Moving Through Heavy-Heartedness

A ritual to name what is in our hearts, transform it, and find hope for change.

Although each of us comes with different understandings and experiences of this new administration, and what it means in our lives, for many of us, this is a time of heavy-heartedness. Some of us are hanging onto hope by a thread; some live in real fear. Some wonder how the oppressive frameworks lived day in and day out are only now being recognized. Some of us are sensing this as a time of real possibility for change.

We know as human beings that our nervous systems respond to tumult, trauma, and heavy-heartedness in a couple of ways: we shut down, or perhaps we respond with anxiety and/or becoming more reactive to the world around us. As people of faith, we know there is a third way: one in which we feel what we feel but remain conscious and connected. This is the heart/mind space available to each of us, a place we are most grounded, alive, effective, and hopeful.

Join us Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m., in a ritual of naming, getting connected, moving through, finding empathy for others, and awakening hope for change. In this ritual we will set an intention for spiritual practice over the next 40 days. We will reconvene on April 13 to reconnect and continue to access our heart/mind center, making promises for our faithful action moving forward. We are gathering in loving, faithful community because we know it is through connection, and guided by our UU principles, that trauma and despair can be transformed into purpose, and heavy-heartedness can be retooled into compassion, hope, and resolve.

Our ritual will be led by Patrick Dougherty, Bobby Gillespie, Richard Spratt, Patsy Egan, Revs. Justin Schroeder and Ruth MacKenzie, Jerrod Wendland, Franco Holder, and members of First Universalist Choir.