From Reverend Janet

Dear Friends,

I have been away during a tumultuous time for our country. As many of you know, I had the great privilege of officiating at the wedding of my younger son Eric to his new wife, Jaclyn. Our family grew, as we not only welcome a daughter but now feel deeply connected to her family as well.

Our family has never felt so important to me. And so it has been extremely difficult to watch what has been happening at our southern border, as families seeking asylum or trying to enter the United States in other ways are being forcibly separated. As I write this it has just been announced that the federal government has opened three detention centers for young children, and need a fourth. This is sickening and heartbreaking.

Sometimes Unitarian Universalists assert that we don’t believe in evil. I actually do believe in evil. I define evil as the deliberate severing of relationship, the withholding of compassion and care for other beings, and so I do name this policy of separating parents and children as evil.

This policy benefits no one, and serves to weaken us as a nation, as it erodes our national ethical and moral standards. I hope everyone will seek ways to fight back against this unconscionable action by our government. We can write letters or call elected officials, and make sure we are aware of protests to join (such as Thursday afternoon’s action at Grant Circle), or likely protests in Boston. I encourage everyone to share information widely about different actions we can take. We can contribute financially to organizations trying to help people caught up in this nightmare.

What we do matters, now more than ever. Please join me in siding with love.

Reverend Janet