Cultivate Peace
Note: This post is about the violence, threats of violence, and self-harm that are prevalent in our society right now. If you’re having suicidal thoughts, you can talk with a live person at 1-800-273-8255 any time of the day or night. You can also chat with someone here.
The day after National Coming Out Day and on Indigenous Rights Day, one of my neighbors went through their eleventh-floor window to their death. I don’t know anything about this person, and I don’t know if their defenestration (it’s a good word, look it up) was intentional or accidental. I do know that researchers tell us more people are reporting thoughts of suicide these days, especially people who feel marginalized or disenfranchised already, and my personal circle of friends and loved ones report being more suicidal than usual.
Many people are also worried about the violence that might erupt after the election, but the fact is the threat of violence is already upon us. One of our rural churches had someone on Facebook casually suggest members of the church could be dealt with by running them over or shooting them. Another of our churches has had their property vandalized multiple times in recent months with hate speech. In some of our cities, protests have been met with state-sanctioned violence, and in several of our communities clashes between political opponents have erupted into violent and even deadly confrontations.
People are on edge, anxious about the future, tired of being cooped up, worried about finances and health, angry about the political situation — and all of that is leading to increases in domestic violence, public violence, and self-harm.
I’m telling you this for two reasons:
If you’re noticing yourself more prone to violent and self-harming thoughts, you’re not alone.
If you weren’t aware of the violence that is in the air, now you are — and once you’re aware of something, then you can address it.
One tool we have for addressing the violence in our society is to spend more time cultivating peace in ourselves through prayer. The Rev. Jennifer Seaich, at Beavercreek UCC, published a document with thirty days of prayers she collected, and which you can pray during the season leading up to Election Day. You can find that resource here. I’ve been using this tool, and have found it helpful. The prayer for October 13th from Archbishop Desmond Tutu about not being ready to forgive, but wanting to be ready to start, was exactly what I needed that day.
Another way to cultivate peace in ourselves is through meditation. In April, I created a short video to teach meditation practices that help me. You can find that here. Every Monday, Amira Stanley, Minister of Justice and Witness at Clackamas UCC, posts a Monday Mindfulness / Meditation Moment on the Clackamas UCC Facebook Page, which you can find here. Many of our churches are providing Zoom meditation or vespers services weekly. If your church isn’t meeting regularly to pray or meditate together, this might be a time to consider it. You can also do it with friends or family or in small groups.
We have lots of churches who are doing things in their community to bring about Just Peace (the shalom that brings a real end to violence). As we move further into the Election Season and the anxiety of this year’s Extraordinary Time, I’d like to make space for us to share ideas with one another about how we’re meeting this tumultuous year with practices of peace. So, I’ll be hosting a Just Peace Conversation over Zoom every Thursday at 4:00pm PDT and 5:00pm MDT between October 22nd and Thanksgiving Day.
We’ll meet in my personal Zoom room. We will start each meeting with at least ten minutes of prayer or meditation, and then spend some time sharing how we’re addressing the anxiety and threats of violence in our communities and in ourselves. As we meet, we’ll create a Google doc of best practices and resources, which we will post to the CPC Facebook page and share in future On the Ways. At the end of these meetings, we will carry our peace with us into the world.
These are challenging times. Please take care of yourselves, and take care of your communities. Thank you for being the people of God’s shalom. You are the church the world needs right now.
Blessings,
Tyler
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