Rev. Dr. Kikanza Nuri-Robins - April 30, 2023
What You Resist, Persists
Have you ever gotten exactly what you didn't want? Some people say that is the Law of Attraction. When you focus on what you don't want, you often get just that. What are the implications of this principle for our Anti-Bias, Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression work? Are we focusing on the wrong things? Are we clear about what we actually want? Come, let us worship together and talk about it. Kikanza Nuri-Robins Amy Brunell
From Monthly: "Resistance"
We’ll explore in our worship, small groups, and personal reflection this month’s theme, The Path of Resistance, and consider the power of resisting together. A river cuts through a rock not because of its power but its persistence. ~ James N Watkins A boy and his father were walking along a road when they came across a large stone. “Do you think if I use all of my strength, I can move this rock?” the child asked. His father answered, “If you use all of your strength, I am sure you can do it.” The boy began to push the rock. Exerting himself as much as he could, he pushed and pushed. The rock did not move. Discouraged, he said to his father, “You were wrong. I can’t do it.” His father put his arm around the boy’s shoulder and said, “No son. You didn’t use all your strength – you didn’t ask me to help.” ~ Rabbi David Wolf You cannot save a world you don’t love. You cannot reach a person who’s worth and dignity you do not see… ~ Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd Don’t tell me to be calm / when there are so many reasons / to be angry, so much cause for despair! I didn’t say to be calm, said the wind, / I said to breathe. / We’re going to need a lot of air / to make this hurricane together. ~ Lynn Ungar Our times ask us to exercise our capacity for prophetic witness. By prophetic witness I mean our capacity to see what is happening, to say what is happening and to act in accordance with what we know. Prophetic witness is the ability to name those places where we resist knowing what needs to be known. ~ Rebecca Parker People cry not because they are weak. It’s because they’ve been strong too long. ~ Shane Koyczan Rebellion, unless it can transform itself into resistance, inevitably becomes self-destructive. When we rebel without challenging the framework of reality the system has constructed, we remain trapped… Resistance differs from rebellion because it embodies a reality incongruent with that of domination. We do more than defy reality: we present its alternatives, communicating our beliefs and values. ~ Starhawk Two people can keep each other / sane, can give support, conviction… Three people are a delegation… / A dozen make a demonstration. A hundred fill a hall. / A thousand have solidarity… it starts when you say We / and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more. ~ Marge Piercy, “The Low Road” If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito. ~ The Dalai Lama