We gather on the morning after, in a time of great fear and devastation and very real risk to ourselves and our Beloveds. There is so much that we cannot yet know. Even if we know the shape and fear the character of our next governmental administration, we cannot fully know what is yet to come in this country.

What I do know, beyond any reasonable doubt, is that we are a sanctuary people. We can make that claim. From the powerful efforts of our elders in the  middle of the twentieth century through to our congregations and communities offering shelter to migrants today. Whether harbor or pink haven, our homes, sanctuaries, and even our national headquarters model what it means to offer solidarity, shelter, and asylum in the face of what many of us cannot begin to imagine. These are times that will be defined by the continued and increased need for organizing, and a faithful commitment to mutual aid.

I want to invite us all back to what we learned in our earliest understandings of what humanity itself means. We draw our purpose from the call to honor and uphold the non-negotiable sacredness of each and every person, of Earth, and of all beings, bound up together in an abiding love that rests in the call to justice.

So many of us are afraid today. Fearful for the safety of our loved ones, and overwhelmed by the public plans to deny our basic human rights. I invite us to feel the reality of that concern, and to hold one another in our grief. I also want us to remember how very many others in our UU communities and across the nation share our values and prepared all the way through this election for what might be asked of us through the remainder of this month and beyond. Look to your community partners. Draw on all you have learned through UU the Vote and other opportunities to work for electoral justice. Know that you are never alone.

Your UUA will be with you this day and for all the days to come. We have been planning for this possibility and are here to offer best practices for safety, theology, spiritual practice, and communal care. We also know that people may come to our congregations in perhaps larger numbers this weekend and in the coming weeks. We acknowledge the additional stress and strain this creates for so many of you, and we are deeply grateful for the ways you can shift to meet the needs of this moment.

Together, we will rest in the strength of our covenants and bring that love, generosity, sacred witness, and values driven interdependence to bear as we continue to work toward a future where our liberation is collective and all of our people can count themselves whole.

I love you. Let us keep working toward all that we hold most holy together.

Amen, Ashe, and Blessed be.

Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt

President of the Unitarian Universalist Association