restorative Gathering
University Congregational United Church of Christ
4515 16th Avenue NE in Seattle
Amidst the changes of this election that we may long for or fear, we will gather tonight to begin the slow work of healing after a bitter and tumultuous political season and as we face the road ahead for ourselves and our nation.
Tonight amidst all the feelings we may hold,
we take time to be still,
light candles,
sing,
hear words of hope,
be together – a community of strangers and friends united across all that separates us.
May today be the beginning of the possibility that we might meet the weariness, anxiety, fear, sadness, anger in our land and within us with the larger holding of a wider love, a deeper grounding, a present hope.
We keep you and our nation in our prayers in these changing times.
Navigating Through Change 
Peter, thanks for the thoughts. It is so hard to focus on love and hope when I think of the forces which have been unleashed, and folks like Jim Wallis of Sojourners are rightly saying a time for protection of the vulnerable (people and the planet) will be coming, and also a need to confront the powers that be. I know that prayer and contemplation should precede action, but my heart remains troubled.
Blessings, Dave Powell
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David – thank you so much – and you named it well – the paradox of our times. We need grounding within – and to get on with the work that we are called to do in times like ours. We need space to grieve – and we need this emptying so that we can make room for renewed commitment and hope. We need hope and we need hopelessness – that is, not hope in specific results but hope in a wider holding that we can do the work that will never be complete, and step in a do it anyway. We despair – for sure there is time for this – and we shall not despair. We see such evil and are overwhelmed – and we proclaim the faith that there is a light still that shines in the darkness that the darkness can never overcome. In dark times like ours, I look for that light. I saw it last night when we gathered in a packed chapel to light candles, name our grief and sing, to hear words of hope and courage, to sing some more, to pass the peace. I see that light in the sidewalk conversations I have had today – people reaching out talking, connecting, needing hope, needing each other. I have been leveled by grief and I rise in commitment and courage. Together, we shall rise to live, proclaim, pray and protest that this way of hate is not the way.
Gratefully,
Peter
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