I know is very easy to get discouraged these days.
This morning I saw that Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House chief strategist, had made what looks like a Nazi salute like Elon Musk’s. Donald Trump has had plenty of time to distance himself from white supremacists but he somehow considers white hate speech to be a First Amendment issue at the same time he assaults CRT and reporters who dare to question his policies. For some reason, Donald Trump retweets messages from white supremacist websites which raises the question why he was on those sites in the first place. For the life of me I cannot think of a rational reason why someone who isn’t a racist would be so lackluster in reassuring People of Color that the American Dream is not centered around the white experience.
As I say, I understand how easy it would be to be discouraged right now, but when I got to church this morning the sanctuary was full of sleeping people from our cold weather shelter. It was just after 3 a.m. and it was moving to realize so many unsheltered human beings would have been out in the cold most of this week.
Our volunteers are trying to pull off a monumental task this weekend. Saturday morning we hope to feed a thousand people at the same time we are sheltering our friends from the street in the sanctuary. Then, after we have a midday educational event we will need to quickly get ready for our worship service on Sunday.
I understand why so many people dislike organized religion. Bad religion has been a bane to our species. At the same time, our church could not have helped all these people without a very committed and organized group of volunteers. The problem with religion is not organization but with hierarchy, superstition and with selfish sectarianism.
I love the fact that many of our best volunteers are not members of our church. Many have never been to our Sunday services. Some of our best volunteers are Atheists but, in my opinion, their love in action is exactly what Jesus was talking about in the Sermon on the Mount.
Spirituality does not require organization but spiritual communities do. From my perspective, healthy religion consists in a community to share life’s journey, a gathering where people can share their reverence and gratitude for life, and healthy religion includes a dedication to serve the human beings who need it most.
I think it can be very comforting in these cruel times to find a community of meaning. You do not have to accept anyone else’s religion. You don’t even have to call it “religion” but it can be very helpful to have a community where you can share your life’s journey with people who care, share your reverence and gratitude for life in spite of dire times, and where you can be with others who consecrate themselves to serving our entire human family.