Annette Marquis, Thomas Jefferson District Executive.
Annette Marquis' Words of Healing/Reconnection: TVUUC Rededication
August 4, 2008
My name is Annette Marquis and I am here today as your District Executive but most importantly as a Unitarian Universalist (UU), to represent the entire Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and all of our members and friends throughout this continent and the world, to say that we are with you as you grieve and mourn and cry and find your way through the nightmare of last Sunday.My heart broke at 12:14 last Sunday when, in the middle of a discussion I was holding with your sister congregation in Morehead City, NC, I received a text message with the news. My heart broke in that moment and over and over and over again this week as I have heard your stories and listened to your pain. But I am here today to assure you that you are not alone.
From your neighbors in nearby Tullahoma, TN, to those in far-away Tasmania, Australia, Unitarian Universalist congregations all over the world are holding special worship services and vigils this week for the members and friends of Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church and Westside Unitarian Universalist Church . Over 325 congregations, one-third of all the Unitarian Universalist congregations in this country, listed their special services on a page created on UUA .org, the Unitarian Universalist Association website, set up especially to show you support. And those are the ones we know about, the ones who took the time to send in a notice of their services. I can say with confidence that there is not a Unitarian Universalist anywhere on this planet who did not feel this attack personally. Although we can never feel the depth of your pain, we are hurting, grieving and crying with you.
To adapt the words of Nikki Giovanni,
The Unitarian Universalist family embraces our own and reaches out with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong, and brave, and innocent, and unafraid. We are better than we think and not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imaginations and the possibilities. We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through all our sadness.
From that unspeakable tragedy at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg just a little over a year ago to this one in Knoxville just last week, we learned how a world comes together to embrace those UUs so deeply affected by senseless violence. We are all TVUUC, we are all Westside UU Church , we are all Unitarian Universalists. You are not alone.
I hope that has been evident to you this week by the work of the UU Trauma Response Ministry who has offered you counseling and support to get you through the initial days of this horror. Although they will soon leave Knoxville in body, they will stay in touch with you to make sure that you have the resources you need to continue on, even after the headlines disappear and the world moves on.
For the road ahead of you will not be easy. The trauma you experienced will not disappear quickly. I encourage you allow yourselves time as individuals, as families, as religious communities to heal. Know that you might not have the energy you once had, you might become more irritable, you might have restless nights, you might startle more easily, you might worry more, you might be more accident prone, , you might have difficulty concentrating , and you might forget even more things than you forget normally. Be patient with yourselves, with your children and spouses, with your church community. Remind yourselves and each other that this is normal and give each other time and space and understanding. If you become concerned about how you feel or about how a member of your family is acting, please seek out professional help.
Through the wonderful cooperation of the local Community Mental Health agencies, the Red Cross and the mental health professionals within your congregations, there will be a referral list of psychologists, social workers, and counselors in the Knoxville area who are open to our liberal religious identity and some who specifically work with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people for those among us who need to know that their sexual and gender identity will not be challenged. If you do not have insurance or other resources to pay for counseling, money will be made available through a special fund set up by the UUA and the Thomas Jefferson District. UUs and others who want to help are contributing to this fund through individual contributions and special collections in their congregations. Over 300 contributions were made in the first 24 hours that the fund was announced this week on UUA.org. We will soon be telling you how you can access these funds if you have a need to do so.
I know it is not easy for some of you to ask for help. In the words of Bill Withers, this is a time, above all others, when you need to “swallow your pride” and lean on others to help you through this. You are not alone.
Some of you might have seen the reflections I wrote for UUA.org about my day here Monday. I entitled it “I have never been so proud” and in it I described how very proud I was to be UU on that first day after the tragedy. From the initial moments of horror in this sanctuary to this moment this morning, you have demonstrated the very best of what it means to be Unitarian Universalist. You have not only shown yourselves, you have shown the world how to love.
For those of you who know me, you know that I talk a lot about the importance of our congregations having clarity of purpose and mission. The clarity in which all of you have talked about who you are and what Unitarian Universalism is all about, puts me to shame. When you could have understandably responded with bitterness, you showed the world your expansive spirit, your unconditional love, and your incredibly openness to all who seek to be in community with you.
You have modeled the ideals of who we all strive to be. I will carry that with me always. I cannot tell you enough how much you have helped heal my heart by giving me tremendous hope about who we can all become because of your example. Thank you for your courage, your love, and your unwavering commitment to your religious family of Unitarian Universalism. You are and will always be my model of the incredible potential we possess to transform the world.
We are all TVUUC, we are all WUUC, we are all Unitarian Universalists. You are not alone.
Last updated on Wednesday, August 20, 2008.
